Effects of Exposure to Facebook on Self-Esteem - Report Example

Rhetorical Analysis-Mirror, Mirror on My Facebook Wall: Effects of Exposure to Facebook on Self-Esteem In the past decadeduring the rise of Internet technology and its use, there was a belief that the use of Internet enhanced negative psychosocial health, such as lonesomeness and dejection. The increased notion across the research community impelled research in the relation between psychosocial well-being and use of Internet. Research findings have revealed that the use of Internet is beneficial to psychosocial health. Other research findings revealed that Internet use could both promote and ebb one’s self-esteem. Particularly, the use of Facebook influences self impression through updating of personal profile through the Internet. The consequences of Facebook experience on self-worth are analyzed through rhetorical analysis-mirror. The Effects of Facebook Exposure on Self-Worth According to Gonzales and Hancock, Facebook use has a role in relation to the capacity to socialize. Facebook use is a form of online socializing and has the ability to enhance self-worth and confidence as well as different social capital forms. Through the use of Facebook, an individual can improve his or her social self-worth via enhancing physical appearance, closing relations and appealing to others romantically. These elements of improved self-worth and confidence can be best exemplified through positive feedback received from online friends. In addition, Facebook provides people with low self-confidence the social opportunities to gain positive advantages (79). Nevertheless, there is no research information on Facebook exposure consequences on broad self-worth despite the fact that social networking sites like Facebook have the capacity to influence transitory self-worth states. The primary role of the social networking sites is to enable people to share their personal information with other people. Such information to be shared includes the dislike and the likes, hobbies and personal reflections through posts and updates. Sharing such personal information with others has the potential to make individuals conscious of their precincts and inadequacies that would have otherwise reduced their self-worth. On the other hand, the information shared could be selective representation of prejudiced positive elements of an individual who have the potential to enhance his or her self-confidence (Gonzales & Hancock 79). Facebook use and Objective Self-Awareness Theoretical approaches have been employed in assessing the use of Facebook, and other social networking sites, in relation to objective self-awareness. The Objective Self-Awareness (OSA) theory is among the earliest experimentally assessed psychological self theories. Human beings experience element of self both objectively and subjectively. Subjectively, self is experienced in daily endeavors of human life of which it participates actively in life despite not being conscious of self. Nonetheless, individuals are objects of their personal consciousness through focusing of attention on self. The outcome of these processes can either be positive or negative (Gonzales & Hancock 79). According to Gonzales and Hancock, people are vulnerable to self-assessments established on wider social customs and standards when in objective self-awareness state. In this state, individuals often experience an enhanced state of humility or reducing self-worth evaluation and improved pro-social conduct (79). Conversely, a majority of individuals always experience inadequacies of social norms during increased self-awareness; therefore, their self-confidence and the positive influence characteristically lessen when individuals are exposed to incentives of objective self-awareness (Gonzales & Hancock 80). Several incentives or stimuli exist for evoking objective self-awareness with mirror as the most common one. Additional objective self-awareness stimuli include self images, writing of autobiographical information or audio feedback. The stimuli influence humans such that they perceive themselves in a way they believe others perceive them. This may be accomplished even if individuals are not under observation. The experience of the stimuli leads to pro-social conduct and reduce self-confidence (Gonzales & Hancock 80). The social networking sites like Facebook contain profile of individuals with information on self comparable, such as images, to those used to motivate objective self-awareness. Consequently, OSA theory concludes that viewing the Facebook profile of an individual could motivate a decrease in self-worth. Subsequently, to view the Facebook profile of an individual could affect the self-confidence of the individual negatively (Gonzales & Hancock 80). Alternatively, theoretical results from computer-mediated communication revealed that personal information submitted in social networking sites is over-interpreted in most occasions if compared to personal information offered offline. This often leads to overstated or embellished impressions (Gonzales & Hancock 80). Theoretically the exposure to Facebook results in enhanced negative influence on self-worth as opposed to self-awareness motivations like the mirror. Selective Self-Presentation The consequences of using Facebook also can be evaluated through Hyperpersonal Model. The