This was a pretty interesting study, because although I
could have assumed correctly most of these findings, having the evidence to support
it makes my assumptions solid. I found a
number of things very interesting and would have not assumed. First, in respects to introverts and online
communications, this study found that extroverts also carry a significant
network to online world. This outcome
was different to previous studies that suggested that online communication was
more ideal for introverts. Secondly, I
was surprised in the differences in usage of online social networks among men
and women. This study concluded that
women "are less worried about adding new people to their OSN, whom they do
not know much about" (pg 78). This
is a complete surprise because I would assume that women would be much more
alert of who they place in their network and share their "social
self" with. The third finding that
caught my attention was relationship between self-esteem and its prediction of
the number of stranger in the network.
This study found that people with higher self-esteem had lower
percentage in the number of strangers or people that they hardly knew and had
lower anxiety levels. I never thought
these aspects could be tied together, however they come together in this
study. This showed that people with
higher self-esteem were much more reluctant to add people into their network.
Hi Rob,
ReplyDeleteIt looks like we were surprised at some of the same findings in the study. In particular, I was surprised that women were less worried about "friending" people into their online social network that they did not really know; people tend to think women will be more on guard when it comes to unfamiliar people. But I guess when it comes to online interactions, women might feel more open and safer. When you're online, I think you can usually feel that you have control over what people can find out about you, and that there is less of a risk. I also thought it was interesting that people with high-self esteem were less inclined to add strangers to their social network; you’d think being confident people, they would not have problem adding an unfamiliar person. But this study shows the opposite and that introverts are more likely to do that.
Rob,
ReplyDeleteThis study was interesting in the fact that it has given me a better incite about the effects of online communication. You would think that people with higher self esteem would have a higher number of strangers. This study has proven that people with low self esteems had a higher number of strangers compared to people with higher self esteems. People with low self esteems are more eager to let strangers become their friends. I find it surprising that women were less worried about adding new people. I am very cautious about who I add as a friend on Facebook. I always want to make sure it is someone that I know or have known.