8. Social Media and Identity Flashcards

1
Q

Why is social media so hard to study

A
  • constantly changing
  • bidirectional
  • Longitudinal studies don’t work well for individual platforms (BeReal might disappear before study is done, etc.)
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2
Q

how can we improve studying social media?

A

focus on nature of different platforms, and AFFORDANCES

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3
Q

AFFORDANCES OF SOCIAL MEDIA ?? what does this mean

A

Affordance = what does it allow you to do / gets you?
- Can be unintended = standing on chair to change a lightbulb

💡 Different platforms have different affordances

A really long table doesn’t offer the same affordance for social connection as would a small round table

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4
Q

Affordances of Social Media (7)

A
  1. Asynchronicity → engage when it suits you
    - Different from face-to-face or social relationships prior to social media
    - Option to reply to DM vs. when someone calls you on the phone
  2. Identifiability → decide how anonymous
    - May be fully anon or not
    - Different abilities to engage in different sorts of social relationships
  3. Cues Management → can control how you present yourself
    - Craft emotion of text or image when posting
  4. Permanence → information can be stored and found later
    - Can be retrieved easily
  5. Publicness → information can be shared easily with larger groups
    - Can be intentional or unintentional
  6. Availability → easy to locate information and people
    - Previously, meeting someone at summer camp means you will never see them again
  7. Quantifiability → numerical social metrics
    - Liking, commenting, etc.
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5
Q

in adolescence: two main conflicts are (tasks of adolescence)

A
  1. Identity: secure feeling of who you are
  2. Intimacy: the abilities to form and maintain close relationships with others
    • Friendship formation
    • Quality of existing friendships
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6
Q

how are these tasks improved with social media

A

“Traditionally,” adolescents would learn and practice these tasks face-to-face (these are not new tasks!)…
- But recent evidence suggests this is increasingly happening online

Maybe due to affordances of social media?
- Anonymity, asychronicity, etc.
- Make for really good context for identity and intimacy conflicts

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7
Q

identity definition

A

A sense of who you are, what you will become, and how you fit into the world…

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8
Q

what happens when your identity is resolved? when it ISNT resolved?

A

Identity stability/cohesion

Identity confusion (This impacts your later life and relationships)

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9
Q
  1. components of identity
A
  1. exploration
    - trying out different identities
    Exploration → crucial for healthy identity
  2. commitment
    - committing to identity
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10
Q

Achievement?

A

explored and committed

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11
Q

Foreclosure

A

decided who you are with no exploration (high commitment, low exploration)

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12
Q

Moratorium

A

high exploration but undecided (low commitment)

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13
Q

Diffusion

A

no exploration or commitment

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14
Q

online contexts that offer the opportunity to construct and display an identity (6)

A
  1. Usernames
    • Can detect gender, sexual identity/interest in sexuality from username
  2. Codes
    • ASL code
    • Reddit groups
  3. Avatars
    • Shaped to parts of identity
  4. Self-descriptions
    • **About me**** section where you, quite literally, write in your identity
  5. Sexuality
  6. Photos/videos
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15
Q

Online identity experiments

A

tendency to pretend to be someone else when online

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16
Q

pros of being Online?

A

Offers the opportunity to explore identity,

Cue management and asynchronicity → choose what and how to present your identity in a way that is different from face-to-face

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17
Q

Self-Concept Clarity ?

A

Degree to which our beliefs about our identity are clearly defined and stable
“my beliefs about myself often conflict, change frequently, spend a lot of time wondering about what kind of person I really am, etc.”

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18
Q

benefits of clarity (5)

A
  • Well-being
  • Adaptation to stress
  • Better body image
  • Self-esteem

Clarity = good for psychological development

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19
Q

things that can impact self-concept clarity:

A
  1. ANONYMITY
    - Online identity experiments: pretending to be someone else online
  2. PUBLICNESS
    - Feedback from others, comparisons to others
  3. ## AVAILABILITY & ACCESSIBILITY
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19
Q

things that can impact self-concept clarity:

A
  1. ANONYMITY
    - Online identity experiments: pretending to be someone else online
  2. PUBLICNESS
    - Feedback from others, comparisons to others
  3. AVAILABILITY & ACCESSIBILITY
    -Interact with a wider range of individuals
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20
Q

gender differences in anonymity?

