Receiving supportive communication from Facebook friends: A model of social ties and supportive communication in social network sites

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 719-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew C. High ◽  
Emily M. Buehler
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Social Network Sites ◽  
Weak Ties ◽  
Supportive Communication ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Facebook Use ◽  
Supportive Messages

This study distinguishes perceptions of, preferences for, and outcomes related to people’s social ties online. It expands understanding of when and why using social network sites (SNSs) provides people with several types of supportive communication by integrating users’ social capital and preference for weak tie support. Prior research is synthesized and extended to build a heuristic model of social ties and supportive communication in SNSs that considers network-based variables (i.e., social capital, preference for weak ties) as mechanisms that link the use of SNSs to the supportive messages people receive. A community sample ( N = 553) completed an online questionnaire. Results indicated that intensity of Facebook use corresponds with both social capital and received support. Moreover, social capital mediates and preference for weak ties moderates the relationship between using Facebook and receiving support, and results differ according to the types of social capital and support under consideration. Facebook use, for example, only corresponds with receiving informational and esteem support when users exhibit sufficient preferences for weak tie support.

Broadcasting for help: A typology of support-seeking strategies on Facebook

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 2566-2588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily M Buehler ◽  
Jenny L Crowley ◽  
Ashley M Peterson ◽  
Andrew C High
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Information Processing ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Supportive Communication ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Support Providers ◽  
Processing Theory ◽  
Support Seeking ◽  
Verbal Strategies

Social network sites are desirable media through which to seek supportive communication, and users can signal a need for assistance to large, diverse pools of potential support providers with a single message. According to social information processing theory, support seekers adapt to the lack of nonverbal cues online by leveraging the verbal elements of messages. This study classifies the variety of verbal strategies that Facebook users employ to seek support to better understand how people publicly initiate supportive exchanges online. A community sample of participants ( N = 291) completed an online questionnaire in which they provided their most recent Facebook post that was intended to garner supportive communication. A thematic analysis revealed seven themes that describe the verbal strategies of support-seeking that social network site users enacted to request support. Implications for initiating supportive exchanges and revealing personal information online are discussed.

Facebooking Alone? Millennials’ Use of Social Network Sites and Volunteering

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 203-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young-joo Lee
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Online Social Network ◽  
Social Network Sites ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Prosocial Behaviors ◽  
Network Site ◽  
Facebook Use ◽  
Mixed Messages

The younger generation’s widespread use of online social network sites has raised concerns and debates about social network sites’ influence on this generation’s civic engagement, whether these sites undermine or promote prosocial behaviors. This study empirically examines how millennials’ social network site usage relates to volunteering, using the 2013 data of the Minnesota Adolescent Community Cohort Study. The findings reveal a positive association between a moderate level of Facebook use and volunteering, although heavy users are not more likely to volunteer than nonusers. This bell-shaped relationship between Facebook use and volunteering contrasts with the direct correlation between participation in off-line associational activities and volunteering. Overall, the findings suggest that it is natural to get mixed messages about social network sites’ impacts on civic engagement, and these platforms can be useful tools for getting the word out and recruiting episodic volunteers.

Self-Affirmation Underlies Facebook Use

2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catalina L. Toma ◽  
Jeffrey T. Hancock
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Social Network Sites ◽  
Facebook Use ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Important Extension

Social network sites, such as Facebook, have acquired an unprecedented following, yet it is unknown what makes them so attractive to users. Here we propose that these sites’ popularity can be understood through the fulfillment of ego needs. We use self-affirmation theory to hypothesize why and when people spend time on their online profiles. Study 1 shows that Facebook profiles are self-affirming in the sense of satisfying users’ need for self-worth and self-integrity. Study 2 shows that Facebook users gravitate toward their online profiles after receiving a blow to the ego, in an unconscious effort to repair their perceptions of self-worth. In addition to illuminating some of the psychological factors that underlie Facebook use, the results provide an important extension to self-affirmation theory by clarifying how self-affirmation operates in people’s everyday environments.

scholarly journals Social Network Sites, Individual Social Capital and Happiness

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efstratia Arampatzi ◽  
Martijn J. Burger ◽  
Natallia A. Novik
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Sites ◽  
Individual Social Capital

scholarly journals “You Shouldn’t Use Facebook for That”: Navigating Norm Violations While Seeking Emotional Support on Facebook

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630511773322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily M. Buehler
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Support ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Supportive Communication ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Social Contacts ◽  
Support Providers ◽  
Appropriate Behavior ◽  
Norm Violations ◽  
Support Seeking ◽  
Inductive Thematic Analysis

Facebook users who choose to seek emotional support publicly via Facebook Timeline posts must balance their needs for emotional comfort with norms for appropriate behavior within the Facebook context. Although Facebook promotes access to diverse social contacts who could serve as emotional support providers, the norms of Facebook use often prevent users from explicitly and directly venting their affect and requesting emotional support. A community sample ( N = 185) completed an online questionnaire through which participants provided their most recent public Facebook post that was intended to garner social support. Inductive thematic analysis was employed to identify the strategies individuals enact to navigate the tension between effectively seeking emotional support while avoiding violating implicit Facebook norms associated with oversharing or appearing emotionally needy. Six themes characterizing emotional support-seeking strategies on Facebook emerged from the data. These themes are further subdivided, described, and discussed as they pertain to extant literature on supportive communication and Facebook norms.

Interest-oriented versus relationship-oriented social network sites in China

First Monday ◽  
2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weiyu Zhang ◽  
Rong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Structural Analysis ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Social Network Sites ◽  
Design Features ◽  
The Social ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Common Interests

This paper examines interest-oriented vs. relationship-oriented social network sites in China and their different implications for collective action. By utilizing a structural analysis of the design features and a survey of members of the social networks, this paper shows that the way a social network site is designed strongly suggests the formation and maintenance of different types of social ties. The social networks formed among strangers who share common interests imply different types of collective action, compared to the social networks that aim at the replication and strengthening of off-line relationships.

scholarly journals Social Network Sites, Individual Social Capital and Happiness

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Efstratia Arampatzi ◽  
Martijn J. Burger ◽  
Natallia Novik
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Sites ◽  
Individual Social Capital
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