THE UNIVERSITY FACEBOOK

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1 THE UNIVERSITY FACEBOOK EXPERIENCE: THE ROLE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING ON THE QUALITY OF INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS ~ Jessica Moorman and Anne Bowker Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Abstract This study examined online social networking usage and its impact on relationship quality and psychological adjustment. 541 Canadian undergraduate students completed questionnaires focused on Facebook usage trends and the time spent in online interactions. Students were initially categorized according to their time spend on Facebook and a subset (N=284) completed questionnaires designed to assess offline (face to face) relationship quality, online interaction quality and content as well as levels of self-esteem and depression. Results indicated that Facebook Usage was not significantly related to psychological adjustment. However, results also suggested a significant positive relationship between friendship quality and self-esteem under conditions of low Facebook Usage. Furthermore, results indicate that it may not be the number of hours spent daily on Facebook, but the extent to which relationships are mediated online that predicts psychological adjustment. Relationship maintenance and coping with relationship conflict online significantly and negatively predicted levels of self-esteem. Key Words: online community, psychological adjustment, online interaction, relationship quality Introduction 1

2 Generations today are experiencing a new wave of interpersonal communication. Currently, with the rise of online communities, communication has shifted away from traditional modes of interpersonal communication that have long been based on face-toface models of interaction, to a more digital approach to maintaining and establishing relationships. Modern communication and interpersonal connectedness is now both fostered and mediated by the communicative tool itself: the computer (Hoffman, 2008). This structured technology is now mediating how communication occurs between people and has demonstrated that human interaction online is significantly different from physical interaction in a collection of ways (Budiman, 2008). The Internet creates a simulation of real-time human interaction where one can see strategized constructs of people, places and events, and ultimately, uniquely forge and maintain interpersonal relationships (Budiman, 2008). In this regard, the context in which these two worlds coexist to frame the context of communication and, more importantly, the idea of whether users benefit from the structural and communicative differences (Manasian, 2003). Scholars have long debated whether the virtual world promotes a positive or negative approach to social interaction and relational maintenance (Budiman, 2008; Totterdell, Holman, & Hukin, 2008). It is difficult to argue that the Internet has not significantly impacted the contexts of social life and relational success (Budiman, 2008; Sheldon, 2008), however, scholars diverge on the kind of impact the Internet will have on the quality of personal relations as a function of online use and communities in the future (Sheldon, 2008). 2

3 The extent to which online social networking sites impede or enhance the social well-being of individuals in various aspects of their interpersonal lives has only begun to be studied. The use of Facebook and similar social networking websites is a relatively recent phenomenon (Hoffman, 2008), so the growth of Facebook s influence on how users experience and mediate between offline and online contexts has not been explored yet in great detail in the literature and certainly not to the extent to which frequent usage of Facebook affects an individual s well-being. Much of the early research on online communities assumed that individuals using these systems would be connecting with others outside their pre-existing social group, permitting them to form communities around shared interests, as opposed to shared physical geography (Wellman et al., 1996). A hallmark of this early research is the presumption that when online and offline social networks overlapped, the eventual result would be a face-to face meeting (Wellman et al, 1996). Lampe, Ellison and Steinfield (2007) suggest however, that Facebook is mostly used to maintain or reinforce existing offline relationships, as opposed to establishing new ones online. Characteristically, there is usually some common offline activity among individuals who friend one another, such as a shared course or extracurricular activity (Lampe et al., 2007). Boyd (2008) asserts that Facebook enables users to socialize with friends even when unable to do so in offline situations; thereby inferring that users may resort to online interaction over face-to-face connections to socialize among peers. Online social networking site researchers have discovered a trending towards the use of 3

