An online survey (N = 256) compared social networking site (SNS) use among younger (millennial: 18–29) and older (baby-boomer: 41–64) subscribers focusing on the influence of collective self-esteem and group identity on motives for SNS use. Younger participants reported higher positive collective self-esteem, social networking site use for peer communication, and social compensation. Regardless of age, participants reporting high collective self-esteem and group identity were more likely to use social networking sites for peer communication and social identity gratifications, while those reporting negative collective self-esteem were more likely to use social networking sites for social compensation. The theoretical implications of the strong relationship between social identity gratifications and social compensation are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbramsJ. R., & GilesH. (2007). Ethnic identity gratification selection and avoidance by African Americans: A group vitality and social identity gratifications perspective. Media Psychology, 9, 115–135.
2.
AdamsR. (1986). Secondary friendship networks and psychological well-being among elderly women. Activities, Adaptation and Aging, 35, 59–72.
3.
BarkerV. (2008, May). Older adolescents' motivations for use of social networking sites: The influence of group identification and collective self-esteem. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Communication Association, Montreal, Canada.
4.
BarkerV. (2009). Older adolescents' motivations for use of SNS: The influence of gender, group identity and collective self-esteem. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 12, 209–213.
5.
BarkerV., & OtaH. (2011). Mixi diary vs. Facebook pictures: Collective self-esteem and social networking site use among Japanese and Caucasian American females. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 40, 39–63.
BoydD. (2007). Why youth (heart) social network sites: The role of networked publics in teenage social life. In BuckinghamD. (Ed.), MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Learning—Youth, identity and digital media (pp. 119–142). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
8.
BrewerM. B. (2000). Reducing prejudice through cross-categorization: Effects of multiple social identities. In OskampS. (Ed.), Claremont symposium on applied social psychology: Reducing prejudice and discrimination (pp. 165–183). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
9.
CambellA. J.CummingS. R., & HughesI. (2006). Internet use by the socially fearful: Addiction or therapy?CyberPsychology & Behavior, 9, 69–81.
10.
ChandlerD., & Roberts-YoungD. (2000). The construction of identity in the personal home pages of adolescents in Wales. Welsh Journal of Education, 9, 78–90.
11.
ChasteenA. L. (2005). Seeing eye-to-eye: Do intergroup biases operate similarly for younger and older adults?International Journal of Aging And Human Development, 61(2) 123–139.
DesjarlaisM., & WilloughbyT. (2010). A longitudinal study of the relation between adolescent boys and girls' computer use with friends and friendship quality: Support for the social compensation or the rich-get-richer hypothesis?Computers in Human Behavior, 26, 896–905.
14.
DonathJ., & BoydD. (2004). Public displays of connection. BT Technology Journal, 22, 71–82.
15.
EllisonN. B.SteinfieldC., & LampeC. (2007). The benefits of Facebook: “Friends:” Social capital and college students' use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 12, article 1. Retrieved from http://jcmc.Indiana.edu/vol12/issue4/ellison.html
16.
GrasmuckS.MartinJ., & ZhaoS. (2009). Ethno-racial identity displays on Facebook. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 15, 158–188.
17.
GrossE. F.JuvonenJ., & GableS. L. (2002). Internet use and well-being in adolescence. Journal of Social Issues, 58, 75–90.
18.
HarrisonR., & ThomasM. (2009). Identity in online communities: Social networking sites and language learning. International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Society, 7, 109–124.
19.
HarwoodJ. (1997). Viewing age: Lifespan identity and television viewing choices. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 41, 203–213.
20.
HarwoodJ. (1999a). Age identification, social identity gratifications, and television viewing. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 43, 123–136.
21.
HarwoodJ. (1999b). Age identity and television viewing preferences. Communication Reports, 12, 85–90.
22.
HarwoodJ. (2004). Relational role, and social identity as expressed in grandparents' personal web sites. Communication Studies, 55, 300–318.
23.
HarwoodJ. (2007). Understanding communication and aging: Developing knowledge and awareness. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
24.
