The Psychological Benefits of Being Authentic on Facebook

Abstract

Having others acknowledge and validate one's true self is associated with better psychological health. Existing research indicates that an individual's true self may be more readily expressed on Facebook than in person. This study brought together these two premises by investigating for the first time the psychosocial outcomes associated with communicating one's true self on Facebook. Participants (n = 164) completed a personality assessment once as their true self and once as the self they present on Facebook (Facebook self), as well as measures of social connectedness, subjective well-being, depression, anxiety, and stress. Euclidean distances quantified the difference between one's true self and the Facebook self. Hypotheses received partial support. Better coherence between the true self and the Facebook self was associated with better social connectedness and less stress. Two models provided evidence of mediation effects. Findings highlight that authentic self-presentation on Facebook can be associated with positive psychological outcomes.

From Youthful Experimentation to Professional Identity: Understanding Identity Transitions in Social Media

“…These processes were accompanied by anxieties about public scrutiny, especially in relation to early impressions from their youth that did not always reflect the participant's "professional self," creating a paranoid feeling about past self-generated content. Recent work exploring self-presentation on social media has highlighted psychological benefits to being authentic (Grieve & Watkinson, 2016;Thomas et al, 2017). However, in accordance with similar research (e.g.…”

Peer‐to‐peer connections: Perceptions of a social support app designed for young adults with cancer

“…Critics of social media note that spending more time with online social networks is associated with negative physiological well‐being, including loneliness and depression . Proponents of social media have shown that online social support (eg, via Facebook) can uniquely contribute to well‐being and social connectedness, especially among those who more readily express their true self online and those unable to receive face‐to‐face support . While this study focused on perceptions of a unique platform for peer‐to‐peer support, further investigation should ensure online support for YAs meets both their identity and connection needs.…”

Exploring the relationships between self-presentation and self-esteem of mothers in social media in Russia

“…Fox and Vendemia (2016) identify that women edit their online images more often than men and feel worse about their body image on social media. Better coherence between the true self and the Facebook self was associated with better psychological health (Grieve & Watkinson, 2016). 6 Social platform use was higher among individuals with low in self-esteem, high in narcissism and loneliness (Liu & Baumeister, 2016).…”