Social networking sites are a substantial part of adolescents’ daily lives. By using a longitudinal approach the current study examined the impact of (a) positive self-presentation, (b) number of friends, and (c) the initiation of online relationships on Facebook on adolescents’ self-esteem and their initiation of offline relationships, as well as the mediating role of positive feedback. Questionnaire data were obtained from 217 adolescents (68% girls, mean age 16.7 years) in two waves. Adolescents’ positive self-presentation and number of friends were found to be related to a higher frequency of receiving positive feedback, which in turn was negatively associated with self-esteem. However, the number of Facebook friends had a positive impact on self-esteem, and the initiation of online relationships positively influenced the initiation of offline relationships over time, demonstrating that Facebook may be a training ground for increasing adolescents’ social skills. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided.

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As Facebook enables adolescents to present themselves positively by means of their Facebook profile and to gain positive feedback for doing so, the aim of the current study is to investigate which kinds of adolescents' positive self-presentation in profile pictures and status updates are associated with positive feedback in terms of Likes from the Facebook community, considering gender differences. Data for this study were based on adolescents aged 14-17 years, pursuing a two-method approach, using questionnaire data (N = 703; 71.7% female; M age = 15.76 years) as well as data from content analysis (N = 143; 63% female; M age = 15.72 years). Hierarchical multiple regressions were used. The results suggest that the self-presentational strategy of ingratiation seems to be the most advantageous in eliciting positive feedback. In particular, presenting oneself in the company of friends as well as posting about spending time with friends were related to positive feedback.

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