Gender Differences in Social Support on Social Network Sites: A Meta-Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 199-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sigal Tifferet
Author(s):  
Begoña Peral-Peral ◽  
Ángel F. Villarejo-Ramos ◽  
Manuel J. Sánchez-Franco

Social Network Sites (SNS) have very rapidly become part of the daily reality of Internet users in recent years. Firms also use social networks as a two-way communication with their current and potential customers. This exploratory work means to analyze if Internet users’ gender influences the behavior of using social networks. There is a reason for this. Despite Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) acceptance and use being more frequent in men, according to the previous literature, in line with different surveys on the subject, social networks are more used by women. The authors, therefore, analyze in this chapter if there are gender differences in the constructs of technology’s classic models, such as the TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) and the TPB (Theory of Planned Behavior). They use a sample of 1,460 university students.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Mancinelli ◽  
Giulia Bassi ◽  
Silvia Salcuni

BACKGROUND Social network sites (SNSs) have been defined as Web services that involve creating a private or semiprivate profile. Through these services, adolescents and adults can maintain and create new relationships. Adolescents, in particular, can be considered the main users of these sites as they spend a lot of time on SNSs. In using SNSs, individuals can exert greater control over the conversation and on the information shared, which is associated with a desire for self-presentation. Moreover, the need for self-presentation is related to personality traits such as those of the Big Five, namely extraversion, neuroticism, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, as well as emotional stability, introversion, narcissism, and motivational aspects. The latter are usually linked to an underlying social purpose that might predispose an individual to using SNSs, with the intent of satisfying particular needs, such as belongingness and interpersonal competency. OBJECTIVE Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method, this study aimed to present a systematic review of the scientific literature regarding the predisposing factors related to the Big Five personality traits and motivational aspects associated with the use of SNSs, for both adolescents (12-19 years) and adults (>20 years). METHODS A search ranging from 2007 to 2017 was conducted through the academic database of Google Scholar and PsycINFO, in which the following terms and their derivatives were considered: predisposing factors, personality traits, Big Five model, self-esteem, self-presentation, interpersonal competency, social network site, Facebook, motivation, five-factor model, use, abuse, and addiction. Based on a defined list of inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 9 papers were finally included in the review. RESULTS Our findings identified 3 main personality traits to be of greater value: extraversion, neuroticism, and openness to experience. Extraversion was a good predictor of motivation and SNS use, whereas the latter trait showed relevance for age differences. All 3 features further played a role in gender differences. Apart from extraversion, the self-presentational motive was also related to narcissism, whereas the need to belong presented an association with agreeableness and neuroticism. Further underlining the social value behind SNS use, people perceived interpersonal competency as being related to Facebook use intensity. CONCLUSIONS Extraversion was recognized as the main forerunner for SNS use and motivation for use. Neuroticism seems to be related to an attempt at compensating for difficulties in real-life social contexts. Openness to experiences has a strong valence for both adults and older adults since SNSs are still perceived as a novelty. Moreover, gender differences in SNS usage were observed to be the product of differences in motivation. Implications and limitations of the study were discussed.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0248384
Author(s):  
Alexandra Masciantonio ◽  
David Bourguignon ◽  
Pierre Bouchat ◽  
Manon Balty ◽  
Bernard Rimé

Prior studies indicated that actively using social network sites (SNSs) is positively associated with well-being by enhancing social support and feelings of connectedness. Conversely, passively using SNSs is negatively associated with well-being by fostering upward social comparison and envy. However, the majority of these studies has focused on Facebook. The present research examined the relationships between well-being—satisfaction with life, negative affect, positive affect—and using actively or passively various SNSs—Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok—during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, two mediators were tested: social support and upward social comparison. One thousand four persons completed an online survey during the quarantine measures; the analyses employed structural equation modeling. Results showed that passive usage of Facebook is negatively related to well-being through upward social comparison, whereas active usage of Instagram is positively related to satisfaction with life and negative affect through social support. Furthermore, active usage of Twitter was positively related to satisfaction with life through social support; while passive usage was negatively related to upward social comparison, which, in turn, was associated with more negative affect. Finally, TikTok use was not associated with well-being. Results are discussed in line with SNSs’ architectures and users’ motivations. Future research is required to go beyond methodological and statistical limitations and allow generalization. This study concludes that SNSs must be differentiated to truly understand how they shape human interactions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 127 ◽  
pp. 201-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Liu ◽  
Kevin B. Wright ◽  
Baijing Hu

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja Utz ◽  
Johannes Breuer

Abstract. Existing work on the effects of social network sites (SNS) on well-being has often stressed that SNS can help people gain social support from their online networks, which positively affects their well-being. However, the majority of studies in this area have been cross-sectional in nature and/or relied on student samples. Using data from six waves of a longitudinal study with a representative sample of Dutch Internet users, we first examined whether users and nonusers of SNS differ in online social support and well-being (as indicated by life satisfaction and stress). In a second step, we investigated in more detail how SNS use – more specifically, asking for advice and the number of strong ties on these SNS – are related to online social support, stress, and satisfaction with life. Overall, our results provide no evidence for SNS use and online social support affecting either stress or life satisfaction. SNS users reported more online social support than nonusers did, but also higher levels of stress; the two groups did not differ in overall life satisfaction. With regard to the underlying processes, we found positive cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between asking for advice on SNS and online social support, indicating that SNS can be an effective tool for receiving social support. However, online social support was not related to higher life satisfaction or reduced stress 6 months later; instead, it seems that SNS users with lower life satisfaction and/or higher stress seek more social support online by asking for advice on SNS.


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