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.

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.

scholarly journals Digital support seeking in adolescent girls: A qualitative study of affordances and limitations

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Mackenzie ◽  
Anne McMaugh ◽  
Penny Van Bergen
Keyword(s):  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Academic Support ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Support Seeking ◽  
Maladaptive Behaviours ◽  
Inductive Thematic Analysis

While digital communication is almost universal amongst adolescents, we do not yet know why adolescent girls seek support electronically or how they perceive this support. The prevalence of adolescent girls’ informal digital support seeking was determined by a self-report questionnaire with 186 early and middle adolescent girls (Mage = 13.64 years), drawn from four socioeconomically advantaged schools in Australia. Digital support seeking from friends was extremely common, with 73.66% seeking emotional support and 85.48% seeking academic support. Next, to determine perceptions of digital support seeking, we conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with a representative subsample of 31 girls (Mage = 13.95 years). Interview data was analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Themes of friendship and emotional self-regulation emerged as perceived benefits. Girls perceived digital support to be poorer in quality than face-to-face support, and were particularly concerned about limitations to privacy and the disclosure of confidential information. Several maladaptive behaviours such as using digital support seeking to conceal or avoid emotion were identified. There was variation in the attitudes of the sample, and four groups of girls with distinct attitudes towards digital emotional support seeking were identified. Implications for supporting adolescents to effectively seek support electronically and face-to-face are discussed.

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.

scholarly journals Augmenting Function with Value: An Exploration of Reasons to Engage and Disengage from Music Listening

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 205920432110225
Author(s):  
Amanda E Krause ◽  
Solange Glasser ◽  
Margaret Osborne
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Uses And Gratifications ◽  
Affective Responses ◽  
Cognitive Factors ◽  
Music Listening ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Functional Perspective ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Inductive Thematic Analysis

Investigations of music in everyday life are dominated by a functional perspective, drawn from work using the theory of Uses and Gratifications. In so doing, we may have neglected to fully appreciate the value people place on music listening. Therefore, the present study considered if, and why, people value music listening and probed instances when they may not want to listen to music in everyday life. A sample of 319 university students residing in Australia (76.50% female, M age = 20.64) completed an online questionnaire, on which they were asked to provide short responses to open-ended questions directly addressing two research questions. Inductive thematic analysis yielded 13 themes synthesizing how participants valued listening to music, such as appreciation, emotion, time and engagement, cognitive factors, and mood regulation. Reasons for not listening to music were summarized by eight themes dominated by interference with activities that required focus or concentration, followed by environmental context, affective responses, music engagement and inversely, a preference for silence or other auditory stimuli. Fifteen percent of participants stated there was never a time they did not want to listen to music. The findings provide a novel perspective on the value of music listening beyond that considered by uses and gratifications with regard to the function of listening to music in everyday life.

An exploratory study into organizational repatriates’ emotional support network

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 645-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lore Van Gorp ◽  
Smaranda Boroş ◽  
Piet Bracke ◽  
Peter A.J. Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Support ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Support Providers ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Informative Characteristic ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how repatriates’ emotional support network affects their experience of re-entry. Design/methodology/approach This inductive, qualitative study is based on 27 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with Belgian organizational repatriates. Findings The analyses suggest that expatriation empathy is a key attribute of organizational repatriates’ main emotional support providers. In addition, the results show that although partners are a main source of emotional support on re-entry, they are also important potential causes of distress. Lastly, the results suggest that the cultural diversity of a repatriate’s emotional support network is linked with characteristics of the assignment and that it affects the experience of repatriation. Research limitations/implications The results provide empirical evidence that the expatriation empathy of repatriates’ support providers is a more informative characteristic to consider compared with whether they have personal experience of expatriation. In addition, the results suggest that research should also take into account the negative side of social support, and, for example, consider the influence of crossover distress of partners who experience relocation difficulties themselves. Practical implications This study points to the possible benefits of organizing social activities or training for repatriates and their partner and any children, as well as the advantages of encouraging expatriates to invite home-country friends to visit. Originality/value Although most scholars agree on the importance of support for expatriates’ well-being, the sources of relevant emotional support have received little research attention so far, as has how this influences the repatriation experience.

scholarly journals Is a tailored work-related support intervention feasible in everyday clinical practice? The experience of healthcare professionals and patients with cancer

Work ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 871-884
Author(s):  
AnneClaire G.N.M. Zaman ◽  
Kristien M.A.J. Tytgat ◽  
Jean H.G. Klinkenbijl ◽  
Monique H.W. Frings-Dresen ◽  
Angela G.E.M. de Boer
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Oncology Nurses ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Everyday Clinical Practice ◽  
Support Providers ◽  
Support Intervention ◽  
Occupational Physicians ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Positive Experiences

BACKGROUND: Work is valued as an important feature in life, however patients diagnosed with cancer can experience work-related problems. We developed a work-related support intervention to support those in need. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of the performed tailored GIRONA (Gastro Intestinal cancer patients Receiving Occupational support Near and After diagnosis) intervention and to describe the experiences of those receiving the work-related support and of those providing it. METHODS: An online questionnaire was used to survey the feasibility of the intervention of the support recipients (patients diagnosed with gastrointestinal cancer) and the support providers (healthcare professionals including: oncology nurses and oncological occupational physicians). Five themes were covered: acceptability, demand, implementation, practicality and integration of Bowen’s feasibility model. RESULTS: Twenty-three patients, 14 oncology nurses and 4 oncological occupational physicians, shared their experiences about the tailored work-related support intervention. This intervention was generally perceived as positive and feasible by the participants. Some patients received work-related support despite not experiencing severe problems; others mentioned that they received no such support even though they did need it. Despite positive experiences, there are some barriers to tackle, such as length of consultation, timing of the initiation of work-related support and embedding the oncological occupational physician within the clinical setting. CONCLUSION: According to the healthcare professionals involved, GIRONA is feasible, however some practical barriers were mentioned. The intervention was perceived as positive by both patients and healthcare professionals, but the tailored component could be further improved to better support those in need of work-related support.

Women Support Providers Are More Susceptible Than Men to Emotional Contagion Following Brief Supportive Interactions

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 611-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eran Magen ◽  
Paul A. Konasewich
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Emotional State ◽  
Emotional Contagion ◽  
Additional Research ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Support Providers ◽  
Naturalistic Setting

People in distress often turn to friends for emotional support. Ironically, although receiving emotional support contributes to emotional and physical health, providing emotional support may be distressing as a result of emotional contagion. Women have been found to be more susceptible than men to emotional contagion in certain contexts, but no studies examined the context of providing support to a troubled friend in a naturalistic setting. Our exploratory study aimed to test for gender differences in emotional contagion as a result of offering emotional support to a troubled friend. We studied naturalistic informal supportive interactions among 48 pairs of friends. Following an 8-min interaction with a troubled friend, (a) women were more likely than men to experience a deterioration in their positive emotional state and (b) changes in women’s emotional state were positively correlated with changes in their troubled friends’ emotional state, whereas changes in male support providers’ emotional state were unrelated to changes in their troubled friends’ emotional state. These results suggest that women are more susceptible than men to emotional contagion following brief interactions with a troubled friend, thereby highlighting the importance of conducting additional research into the costs and benefits of exchanging emotional support among friends.

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