ENC2135: Research, Genre & Context 

     The Information Age, which we are currently living in, has provided people with a number of devices for communication:  personal computers, laptops, smartphones, and tablets.  This is a time in which the internet and social media has transformed the world into a level of communication that is instantaneous and highly interactive.  The global social media site Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg and his friends.  Dr. Amirthatajan states, “The website mainly aims at connecting people or helps them socialize and makes its revenue out of advertising” (Amirtharajan et al. 2027).    This site allows users to create a personal account, publicly post their thoughts and feelings, upload pictures, and communicate with other users both privately (through Messenger) and publicly.  Teenagers and young adults, also known as “The Net Generation,” are the more active users of Facebook largely because they have been exposed to various media devices through school and social interactions.  This type of user, ages twenty-five and younger, is highly impressionable.  The use of Facebook can cause “Net Generation” users to suffer from low self-esteem, envy, and jealousy.

     The use of SNS, Social Networking Sites, can cause feelings of low self-esteem because users are in a constant state of comparison.  Researchers in health and computing in social science found, “Facebook, open up new possibilities for presentation of the self and of managing the self that one presents to others” (Hilsen and Helvik 3).  In other words, a user is in complete control of the image that they are displaying to other users.  This raises the question, is the user manipulating information to present themselves in a more successful or positive circumstance?  To begin connecting with other users, a Facebook account must be established and this is where that image develops.  This account profile, which will be seen by accepted registered users, allows the user to provide personal information and a profile picture.  All Facebook users can answer a series of questions under the “About” tab.  These responses create a users image.  Because these responses are provided by the user, untruths or distorted information may be written.  The questions include; work and education, places you’ve lived, contact and family information, family and relationships, details about you, and life events.  Facebook is a social media website that connects people from all over the world, therefore, the more personal information you provide Facebook, the more connections a user can make.  Communication through Facebook begins with a profile but it is also recommended that a user add a profile picture, it is always better when you can place a face (picture) with a person.  But, what picture should be posted?  Most people have been raised to put their “best foot forward” to promote the best possible image.  Selecting a photo that will be viewed by classmates and others can be stressful.  App developers believe that they are there to support users.  There happens to be an application, called Facetune, in which users have the ability to airbrush pictures online for free.  Here is the answer for that impressionable teenager with low self-esteem.   Free from embarrassment, the “Net Generation” user, “… can upload your picture and you can take out all your little pimples and stuff to make it look like your skin is perfect, your hair is perfect” (Shea). 

     A profile picture has been selected and now comes the time to send and accept “friend” requests.  At first, the excitement can encourage a user to “friend” anyone they know.  A news reporter stated, “Our circles have grown to include everyone from best buddies to co-workers, to kindergarten classmates and friends of friends of friends, to strangers” (Shea).  The actual number of “friends” a user has is always posted on their personal profile for all to see. That number alone can have an effect on users’ self-esteem.  For the “Net Generation” user, this can be similar to a popularity contest.  Dr. Tobias Gretiemeyer, Social Psychologist,  stated, “In fact, whereas the acceptance of a Facebook friendship request makes people proud, rejection is associated with emotional numbness and being unfriended on Facebook leads to rumination and negative emotions” (Greitemeyer 182).  A user’s self-esteem is also affected by the information shared.  Remember, Facebook gives the “ability to make public comments about other users…by commenting on a posted status, picture, or link, or by writing directly on a friend’s wall.  These contributions are for the most part favorable, however, friends have also been known to post discrediting and/or defamatory messages on users’ Facebook walls” (Ballantine, Lin, and Veer 50).  Comments and “likes” can affect all users’ self-esteem positively and negatively.  Ethan Kross, an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan, found that “the more people used Facebook during one-time period, the worse they subsequently felt, the more they used Facebook over 2-weeks, the more their life satisfaction levels declined over time” (Lee et al. 480).  Low self-esteem may also be exhibited through “untagging” and removing oneself from an unflattering photo, and therefore maintaining that “perfect” profile image. Any type of user can experience moments of low self-esteem, however, teenagers (“Net Generation” users) are more susceptible due to the fact that they are going through puberty and are more self conscience and compare themselves to their peers.  

     Another emotion that users may experience is “Facebook envy”?  Envy is defined as the feeling of wanting to have what someone else has.  According to Brian Williams, who delivered the NBC News, “Researchers call it Facebook envy.  It’s the act of viewing all of your friends’ fabulous vacations, lovely children, attractive friends and great social lives.  The research showed it can leave people feeling-you guessed it-lonely, frustrated and angry” (Shea).  Previewing posted pictures and reading about “friends” experiences, day after day, can make a user feel dissatisfied with their own life.  When users’ compare themselves to other users, it can cause feelings of envy, subordination, or defeat which can lead to depression.  A study conducted on college students showed that “college students using Facebook for surveillance purposes are purposely utilizing SNS to consume others’ personal information.  They are far more likely to come across details that will trigger feelings of envy” (Tandoc Jr., Duffy, Ferrucci 144).  “Net Generation” users are constantly thinking about their personal images and comparing themselves to others who are similar to themselves.  Exposure to Facebook can cause users to experience those psychologically degrading feelings of envy.