HogeoomD. L.McDermottR. J.PerrinK. M.OsmanH., & Bell-EllisonB. A. (2010). Internet use and social networking among middle-aged and older adults. Educational Gerontology, 36, 93–111.
25.
HoggM. A.AbramsD.OttenS., & HinkleS. (2004). The social identity perspective: Intergroup relations, self-conception, and small groups. Small Group Research, 35, 246–276.
26.
JoinsonA. N. (2008). ‘Looking at’, ‘looking up’ or ‘keeping up with’ people? Motives and uses of Facebook. CHI Proceedings: Online Networks, 1027–1036.
27.
KangS. K., & ChasteenA. L. (2009). The moderating role of age-group identification and perceived threat on stereotype threat among older adults. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 69, 201–220.
28.
KenworthyJ. B.TurnerR. N.HewstoneM., & VociA. (2005). Intergroup contact: When does it work, and why? In DovidioJ.GlickP., & RudmanL. (Eds.), On the nature of prejudice: 50 years after Allport (pp. 278–292). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
29.
KrautR.KieslerS.BonevaB.CummingsJ.HelgesonV., & CrawfordA. (2002). Internet paradox revisited. Journal of Social Issues, 58(1), 49–74.
30.
KwonO., & WenY. (2010). An empirical study of the factors affecting social network service use. Computers in Human Behavior, 26, 254–263.
31.
LeeE-J. (2006). When and how does depersonalization increase conformity to group norms in computer mediated communication?Communication Research, 33, 423–447.
32.
LeeE-J. (2007). Deindividuation effects on group polarization in computer mediated communication: The role of group identification, public-self-awareness, and perceived argument quality. Journal of Communication, 57, 385–403.
33.
LinM-C.HummertM. L., & HarwoodJ. (2004). Representation of age identities in on-line discourse. Journal of Aging Studies, 18, 261–274.
34.
LivingstoneS., & BrakeD. R. (2010). On the rapid rise of social networking sites: New findings and policy implications. Children and Society, 24, 75–83.
35.
LuhtanenR., & CrockerJ. (1992). A collective self-esteem scale: Self-evaluation of one's social identity. Personality and Psychology Bulletin, 18, 302–318.
36.
MadgeC.MeekJ.WellensJ., & HooleyT. (2009). Facebook, social integration and informal learning at university: ‘It is more for socializing and talking to friends about work than for actually doing work.’Learning, Media and Technology, 34, 141–155.
PalmonariA.KirchlerE., & PombeniM. L. (1991). Differential effects of identification with family and peers on coping with developmental tasks in adolescence. European Journal of Social Psychology, 21, 381–402.
39.
PalmonariA.PombeniM. L., & KirchlerE. (1989). Peer groups and evolution of the self-system in adolescence. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 4, 3–15.
40.
PalmonariA.PombeniM. L., & KirchlerE. (1990). Adolescents and their peer groups: A study on the significance of peers, social categorization processes and coping with developmental tasks. Social Behavior, 5, 33–48.
41.
PapacharissiZ., & RubinA. M. (2000). Predictors of Internet use. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 44, 175–196.
42.
ParkN.KeeK. F., & ValenzuelaS. (2009). Being immersed in social networking environment: Facebook Groups, uses and gratifications, and social outcomes. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(6), 729–733.
43.
PaulE., & BrierS. (2001). Friendsickness in the transition to college: Precollege predictors and college adjustment correlates. Journal of Counseling and Development, 79, 77–89.
44.
PembekT. A.YermolayevaY. A., & CalvertS. L. (2009). College students' social networking experiences on Facebook. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30, 227–238.
45.
PeterJ.ValkenburgP. M., & SchoutenA. P. (2005). Developing a model of adolescent friendship formation on the Internet. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 8, 423–430.
46.
PeterJ.ValkenburgP. M., & SchoutenA. P. (2006). Characteristics and motives of adolescents talking with strangers on the Internet. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 9, 526–530.
