Facebook & Self-esteem?

noZme

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interesting article about psychological implications of social networking profiles: http://www.ajc.com/news/study-facebook-fanatics-vain-610115.html?cxntlid=sldr

"A York University study found those who frequently update their information on their Facebook sites or who include “self-promoting” pictures of themselves are either narcissistic or are struggling with low self-esteem.....

The question is, are these really accurate representations of the individual or are they merely a projection of who the individual wants to be?....

Men were more likely to brag on themselves in their writings in the “about me section” while women self-promoted through their photos."
 
my facebook picture is always a version of roger from american dad in women's clothing. wonder what that says about me heh.
 
Well I would agree! In the beginning it was fun, but then (and I apologize if you do this) every day I see the obsession we have with the trivial. I was admonished for posting a controversial story - told that "FaceBook is for fun, not alientating people..." what?

I mostly like seeing pics of my family so far away and my friends and their marketing of their businesses etc. but I can do without how many jars of pickled beets and what you cooked for dinner every day...sorry if anyone is offended I just think that when you post everything you do everyday no matter how trivial and you think we care, it smacks of some self esteem issues.

And it's not really safe to post that you are out of town or alone...because those friends you allowed from high school that you don't really know anymore can take advantage of that...it has happened.
 
interesting article about psychological implications of social networking profiles: http://www.ajc.com/news/study-facebook-fanatics-vain-610115.html?cxntlid=sldr

"A York University study found those who frequently update their information on their Facebook sites or who include “self-promoting” pictures of themselves are either narcissistic or are struggling with low self-esteem.....

The question is, are these really accurate representations of the individual or are they merely a projection of who the individual wants to be?....

Men were more likely to brag on themselves in their writings in the “about me section” while women self-promoted through their photos."

snipped from article:

Mehdizadeh studied the online habits and personalities of 100 York University Facebook users. They were 18 to 25 years old.

and interesting to me is this:

Mehdizadeh, a psychology student who authored an article in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking.

I deleted her first name because she don't need it plastered on a crime board LOL. Just kidding about the crime board :)

Interesting observation, I'm not sure that it's a scientifically sound study but okay then :)
 
Well I would agree! In the beginning it was fun, but then (and I apologize if you do this) every day I see the obsession we have with the trivial. I was admonished for posting a controversial story - told that "FaceBook is for fun, not alientating people..." what?

I mostly like seeing pics of my family so far away and my friends and their marketing of their businesses etc. but I can do without how many jars of pickled beets and what you cooked for dinner every day...sorry if anyone is offended I just think that when you post everything you do everyday no matter how trivial and you think we care, it smacks of some self esteem issues.

And it's not really safe to post that you are out of town or alone...because those friends you allowed from high school that you don't really know anymore can take advantage of that...it has happened.

LOL!!! HOW TRUE!!!! I also find that women (and sorry if I seem sexist) use FB to complain about physical ailments!! I am a private person, so seeing people post about every intimate problem or physical ailment REALLY irritates me!!!!:furious:
 
Well I would agree! In the beginning it was fun, but then (and I apologize if you do this) every day I see the obsession we have with the trivial. I was admonished for posting a controversial story - told that "FaceBook is for fun, not alientating people..." what?

I mostly like seeing pics of my family so far away and my friends and their marketing of their businesses etc. but I can do without how many jars of pickled beets and what you cooked for dinner every day...sorry if anyone is offended I just think that when you post everything you do everyday no matter how trivial and you think we care, it smacks of some self esteem issues.

And it's not really safe to post that you are out of town or alone...because those friends you allowed from high school that you don't really know anymore can take advantage of that...it has happened.[/quote]

Agree here, I have a niece that is in Korea where her husband is stationed and it worries me when she posts on her wall that her husband will be gone for a week or two, this lets everyone know she will be alone for this period of time. I find these types of postings a little reckless. I hate to admit that I have also posted when I'd be out of town for the day so I'm also guilty of this, certainly food for thought.
 