     Facebook allows “Net Generation” users to become integrated with their friends and classmates.  This type of closeness and interaction can lead to feelings of jealously.  Jealousy can be defined as “when one has something but is afraid of losing it or has lost it to another person” (Lin and Utz 30).  “Sites like Facebook have provided young people with a continuous stream of status updates and photos that can act as a digital perch from which they can look down and monitor the activities of their friends and family…” (Nitzburg and Farber 1183).  Jealousy arises from misinterpreted postings, acceptances of users, and previewing user accounts.  This jealous user can be pushed toward Facebook addiction.  For example, a group of high school girls have developed a clique and they share and do everything together.  Suddenly, a member of the clique is forced out of the group.  The clique shuns her at school and does not include her in any Facebook postings.  Yet, they do not “unfriend” her on Facebook.  This harmful treatment can cause jealousy for that rejected member as she can continue to view and be subjected to the postings of photos and comments of the cliques’ activities.  People, of all ages, have had to cope with jealous situations now and then but Facebook subjects users to the feeling of jealousy everyday with the constant stream of information.

     To conclude, Facebook usage has harmful effects on the “Net Generation” users’ emotional well-being.  It is interesting that a SNS site, which was designed to bring people together, can impose feelings of low self-esteem, envy, and jealousy.  Facebook is used by this generation to communicate with friends, classmates, teachers, and organizations.  Since this form of cyberspace communication seems to be here to stay, it is important that users are educated on the negative effects.  To increase awareness, psychologists, parents, and teachers need to be a part of a proactive plan to help the “Net Generation” identify potential problems and solutions.  “It appears that as humanity accelerates and continues to become ever more image obsessed, self-promotion will overtake self-awareness to the extent that profound psychological effects are likely to emerge over time.  If individual authenticity and integration continue to be under-valued in cyberspace, the genuine self may evaporate for good and leave modern man, once again, not feeling happy with his god-like nature” (Brunskill 532). 

Works Cited

Amirtharajan, Rengarajan, M Sai Krishna Karthik, L. Radhika, and J B B Rayappan. "Is Facebook a Global Library." Information Technology Journal 13.12 (2014): 2027-031. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

Ballantine, Paul W., Yongajia Lin, and Ekant Veer. "The Influence of User Comments on Perceptions of Facebook Relationship Status Updates." Computers in Human Behavior 49 (2015): 50-55. ScienceDirect. Web. 28 Mar. 2016

Brunskill, David. "Social Media, Social Avatars and the Psyche: Is Facebook Good for Us?" Social Media and the Internet 21.6 (2013): 527-32. SAGE Journals. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.

Greitemeyer, Tobias. "Facebook and People's State Self-esteem: The Impact of the Number of Other Users' Facebook Friends." Computers in Human Behavior 59 (2016): 182-86. ScienceDirect. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.

Hilsen, Anne Inga, and Helvik Tove. "The Construction of Self in Social Medias, Such as Facebook." AI & Society 29.1 (2014): 3-10. ProQuest. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

Lee, David Seungjae, Jiyoung Park, Holly Shablack, Ariana Orvell, Joseph Bayer, Oscar Ybarra, John Jonides, and Ethan Kross. "Passive Facebook Usage Undermines Affective Well-Being: Experimental and Longitudinal Evidence." Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 144.2 (2015): 480-88. PsycNET. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

Lin, Ruoyun, and Sonja Utz. "The Emotional Responses of Browsing Facebook: Happiness, Envy, and the Role of Tie Strength." Computers in Human Behavior 52 (2015): 29-38. ScienceDirect. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.

Nitzburg, George C., and Barry A. Farber. "Putting Up Emotional (Facebook) Walls? Attachment Status and Emerging Adults' Experiences of Social Networking Sites." Journal of Clinical Psychology 69.11 (2013): 1183-190. Wiley Online Library. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

Shea, Andrea. "Facebook Envy: How The Social Network Affects Our Self-Esteem." 90.9 Wbur. Trustees of Boston University, 20 Feb. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

Tandoc, Edson C., Jr., Patrick Ferrucci, and Margaret Duffy. "Facebook Use, Envy, and Depression Among College Students: Is Facebooking Depressing?" Computers in Human Behavior 43 (2014): 139-46. ScienceDirect. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.