You constantly update your Facebook status, share much more about yourself, you have a complete profile information, and you are not that bothered about what others post on your wall? Then your self-esteem is quite high. On the other hand if you are constantly checking your wall to see what others have posted and deleting the unwanted posts, then your self esteem is very low.
These are the findings by a team of researchers who studied a group of 225 students from a South Korean university on how they edited material that friends linked or posted to their walls and compared against their personalities. The findings were presented to a team of international researchers at the INTERACT 2013 meeting in Cape Town, South Africa.
“The types of actions users take and the kinds of information they are adding to their Facebook walls and profiles are a reflection of their identities,” S. Shyam Sundar, a professor of communications and co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory at Penn State University. “You are your Facebook, basically, and despite all its socialness, Facebook is a deeply personal medium.” “You are your Facebook, basically, and despite all its socialness, Facebook is a deeply personal medium,” Sundar said.
Another study suggested that someone could improve their self esteem by glancing at their walls (now Timeline) every once in a while. These studies that link Facebook to esteem boost contradict earlier studies that had implied that all types of Facebook use produce negative effects on individuals. According to a study by researchers from University of Michigan and reported here, “no matter how many online friends a user had, no matter how supportive they were and no matter what they visited Facebook for, they ended up leaving feeling worse about themselves”.
So probably now you can improve your self-esteem by sharing more about your activities and reading at what you (not others) post in your Facebook Timeline.