4 Facebook for a) social searching, finding out information about offline contacts and b) social browsing, the use of online networking sites to foster new connections, sometimes with the aim of connecting offline afterwards (Joinson, 2008). A survey of over 2,000 University students found suggestive evidence that the primary use for Facebook was for social searching (Joinson, 2008); that is, to find out more information about and make connections with people who they have met briefly offline, in class, or through current friends (Joinson, 2008). But what does this say about the quality of a friend in the basic online context and how does this impact fostering positive offline relationships if people are turning to online networks for social connectedness? Furthermore, the role of social networking and its effects on young adults has largely been ignored (Fisher, Sollie, & Morrow, 1986) in terms of the psychological implications and the impact on quality of relationships. Epstein (1983) suggests that many researchers have concluded that social ties and interpersonal connections are needed to foster and develop positive social skills and that reciprocal relations promote positive mental health and psychological adjustment. In many ways social interaction on the Internet resembles that of traditional, face-to-face modes of interaction and enables further accessibility to close relations (Bargh, McKenna, & Fitzsimons, 2002); prompting overall connectedness and well-being (Bargh et al., 2002). However, the qualities of Internet communication and interaction, such as its greater anonymity, that is known to produce greater intimacy and closeness online, are not necessarily demonstrating equally consistent offline results among users (Bargh et al., 2002). The 4

5 extent to which quality relationships are maintained or hindered as a result of online social networking use is a factor which may have profound implications on the general well-being of its users, and something that this study hopes to evaluate more qualitatively. The present study was a two-phase analytic study with three main objectives: 1. To determine the nature of Facebook Usage in a Canadian university sample. That is, how much time does the average student spend on Facebook, how many friends do they typically have and what types of interactions do they engage in?; 2. To examine the relationship between time spent on Facebook and the quality of off-line relationships; and 3. To examine the role of relationship quality as a mediating factor in the relationship between Facebook Usage and psychological well-being. Furthermore, gender differences in relation to Facebook Usage and its implications was also examined. Method Participants Phase 1 participants were 1289 university students recruited from the Carleton University Psychology participant pool for the initial part of the study. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 56 years (M=20.4, SD=1.67). Participants were placed into one of three Facebook Usage groups, based on the number of hours spent on Facebook each day: a high usage group (N=83), an average, or medium, usage group (N=349) and a low usage group (N=803) based on their self- 5

6 reported scores. After removing 54 participants due to missing data regarding their Facebook usage, a random subset of Phase 1 participants were then invited via to participate in Phase 2 of the current study which aimed to gather specific descriptive data on Facebook, relationship quality and well-being measures. Phase 2 consisted of 284 students (50 males, 234 females) who were each categorized into four age categories with (1) 17-20, (2) 21-24, (3) 25-30, and (4) 31 and older into the existing Facebook Usage groups: high usage group (N=38), a medium usage group (N=74) and a low usage group (N=172). Materials Phase 1. Online questionnaires were used to evaluate participants self-reported Facebook usage in Phase 1 (including usage number of Facebook friends, time spent per day on Facebook and reasons and purposes for engaging in Facebook use). Participants were asked to indicate how much time they spent on Facebook on a daily basis using categorical criteria ranging from 10 minutes or less to 4-5 hours per day. They were also asked to indicate how many Facebook Friends they had on their profile using similar grouped categories (i.e. between friends, friends, etc.). Phase 2. Six online items were used to investigate attitudes towards Facebook usage, engagement in Facebook activities, relationship and friendship quality and psychological adjustment (as defined by self-esteem and depression). All Phase 2 participants completed an online package of surveys that addressed topics in the order described below. 6