A
  • Very common → 50% report doing this
  • Similar across gender
    • Girls = older, more beautiful
    • Boys = real life acquaintance
  • More common in early adolescence
21
Q

Fragmentation Hypothesis

A

Experimentation with identity online and exposure to different ideas leads to confusion

22
Q

Unity Hypothesis

A

Different views online may serve as a model and sounding board, can help to corroborate identity

23
Q

how does facebook use affect self-clarity?

A

negative correlation -> Increased Facebook use = less clarity (less stable)

TRUE FOR PASSIVE TASKS ONLY

24
Q

what are passive task

A

looking at others’ reactions to their posts, just browsing

25
Q

what are active task

A

sending messages, etc.

26
Q

what happened 3 months later?

A

Facebook use predicted lower self-concept clarity, but lower self-concept clarity did not predict Facebook use

27
Q

what hypothesis does this support?

A

Findings align with ******fragmentation hypothesis******

  • Most studies suggest this
28
Q

2 important predictors of self-esteem

A
  1. Feeling control: over our lives, how we display ourselves
  2. Receiving approval: feedback from other people (HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY THIS)
29
Q

does social media affect self esteem

A

yes.
- Positive relationship between social media use and self-esteem
- Increased use = increased self-esteem
- MEDIATED BY REACTIONS
bad react -> negative self-esteem
good react -> positive self-esteem

30
Q

how do individuals with lower self-esteem benefit from social media?

A

more benefit from social media use (increased self-esteem)

31
Q

Individuals with higher self-esteem instability ???

A

more benefit from social media use

32
Q

what is narcissism

A

“a personality trait consisting of elevated self-concept”

33
Q

Grandiose narcissism:

A

extroverted, callous form

  • Most familiar
  • Dominance, attention-seeking (politicians, celebrities, leaders)
    • Power for status and attention
34
Q

Vulnerable narcissism:

A

introverted, neurotic form

  • Quiet, reserved, entitled, easily threatened
35
Q

causes of narcissism ? (4)

A
  1. Genetic component (twin studies)
  2. Environment
    • Parents who put kids on pedestal → grandiose
    • Parents who are cold and controlling → vulnerable
  3. Higher in individualistic cultures (Western)
  4. Social media gives opportunity for self-promotion
36
Q

how is narcissism improved

A

honest self-reflection through psychotherapy, etc.

37
Q

is narcissism increasing in YA ?

A

ya … linked to social media mayhaps ?

38
Q

what do the research say?

A

small and consistent link between social media use and grandiose narcissism

  • More friends
  • More frequent status updates
  • More pictures of self
39
Q

what kind of research do not say dat ?

A

vulnerable

40
Q

why does this exisst?

A

3 models….. but they are all correlational btw….

41
Q
  1. Self-regulation (self-enhancement) model
A
  • Social media serves as a useful platform for promoting oneself, thus narcissistic individuals are drawn to it
  • Help regulate and enhance sense of self
42
Q
  1. Fit model
A
  • Tend to have emotionally shallow relationship with high-status individuals
  • Social media is a good fit for this: lots of “friends” online but not very connected, easy to befriend high-status individuals on social media
43
Q
  1. trait model
A
  • It’s not narcissism that’s linked to social media, but **traits** associated with narcissism
    • eg: extraversion
44
Q

problem with these models ?

A

correlational …. Argue narcissism leads to higher social media use, but don’t show that social media can create or reinforce narcissism

45
Q

what is the third biggest task of adolescence?

A

Along with intimacy and identity → sexual development is 3rd biggest task of adolescence!

46
Q

what are the most common things searched for online

A

“Sex” and “Sexual Health” = most common thing searched for online

47
Q

WHY Internet/social media may be especially beneficial to LGBTQ+ youth ??

A
  1. Information
    • When porn and television does not suffice
  2. Interaction, social support
    • Communities online
  3. Exploration
    • Anonymity allows exploration of sexual identity online
48
Q

who is this particularly true for

A

marginalized and/or underrepresented individuals (LGBTQ+ youth of colour, rural youth, religious youth, etc.)

49
Q

risks ?

A

Cyber-bullying → LGBTQ+ more likely to be targets

50
Q

what does this cause them to do?

A
  • use social media in a different way
    • Increased identity management → increased amount of online accounts
    • More likely to control what other people can see