| Description |
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has greatly expanded in popularity and use and has dramatically increased the number of ways people can interact. Studies of problematic Internet use have shown deleterious psychological and physiological effects, including depression, sleep deprivation, lack of exercise, and neglect of important components of daily liviing (Kelley & Gruber, 2012). Despite this, few research articles exist examining whether use of social media sites (i.e., Facebook) produces similar outcomes. This study evaluated Facebook users and non-users (n=147) self-conscious emotion through self-report and cardiovascular measures, as well as anxiety during a laboratory stress experiment in which they were told they would be rated on likeability, agency, or a combination. It was expected that moderate Facebook users would show an increase in anxiety and self-conscious emotion (SCE), expecially when their likability was threatened, due to a decreased ability to interpret nonverbal cues and the likelihood that they were introverted, neurotic, or had low emotional intelligence. Anxiety and SCE measures were collected using self-report measures. SCE was also operationally defined by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and heart rate variability measures. IT was predicated that Facebook users would show a decrease in RSA during the tasks, indicating an impaired ability to cope with social comparison. The results showed a relationship between Facebook use and decreased RSA during agency and communion threats. Facebook users also self-reported significantly more self-conscious emotion. There was no relationship found between Facebook use and cardiovascular effects of stress or reported anxiety. These findings are discussed in relation to previous work and suggestions for future research are offered. |