7 Facebook purposes and interactions Facebook usage. The Facebook Usage Questionnaire was created for the current study in order to evaluate what online activities users are participating in most frequently in the specific context of Facebook. We compiled a list of items to reflect aspects of Facebook that have the potential to contribute to time spent on Facebook. Phase 2 participants were asked to indicate their level of participation in 31 listed Facebook activities using a 5 point Likert scale (Moorman, 2010). Each item was ranked using a scale of 1= extremely Unlikely to 5= extremely likely. Higher scores were indicative of greater Facebook usage and purposes. Managing facebook relations. The Managing Facebook Relations Questionnaire was created for the current student in order to assess the ways in which users mediate their interpersonal relationships through Facebook Usage (Moorman, 2010). To assess whether participants prefer to manage their interpersonal relationships through Facebook or offline, participants were asked to rate the degree to which they agree/disagree with the 16 presented personal Facebook interactions and situations. Each item was ranked using a 6 point likert scale where 1= Strongly Disagree and 6= Strongly Agree. Higher scores indicated Facebook as the preferred means to mediate interpersonal relationships (Moorman, 2010). Questionnaire items were aggregated into two factors (Relationship Maintenance and Coping with conflict). Relationship quality. 7

8 Close friendships. Participants completed the Friendship Activity Questionnaire to determine quality of close friendships (Bukowski, Hoza, & Boivin, 1994). Romantic relationships. Participants who were in a dating relationship for which they have regular contact (i.e. daily or weekly contact) were asked to rate their current romantic relationship on six subscales (Fletcher, Simpsom, & Thomas, 2000). Psychological well-being. To assess participant overall psychological well-being, participants were asked to complete the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES; Rosenberg, 1965). Procedure Participants were recruited through the university s psychology participation pool. Phase 1 participants were asked to complete the 2009 Mass Testing package, which collected basic demographic information and initial Facebook usage patterns. A subset of Phase 1 participants who completed the initial Mass Testing were then selected for Phase 2 of the study based on their Facebook usage group scores from the Mass Testing package. After indicating an interest in the study, Phase 2 participants were individually contacted by and given the web link to the online survey package as well as the necessary login credentials. Although the link to the survey was hosted on the university s Web server, questionnaires were posted on the web via Survey Monkey, an online survey software company. The total battery took approximately 60 minutes to complete. Participants were recruited over a 3-week timeframe in January 2009 and data was collected over the course of a two-month 8

9 period during the winter of 2009/2010. Results Phase 1 For preliminary analyses, participant responses were grouped according to specific categories for each variable in order to easily compare each variable and factor as a function of age and gender. For Age, participants were grouped into one of four age groups: (1) 17-20, (2) 21-24, (3) and (4) 31 and older. Participant responses regarding the number of Facebook friends were grouped into one of three Facebook friend groups: (1) friends, (2) friends, and (3) Greater than 500. In terms of time spent on Facebook, participants were grouped into one of three usage groups: (1) an hour or less, (2) between 1-4 hours and (3) More than 4 hours. Chi square analyses and ANOVA were both performed to examine possible variability in Facebook Usage (defined in hours) as a function of age and gender. In general, females reported a greater number of Facebook friends than did males x² (6, N=1289) =.001 p <.001, with males being over-represented in the lowest friend category (between 0-199) while females were over-represented in the highest Facebook friends category (greater than 500). Results also indicated a significant relationship between gender and the number of Facebook Usage hours x² (6, N=1289) =.001 p <.001, with females reporting greater usage as compared to males in the highest usage group. Not surprisingly, when analyzing participant age as a function of Facebook Usage hours, results indicated a significant relationship between age and the number of 9