Lol, how could a pic of a person "be what they want to project themselves to be" if it's really a pic of them in their own clothes, hair, and doing some activity or smiling? Doesn't make sense to me. Maybe they're talking about people who might try to look really sexy in their pic, but if they look sexy, then they probably are. People's posts don't bother me, whether they tell all about their day or complain about this and that. I find it all interesting and love reading people's daily thoughts and things they do. I don't post much at all about my life, but did recently call someone narcissistic and told them to go to He$$ on there. A person started demeaning and highly insulted my daughter because she complained about some link, so several of us rushed to her defense. FB can cause trouble when others start judging what other folks talk about and tell them what they can and can't post. There is a "hide" option or even unfriending.
 
LOL!!! HOW TRUE!!!! I also find that women (and sorry if I seem sexist) use FB to complain about physical ailments!! I am a private person, so seeing people post about every intimate problem or physical ailment REALLY irritates me!!!!:furious:

OMG! I just posted on my fb page about my torn biceps tendon! (But the point was that they're going to inject some of my own growth hormone in there so I might become superhuman.)

This is going to sound like I'm not a very warm person, but fb is too "positive" for me. I really get sick of people posting about what a wonderful world it is and how lucky and blessed they are. I'm glad they're happy; I'm happy, too, but I don't go around telling people about it. I just want to know what people are up to and if anything funny happened to them that day.
 
I absolutely LOVE Facebook. I've gotten to know my real life neighbors better than I ever would have, I've made powerful real life re-friendships with old college buds I'd lost track of and I've done important career networking. Like anything, it's what you make of it.

I tend to think the people who judge and analyze other's Facebook activity are rather petty and need to just do the people they don't like a favor and defriend them. So what if someone posts about what they ate? (And I don't by the way, but if it's important to someone else I don't care). Even the mundane posts I try to reach out every so often to at least acknowledge them. Even if it's just a "that sounds good!" to their daily food post, I want them to know that I care and that someone is reading their page.

Are there people who post pretty exaggerated spins on their lives and/or who they are? Absolutely. I love them anyhow.


Edited to add:
I unapologetically play Farmville. I love that boring *advertiser censored* game. I could be having the WORST conversation say with AT&T over a billing dispute, but if I can sit there and till my dirt and feed my virtual plants while I'm talking, it actually calms me down and keeps me focused. Like those old fashioned zen rock gardens. That's my farmville zen garden to me. It's soothing. And it's free. I do however block the non-FV players from all FV posts out of courtesy and to weed out the posts they aren't interested in. I'm considerate that way. But I likes Farmville. There. I said it. :)
 
I absolutely LOVE Facebook.
Edited to add:
I unapologetically play Farmville. I love that boring *advertiser censored* game. I could be having the WORST conversation say with AT&T over a billing dispute, but if I can sit there and till my dirt and feed my virtual plants while I'm talking, it actually calms me down and keeps me focused. Like those old fashioned zen rock gardens. That's my farmville zen garden to me. It's soothing. And it's free. I do however block the non-FV players from all FV posts out of courtesy and to weed out the posts they aren't interested in. I'm considerate that way. But I likes Farmville. There. I said it. :)

Whispers: I love Farmville as well. At least here I hardly ever kill plants. Also love Frontierville. Ever since I was (cough) young and watching Little House on the Prairie and then reading the books, I love that period.

I use Facebook to stay in touch with my friends and the few members of the family in Belgium that I want to keep in touch with. Now I never say that I
am on holidays or on my own. I've gotten really creative in letting people know that I won't be on Facebook without actually telling them I'm not at homoe.
 
I love Facebook! And if my status updates annoy people, they can block their homepage from seeing my updates. No one is forcing them to read my "boring" comments about my life. That's one of the reasons FB has a block feature. I've blocked any and all game updates ("You have found a purple gem!") so that none of them show in my homepage thread.

I don't think I have self-esteem issues and I don't think I'm a narcissist. I'm just a very social person and FB is an outlet for that.

I <3 Facebook! :)
 
As many know me here - I usually post pics of my babies (my cats). Wonder what that says about me :) I'll probably grow old, become a hoarder, and own 50 cats.

Hugs,

Mel
 
interesting article about psychological implications of social networking profiles: http://www.ajc.com/news/study-facebook-fanatics-vain-610115.html?cxntlid=sldr

"A York University study found those who frequently update their information on their Facebook sites or who include “self-promoting” pictures of themselves are either narcissistic or are struggling with low self-esteem.....