PfeilU.ArjanR., & ZaphirisP. (2009). Age differences in online social networking: A study of user profiles and the social capital divide among teenagers and older users in MySpace. Computers in Human Behavior, 25, 643–654.
51.
PulakosJ. (2001) Young adult relationships: Siblings and friends. Journal of Psychology123, 237–244.
52.
RaackeJ., & Bonds-RaackeJ. (2008). MySpace and Facebook: Applying the uses and gratifications theory to exploring friend-networking sites. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 11, 169–174.
53.
RademacherM. A., & NelsonM. R. (2008, May). Make new friends/keep the old: Media, social networks, and identity during the college transition. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Communication Association, Montreal, Canada.
RubinA. M. (1979). Television use by children and adolescents. Human Communication Research, 5, 109–120.
56.
RubinA. M. (1984). Ritualized and instrumental television viewing. Journal of Communication, 34, 67–81.
57.
SheldonP. (2008). The relationship between unwillingness-to-communicate and students' Facebook use. Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications, 20, 67–75.
58.
SpearsR., & LeaM. (1992). Social influence and the influence of the ‘social’ in computer-mediated communication. In LeaM. (Ed.), Contexts of computer-mediated communication (pp. 30–65). Hemel Hempstead, England: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
59.
SternL. A., & TaylorK. (2007). Social networking on facebook. North Dakota Journal of Speech and Theater, 20, 9–20.
60.
SubrahmanyamK.ReichS. M.WaechterN., & EspinozaG. (2008). Online and offline social networks: Use of social networking sites by emerging adults. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29, 420–433.
61.
TajfelH. (1978). Interindividual behavior and intergroup behavior. In TajfelH. (Ed.), Differentiation between social groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 27–60). London: Academic Press.
62.
TajfelH., & TurnerJ. C. (1986). The social identity of intergroup behavior. In WorchelS. & AustinW. G. (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 7–24). Chicago: Nelson.
63.
TarrantM. (2002). Adolescent peer groups and social identity. Social Development, 11, 110–123.
64.
TarrantM.MacKenzieL., & HewittL. A. (2006). Friendship group identification, multidimensional self-concept, and experience of developmental tasks in adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 29, 627–640.
65.
ThurlowC. (2005). Deconstructing adolescent communication. In WilliamsA. & ThurlowC. (Eds.), Talking adolescence: Perspectives on communication in the teenage years (pp. 1–20). New York: Peter Lang.
66.
TroppL. A., & WrightS. C. (2001). Ingroup identification as the inclusion of ingroup in the self. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 585–600.
67.
TurkleS. (1997). Computational technologies and images of the self. Social Research, 64, 1093–1111.
68.
TurnerJ. C. (1982). Towards a cognitive redefinition of the social group. In TajfelH. (Ed.), Social identity and intergroup relations (pp. 15–40). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
69.
WalzL. O. (2009). The relationship between college students' use of social networking sites and their sense of belonging. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 70, 3192.
70.
WeiszC., & WoodL. F. (2005). Social identity support and friendship outcomes: A longitudinal study predicting who will be friends and best friends 4 years later. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 22, 417–432.
71.
WilliamsA., & NussbaumJ. F. (2001). Intergenerational communication across the life span. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
72.
WilliamsA., & ThurlowC. (Eds.). (2005). Talking adolescence: Perspectives on communication in the teenage years. New York: Peter Lang.
73.
ZhangZ. (2010). Feeling the sense of community in social networking usage. IEEE Transactions On Engineering Management, 57, 225–239.
74.
ZhaoS.GrasmuckS., & MartinJ. (2008). Identity construction on Facebook: Digital empowerment in anchored relationships. Computers in Human Behavior, 24, 1816–1836.
75.
ZywicaJ., & DanowskiJ. (2008). The faces of Facebookers: Investigating social enhancement and social compensation hypotheses: Predicting Facebook and offline popularity from sociability and self-esteem, and mapping the meanings of popularity with semantic networks. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 14, 1–34.
