Authenticity and well-being on social network sites: A two-wave longitudinal study on the effects of online authenticity and the positivity bias in SNS communication

Social Comparison as the Thief of Joy: Emotional Consequences of Viewing Strangers’ Instagram Posts

“…The negative effects of general social media use on mood (Appel et al, 2016;Chou & Edge, 2012;Feinstein et al, 2013) have been attributed to the positivity bias on social media, that is, people's ability and tendency to present the most positive sides of themselves and their lives on these platforms (Lin & Utz, 2015;Qiu et al, 2012;Reinecke & Trepte, 2014). The current study tests if exposure to positively biased Instagram posts from strangers has consequences for positive and negative affect relative to viewing no posts or neutral posts by the same strangers.…”

“…Individuals engage in self-presentation and tend to select and emphasize the most positive aspects of themselves and their lives on social media in general (e.g., Lin & Utz, 2015;Qiu et al, 2012;Reinecke & Trepte, 2014). Although formal comparisons are lacking, scholars have argued that Instagram posts may be even more positively biased than Facebook posts, as the photo-enhancing feature may create a culture of polishing and perfecting (Lup et al, 2015).…”

“…On social media, individuals will predominantly encounter positive posts, as people tend to present the most positive sides of themselves and their lives on these platforms (Lin & Utz, 2015;Qiu, Lin, Leung, & Tov, 2012;Reinecke & Trepte, 2014). Viewing these positive posts may have positive or negative consequences for the viewer's mood (Lin & Utz, 2015).…”

Social Network Sites, Individual Social Capital and Happiness

“…Although SNSs can provide a substitute for face-to-face interaction for socially isolated and lonely people and can thus enhance their well-being, socially isolated and lonely people tend to post more negative items compared with non-isolated and non-lonely people (see also Jin, 2013), which negatively affects their levels of well-being. In addition to relatively more frequent negative posts, people who lack individual social capital may be unable to express their true self online (Reinecke and Trepte 2014) because of the social norms on SNSs that encourage the posting of predominantly positive status updates and messages. Positive status updates on SNSs are associated with higher social attractiveness of the sender (Antheunis et al 2010;Bazarova 2012) and receive a larger number of reactions (Utz 2011) and more positive reactions (Forest and Wood, 2012) from SNS contacts.…”

“…Positive status updates on SNSs are associated with higher social attractiveness of the sender (Antheunis et al 2010;Bazarova 2012) and receive a larger number of reactions (Utz 2011) and more positive reactions (Forest and Wood, 2012) from SNS contacts. Because a lack of contact with friends and feelings of loneliness and dissatisfaction with social contacts is not perceived as positive or in line with social norms, people who lack individual social capital are not only less likely to feel authentic on SNSs but also receive less happiness from expressing their true self online (see also Reinecke and Trepte 2014). In this regard, it is not surprising that lonely people's satisfaction with Facebook was found to be lower than that of non-lonely people (Jin, 2013).…”