Face-to-face or Facebook: Can social connectedness be derived online?

By Rachel Grieve, Michaelle Indian, K. Witteveen, G. A. Tolan, Jessica Z. Marrington. Computers in Human Behavior, 2013

616 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Previous research has identified the importance of social connectedness in facilitating a number of positive outcomes, however, investigation of connectedness in online contexts is relatively novel. This research aimed to investigate for the first time social connectedness derived from the use of Facebook. Study 1 investigated whether offline social connectedness and Facebook connectedness were separate constructs. Participants were Facebook users (N=344) who completed measures of offline social connectedness and Facebook social connectedness. Factor analysis (Maximum Likelihood analysis with Oblimin rotation) revealed Facebook connectedness to be distinct from offline social connectedness. Study 2 examined the relationship between Facebook social connectedness and anxiety, depression, and subjective well-being in a second sample of Facebook users (N=274) in a cross-sectional design. Results suggest that Facebook use may provide the opportunity to develop and maintain social connectedness in the online environment, and that Facebook connectedness is associated with lower depression and anxiety and greater satisfaction with life. Limitations and future directions are considered. It is concluded that Facebook may act as a separate social medium in which to develop and maintain relationships, providing an alternative social outlet associated with a range of positive psychological outcomes.

Subfields: Applied Psychology, Literature and Literary Theory, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/ecff87d4a379b3843d02e2d73b7de157ddaea756

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Citations in the corpus

A Systematic Review of Recent Research on Adolescent Social Connectedness and Mental Health with Internet Technology Use (2015, background): “This is true in spite of the positive relationships between Internet technology use and adolescent friend and school connectedness that were found in this review, and which are consistent with previous studies (Grieve et al. 2013; Irvine 2009; Pierce 2009).”
Social Networking Sites, Depression, and Anxiety: A Systematic Review (2016, background): “Studies suggest that social support and social connectedness derived from SNSs are constructs distinct from general social support or connectedness [111,113].”
Technological addictions and social connectedness: predictor effect of internet addiction, social media addiction, digital game addiction and smartphone addiction on social connectedness (2017, background): “(49) emphasize that the use of social media provides positive contributions to the development and maintenance of social connectedness.”
What drives in-app purchase intention for mobile games? An examination of perceived values and loyalty (2016, background): “Scholars have noted the importance of social connectedness in online social services (Grieve et al. 2013).”
How Social Are Social Media? A Review of Online Social Behaviour and Connectedness (2017, background): “…in this article were not exhaustive, this brief overview of the relation between social connectedness and social media use supports previous research (e.g., Ahn & Shin, 2013; Allen et al., 2014; Grieve et al., 2013; Sheldon et al., 2011) and raises new questions for theory and application.”
Passive and Active Facebook Use Measure (PAUM): Validation and relationship to the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (2017, background): “…of usage is associated with increased subjective well-being, as a number of subjective well-being indicators have been linked to using Facebook to increase social capital (Ellison et al., 2007), establish social connectedness (Grieve et al., 2013), and call on friends for support (Liu & Yu, 2013).”
Social Media and Depressive Symptoms in Childhood and Adolescence: A Systematic Review (2017, background): “However, other studies have indicated higher self-esteem and satisfaction with life, and reduced risk of mental health problems (Valkenburg et al. 2006; Bessièrre et al. 2008; Grieve et al. 2013; Best et al. 2014).”