10 Facebook Usage hours x² (12, N=1289) =.000 p <.001, with younger participants spending more time on Facebook than older participants. Facebook Usage Behaviour A principal components Factor Analysis with varimax rotation was conducted on the questionnaire items from the Facebook Usage Questionnaire to determine general behaviors on Facebook. This questionnaire yielded four factors: Social Engagement (e.g. I use Facebook to keep in touch with my old friends ; percentage of total variance accounted for=41%; Cronbach s alpha=.95), Daily Routine (e.g. It is one of the routine things I do when online ; percentage of total variance accounted for=12%; Cronbach s alpha=.92), New Relationships (e.g. I use Facebook to meet new people ; percentage of total variance accounted for=5.72%; Cronbach s alpha=.95) and Stimulation Aspect (e.g. To see which of the people I know who joined Facebook ; percentage of total variance accounted for=4.11%; Cronbach s alpha=.94). To evaluate gender differences in Facebook Usage behaviors a one-way ANOVA was conducted on the four Facebook behaviour factors. Results indicate that for all four factors, females reported significantly higher mean scores than males Social Engagement of Facebook use, F(27,1288)=3.14, p=.000 (M=4.23 vs. 3.70, SD=.08), Daily Routine of Facebook use F(29,1288)=2.66, p=.000 (M= 3.41 vs. 2.99, SD=.09), Stimulation F(18,1288)=3.01, p=.000 (M=3.70 vs. 3.25, SD=.09), and New Relationships F(26,1288)=2.11, p=.001 (M= 2.41 vs. 2.90, SD=.09). Results indicated that overall younger participants use Facebook in different ways than older participants. Post-hoc 10

11 (LSD) results revealed a significant overall effect of age F(12, 1259 ) = 5.02, p=.000, Wilks s Lambda significance =.953, ηp 2 =.016, showing that younger participants differed than older participants in terms of their Facebook Usage behavior. Overall, younger participants (aged 17-20) rated Social Engagement and Daily Component aspect of Facebook significantly lower than older adults (aged 31 and older). Younger participants rated the Stimulation Aspect of Facebook significantly lower than participants aged 21-24, however both younger participants and participants aged rated the New Relationships aspect of Facebook significantly higher than older participants (aged and 31 and older). Phase 2 The purpose of Phase 2 was to examine the potential relationship between Facebook Usage and psychological adjustment as measured by both depression and self-esteem scores. Of particular interest was the potential mediating role of offline relationship quality. Relationships between psychological adjustment and managing relationships on Facebook were also explored. Correlational analysis. Analyses revealed a number of significant relationships between interpersonal relationship quality and psychological adjustment. Both romantic relationship quality and friendship quality were positively correlated with general self-esteem. Participants with a higher quality of interpersonal relationships, both friendship-based and romantic, felt more positively about themselves. Furthermore, both relationship quality and friendship quality were negatively 11

12 correlated with depression. Participants with a better overall quality of interpersonal relationships reported lower levels of depression. However, Facebook Usage (as measured by hours spent on Facebook per day) was not significantly related to psychological adjustment. Regression analyses. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between Facebook Usage and psychological adjustment and the role that interpersonal relationships play in this relationship. For the purposes of the regression analysis, Facebook Usage was re-coded into high and low groups (low usage= less than one hour of usage, high usage= one hour or more usage). Of particular interest was whether interpersonal relationships (both romantic based and friendship) mediated the relationship between Facebook Usage, operationalized as hours spent on Facebook, and psychological adjustment. It was expected that those individuals who reported greater Facebook Usage would tend to have lower offline relationship quality and thus lower levels of psychological adjustment. However, contrary to the hypothesis, and consistent with correlational analysis, there was no significant relationship between Facebook hours and psychological adjustment. Given the fact that Facebook Usage was unrelated to psychological adjustment, mediation analyses were no longer possible. As such, regression analyses were then used to determine potential significant interactions between Facebook hours and relationship and friendship quality. Predicting self-esteem. 12

13 Self-esteem and romantic relationship. Consistent with correlational analysis, the number of hours spent on Facebook (entered on Step 1) was not significantly related to self-esteem. On Step 2, the quality of romantic relationships was significantly, and positively, related to self-esteem (β=.09). Finally, on Step 3, the interaction between romantic relationship quality and Facebook Usage was non-significant. Self-esteem and friendship quality. Looking at friendship quality, results indicated a significant positive relationship between friendship quality and self-esteem on Step 2 (β=.45), and the relationship between friendship quality x Facebook Usage was also significant (β= -1.61) on Step 3. Simple slope analysis indicated that the relationship between friendship quality and self-esteem was positive under conditions of low Facebook Usage. Predicting depression. Depression and romantic relationships. Results indicated that there was a significant main effect on Step 2 for romantic relationship quality (β = -.21). This indicated that those who reported higher romantic relationship quality reported lower levels of depression. The interaction between romantic relationship quality and Facebook Usage, entered on Step 3, was non-significant. Depression and friendship quality. There was no significant relationship between friendship quality and depression, and no significant interaction between friendship quality and Facebook Usage. Exploratory analysis. To investigate participant management of interpersonal 13

