The researcher from the University of North Florida have taken the quest to investigate the relationship among Facebook use to see if is encouraging selfishness or empathy. As we already discovered, what we see on Facebook and online, as resulted by a study conducted by Facebook, already influence the way we feel. But can be more as how the social media and the online influence our personality and the way we express ourselves?
The rise of social networking sites has led to changes in the nature of our social relationships, as well as how we present and perceive ourselves. Although social media, like Facebook, allow us to connect, are we becoming more self-centered and less empathic towards other human beings?
A new study by Dr. Tracy Alloway, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of North Florida, investigated the relationship among adult Facebook users, between ages 18 and 50, and found that some Facebook features are linked to selfishness and some Facebook activities may encourage empathy.
The study showed that there were differences between the sexes. While men were more narcissistic according to the test, narcissistic women were more likely to rate their profile pictures as more physically attractive, glamorous and cool. Females also changed their profile picture more than the males, updating their photo once every two months, compared to once every three months for males. This may mean that narcissistic women are more likely to use Facebook as a reflecting pool than narcissistic males.
This is interesting from the point of view of the “social game”. After all, we all want from time to time to be in the center of attention, but it seems that women’s have a greater desire than men to be admired.
There may also be a problem of expressing the low self-esteem. Contrary to popular believes, low self-esteem is wide spread among the population, and the admiration of others can be used as a tool of rising the self-esteem. Women’s tends to tie the self-esteem to the looks and the people that admire them, but for the men self-esteem is tied up to success and the ability to provide for the family.
But let’s look at final conclusions of the study:
However, Alloway noted that many other Facebook activities weren’t linked to narcissism. “The number of friends they had, even how often they posted photos of themselves weren’t related to narcissistic tendencies,” she said. “This pattern suggests that while Facebook may be a tool for narcissists, it’s more than just a reflecting pool.”
Additionally, the findings indicated that some Facebook activities, such as chatting, were linked to aspects of empathic concern, such as higher levels of Perspective Taking — the ability to place oneself in another’s situation — in males, while females scored lower. The photo feature in Facebook was also linked to the better ability to place themselves, both males and females, in fictional situations. For females only, viewing videos was associated with the extent to which they could identify with someone’s distress.
The study’s conclusion found that some Facebook activities, such as chatting, encourage some aspects of empathy. Although the photo feature was linked to narcissism, the overall pattern of findings suggests that social media is primarily a tool for staying connected than for self-promotion.
We all try to promote ourselves, to market ourselves of you will, and social media is a great medium for that. We live in a competitive world, and we need the approval of others to increase our self-esteem, and more people are using social media for this. Also, the empathy element of facebook interaction can help you to better understand your peers and in the end be a better person for yourself and for the others.
But don’t forget: healthy self-esteem can only come from within, and you and only you are the master of your destiny.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/FacebookMentalEffects
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