Internet offers people opportunities to present themselves selectively. As a result, individuals take time to post selective information about them, emphasizing the selective elements. The social networking sites like electronic mails and dating sites offer platform to present selective information that would evoke positive feedback (Gonzales & Hancock 80). The online presentations of self are instances of positive presentations exemplifying identity shift. Social networking sites influence the self-concepts of individuals through self-presentations. Selective information presented by individuals optimizes the consequences of self-attitudes. An instance of self-presentation through the Internet is the Facebook profiles, which offer adequately inclined stimuli to counter objective self-awareness conventional effects. Subsequently, the process motivates a positive change in self-confidence. In this regard, exposure to Facebook profile of an individual has enhanced positive consequences on his or her self-confidence more than the conventional self-awareness incentives like mirrors (Gonzales & Hancock 80). Ultimately, selective self-presentation necessitated via digitally mediated settings like Facebook has the capacity to influence positively on self-worth and confidence. A contrasting perspective is offered by the OSA theory, which states that selective self-presentation reduces self-confidence such that the deviation between the social norms and self are increased. In contrast, Gonzales and Hancock argue that Facebook profile exposes information on an individual, increasing their self-worth through profile information editing on self or selective self-presentation. Alternative research findings revealed that selective self-presentation is necessitated through social networking sites like Facebook because of the time space availed. As a result, Facebook acts as an appropriate platform that enhances self-awareness (Gonzales & Hancock 82). The field of studying and understanding properly the influence of selective self-presentation in relation to formation of interpersonal impression and effects on self-esteem is not well developed. The self impression as perceived directly through the mirror has an increased potential of reducing individual self-confidence. Under selective presentation and care as demonstrated by social networking sites, an individual has the opportunity to enhance his or her self-worth. The capacity that Facebook has to enable individuals to provide positive and preferable information on them makes the platform a tool that can stimulate self-awareness in optimal self (Gonzales & Hancock 82). Previous research findings revealed that self-presentations in digital environment like Facebook have the capacity to influence self-evaluation. The research evaluating self-worth posited that regularity between the ideal and the actual self is an essential aspect in comprehending the effect of information on self-confidence. Despite previous research findings based on unmeasured participants’ insights between the real and the actual self, a possibility existed that Facebook can motivate the ideal self in an individual. To strengthen and ascertain these findings, additional research work is required on the consequences of self-assessment on self-worth (Gonzales & Hancock 82). The contribution of objective self-esteem awareness in Facebook is necessitated by its uniqueness in form of the public nature. The presence of personal images as well as the autobiographical information all has played important roles in enhancing and motivating objective self-understanding. The public nature of Facebook and other social networking sites point primarily toward self-assessment. Information motivating objective self-knowledge found on Facebook also is significant because it is assessed by others too (Gonzales & Hancock 82). The most important information that ought to be understood appropriately is the role of public Internet audience in exclusively stimulating objective self-understanding. The present information available in relation to the influence of Facebook of self-esteem is not adequate to make conclusive findings but to hypothesize that high visibility of Facebook profile of an individual contributes to and enhances objective self-knowledge. The variation between assessments made using a mirror, and the Facebook is the potential of Facebook to prepare the responsiveness of an audience and self-assessment. Facebook provides for evaluation of a more favorable self. As a result, it is revealing that the influence and consequences of self-confidence is positive and not negative (Gonzales & Hancock 82). Conclusion It is evident that the advent of Internet has not established new stimuli for presenting self instead provided only new techniques to realize such motivations. The off-putting consequences and influence of objective self-understanding on self-confidence were findings of earliest research. Later, social networking sites necessitated a new approach to objective assessment of self. Varied opportunities were offered for presenting self selectively via online sites, such as Facebook. Works Cited Gonzales, Amy L. and Jeffrey T. Hancock. "Mirror, Mirror on my Facebook Wall: Effects of Exposure to Facebook on Self-Esteem." Cyberpsychology, Behavior, And Social Networking 14.1-2 (2011): 79-83. Read More