14 relationships offline, a principal components Factor Analysis with varimax rotation was conducted on participant Facebook usage behaviors and revealed two factors: (a) Relationship Maintenance (e.g. I would rather message someone on Facebook than phone them or text them; percentage of total variance accounted for=28%; Cronbach s alpha=.81) and (b) Coping with Conflict (e.g. I have blocked a friend when we have been in a fight with each other ; percentage of total variance accounted for=17.77%; Cronbach s alpha=.75). Results showed no significant gender or age differences. Due to the lack of main effects of Facebook Usage, subsequent regression analyses were conducted using relationship management on Facebook (as measured by Relationship maintenance on Facebook and Coping with relationship conflict on Facebook) as predictors of psychological well-being. Predicting self-esteem. On Step 1, both variables (Relationship maintenance and Coping with Conflict) significantly and negatively predicted levels of self-esteem (β= -.08 and -.05, respectively). That is, greater management on-line in terms both of relationship maintenance and coping with conflict were negatively associated with selfesteem. Predicting depression. With respect to maintaining relationships and coping with conflict, both variables significantly predicted levels of depression (β=.12 and.12, respectively). Discussion 14

15 The current study was interested in how university students use Facebook and how this online community can impact interpersonal relationships. With regard to gender differences. Females had a greater number of friends and reported more activity in the highest Facebook Usage group than did males. Furthermore, as indicated in the previous section, the reasons for engaging in Facebook activity also differed by gender, with females doing more things on Facebook than males; acts such as using Facebook to engage in potential new relationships and including it as part of their daily routine. Research has demonstrated consistently that friendships of females are generally characterized by greater intimacy than those of males and are often in greater numbers than those of males (Beneson & Christakos, 2003). Scholars also argue that females are socialized to be more oriented towards relationships than boys, which may not only lead to higher levels of perceived intimacy but also in being more consciously involved in establishing large social groups (Gilligan, 1982; Way & Greene, 2006). Gender differences in the current study therefore demonstrate the greater propensity for females to have a greater number of friends and to use Facebook as a means for interacting with friends and romantic partners because it allows for one-to-one access while maintaining a publicly visible large social network. Clark and Ayers (1993) have also found that during later adolescence to young adulthood, females come to expect greater intimacy and self-disclosure from their close friends than males. Therefore, females, in terms of their greater number of Facebook friends, could potentially be interacting on Facebook as a means to initiate intimacy without having to face the 15

16 potential rejection which occurs in face-to-face interactions, which explains the difference in Facebook friends as compared to males. It was hypothesized that participants who reported greater Facebook Usage would demonstrate lower psychological adjustment. This was not the case. Results revealed that there was no main effect of Facebook Usage on psychological adjustment. This indicates that time spent on Facebook does not impact the level of self-esteem or depression of users. Although we had hypothesized that total time on Facebook would be related to indices of psychological well-being, one reason perhaps why we did not find a significant relationship was that participants had a difficult time estimating the time they spent on Facebook. This may be particularly so because frequent internet users tend to have multiple applications open at one time, perhaps even all day, and may underestimate the seamless shift among them (Budiman, 2008). Furthermore, because of the difficulty in creating a well-structured and definitive measure of Facebook Usage, hours spent on Facebook appeared to inaccurately quantify Facebook Usage. This affected the ability to examine whether there were differences in Facebook Usage, as hours did not capture usage purposes, on psychological adjustment. Consequently, further exploratory analyses examined the differences in the ways in which people made use of Facebook in managing their relationships to provide further insight into this interest area. Consistent with previous research, the quality of a relationship did positively predict psychological adjustment. This relationship was strongest for participants who 16

