Facebook, self-esteem and loneliness

Bachelorarbeit von Sina Haghiri

Abstract:

This study started from the assumption that one of the major motives driving peoples’ Internet usage is to distract oneself from psychosocial problems (e.g. loneliness, low self-esteem), as has been found by several existing studies. This premise has been applied from Internet usage to intensity of Facebook usage by several studies with a tendency towards the same results – being more intense Facebook usage correlating with a higher sense of loneliness and lower self-esteem.

747 people participated in this current study. Taking all data into account, there is a significant negative correlation between the number of Facebook friends and the sense of loneliness but none with self-esteem. There is no correlation found between the number of posts per week that people made and either of the psychological scales. We found another significant negative correlation between the time people spend on Facebook and their self-esteem, but none with the sense of loneliness.

After clearing up the data from impossible entries, people with Facebook accounts that have not been online long enough to be taken into account and participants that did not fully understand all questions, the number of valid questionnaires decreased to 296. Only using these data, there was no correlation found between either of the indicators of Facebook usage (number of Facebook friends, number of posts per week, time spent on Facebook) and the two scales of interest, self-esteem and sense of loneliness.

Table of Contents:

Text Sample:

The behaviour of people using the Internet has been a subject of growing interest to the scientific community over the last decade. As results concerning the general frequency and intensity of Internet usage and their relation to people’s dispositions began to be replicated and accepted, scientists started to look for more specific indicators other than just the general time spent on the Internet, that would serve as indicators for psychological traits and states. One area that research focused on, was the world of online social networks and with Facebook being the biggest one, it quickly became the center of attention within that field. A review of essential literature for our purpose can be organized into three categories: Methodical/General, Internet usage related and Facebook usage related.