The question is, are these really accurate representations of the individual or are they merely a projection of who the individual wants to be?....

Men were more likely to brag on themselves in their writings in the “about me section” while women self-promoted through their photos."



Ah, I take it they studied my youngest brother and got him exactly right...as I am typing, he is changing his picture again and advertising himself.

I don't go to FB as I don't really enjoy the everyday banter and I felt people expected me to be something I wasn't. I do believe it is a great source of pleasure for others though, even those like my brother who are narcissistic.

If you feel it is important to tell the world you made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, then so be it.

As far as discussing one's ailments, it seems like as good as place as any.

Goz
 
I love Facebook! And if my status updates annoy people, they can block their homepage from seeing my updates. No one is forcing them to read my "boring" comments about my life. That's one of the reasons FB has a block feature. I've blocked any and all game updates ("You have found a purple gem!") so that none of them show in my homepage thread.

I don't think I have self-esteem issues and I don't think I'm a narcissist. I'm just a very social person and FB is an outlet for that.

I'm not saying that you're a narcissist, but I am certain that in most cases, researchers would consider most 'status updates' to be somewhat narcissistic behavior. It is a continuum, of course, so there are varying degrees of narcissism involved. How are they narcissistic? Well, those updates aren't primarily interaction (though they can inspire it) -- they are broadcast information. They're also voluntary. To broadcast a status message implies that one has something others should read. If the nature of the status message is something like 'I just ate a peanut butter sandwich', one might question why a person considers that message important enough to compel others to see it (as, after all, they cannot judge its import until doing so). Seeing as the act of eating a peanut butter sandwich is totally unremarkable, something else must make the message significant enough to be broadcast. In this case, it is that the 'I' is remarkable, a remarkable person who makes insignificant details worthy of broadcast. That is the attitude that researchers will pick up on as being narcissistic.
 
I'm not saying that you're a narcissist, but I am certain that in most cases, researchers would consider most 'status updates' to be somewhat narcissistic behavior. It is a continuum, of course, so there are varying degrees of narcissism involved. How are they narcissistic? Well, those updates aren't primarily interaction (though they can inspire it) -- they are broadcast information. They're also voluntary. To broadcast a status message implies that one has something others should read. If the nature of the status message is something like 'I just ate a peanut butter sandwich', one might question why a person considers that message important enough to compel others to see it (as, after all, they cannot judge its import until doing so). Seeing as the act of eating a peanut butter sandwich is totally unremarkable, something else must make the message significant enough to be broadcast. In this case, it is that the 'I' is remarkable, a remarkable person who makes insignificant details worthy of broadcast. That is the attitude that researchers will pick up on as being narcissistic.

I get your point. I agree that there are definitely people on FB with self-esteem issues and narcissistic personalities. I was just offering my personal perspective (as someone who updates their status frequently) on why I do it. I'm certain that there are people who post just for the "rush" of reading the responses they get so their importance in the world is validated. I can't recall ever posting about my lunch, but I have posted some mundane, stupid and completely useless things! For example, recent status updates have included my disgust with myself for making a vet appointment for a hamster (she's got some sores) and also my anticipation of the upcoming season of "Supernatural" so I can see my future husband again (that's Mrs. Dean Winchester to you!). The hamster status led to a rousing game of "Guess the Hamster Vet Bill" which was mindless, entertaining fun. The Supernatural status led to a fun debate on which Winchester brother is hotter (clearly, Dean is). This is why FB is called the Timewaster from He!!.

My point is, just because someone posts mundane things and update their status frequently, it doesn't necessarily mean they are a narcissist or suffer from low self-esteem. Some, yes. I wouldn't agree that "most" fall into that category, though.
 
As many know me here - I usually post pics of my babies (my cats). Wonder what that says about me :) I'll probably grow old, become a hoarder, and own 50 cats.

Hugs,

Mel

This made me lol, thank you!

I have a Facebook account, or I wouldn't know anything about my niece, who I raised and is still in CA. But I don't know a lot of the people who send me gems, whatever those are, game requests etc.

I also no longer have a picture up. Lol. So what are Farmville and Frontierville?
 

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