17 were in the low Facebook Usage category (less than one hour a day). This may suggest that those who spent less time on Facebook, perceive offline relationships as more important than the online interactions they have. These low Facebook users choose to manage and maintain close interpersonal relationships differently offline, than those who engage in greater Facebook Usage which in turn appears to predict higher levels of self-esteem. This particular finding coincides with past research which suggests that the establishment of intimacy and quality within personal relationships develops through the participation in shared activities and discussion of shared interests and personal issues (Lee & Boyer, 2007). Friendships which originate on the internet are generally perceived as less close and of lower quality than offline grounded relationships because they are so new and the interactive physical cues are lacking (Kim, LaRose, & Peng, 2009; Lee & Boyer, 2007); which in turn may predict a weaker relationships between interpersonal relationship quality and self-esteem (Lee & Boyer, 2007; Mesch & Talmud, 2006). Perhaps individuals who are infrequent Facebook users then, show a stronger link between self-esteem and their interpersonal connections because most of their interpersonal relationships are in fact, off-line. Results revealed that there was no significant relationship between friendship quality and depression however, there was a significant main effect of relationship quality and depression. Participants with greater quality of romantic relationship offline reported lower levels of depression. This is consistent with previous research 17

18 (Christofides, Muise, & Desmarais, 2009), which indicates that Facebook may actually increase the likelihood of jealousy and thus increase the level of relational conflict as a result of online romantic interactions which may not exist otherwise in offline relationships as our results showed. Therefore, results from the current study suggest that users who have higher quality off line romantic relationship, show lower levels of depression and arguably, lowered levels of stress and relational conflict. Finally, exploratory analyses revealed significant differences in terms of the functionality of Facebook on both psychological adjustment and managing interpersonal relations. Of particular interest was the idea of managing relations through Facebook and the potential effects this may have on psychological adjustment. Results revealed a significant and negative relationship for both relationship maintenance and coping with conflict and the prediction of self-esteem. That is, the greater the amount of relational management on-line in terms of both keeping in touch with friends and loved ones and dealing with conflict within said relationships, the lower the level of individual self-esteem. While managing relationships on-line did not predict relationship quality, managing relationships using Facebook as a vehicle does predict depression and is furthermore consistent with research suggesting that prolonged internet use has been shown to predict greater levels of depression and loneliness (Morgan & Cotton, 2003). Results also revealed a significant interaction between coping with conflict, relationship maintenance and relationship (romantic) quality and its effectiveness on predicting 18

19 depression. This indicates that the more individuals are using Facebook to replace faceto-face interactions and to manage their personal relationships, the more likely they are to have reduced relationship quality and consequently higher levels of depression. Interestingly, there were no significant gender or age differences between participants in terms of managing relationships on Facebook. As past research demonstrates there are visible trends in terms of Facebook use and preferences for what people are doing online, however, there is little to suggest that there are differences in Facebook Usage in terms of relationship maintenance and coping with conflict; although perhaps these variables need to be quantified differently for future research. The findings from the present study demonstrate that Facebook does affect friendship quality, but more importantly, that time spent in relationship maintenance on Facebook may in fact be affecting psychological adjustment. These findings are relevant to the larger understanding of emerging Facebook research and point to the practical implications associated with internet usage, purposes for engaging in extensive internet uses, and evaluation of this new social networking media on interpersonal relationship quality. Results from this study may provide further insight into new approaches for improving offline social networking, communication and coping with relationships for emerging adults. It is essential to future research that specific purposes for engaging in, and activities on, Facebook be targeted and properly assessed to be able to determine which individual users are most subject to potential decreases in psychological well-being as a result of online communication and 19

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