For class, I read “The Benefits of Facebook ‘‘Friends:’’ Social Capital and College Students’ Use of Online Social Network Sites”. The study sought to determine how Facebook impacts social capital and staying connected in communities the users used to be a part of. The study looked at undergraduate students, and a strong correlation was found between Facebook friends and social capital. Additionally, the benefits seemed to be even stronger for users who struggle with low self-esteem.
I think it is important to note that this study was conducted in 2007. So much has happened since then, personally I am unsure if these results would hold true today. First of all, Facebook is not the most popular social media platform for this demographic anymore. I don’t use Facebook a lot, I’ll occasionally take a look to see if any of my family members posted but I use Instagram and TikTok far more. If I deleted Facebook, I do not believe my social capital would be impacted at all.
Additionally, I cannot imagine Facebook or really any social media brings any benefit to those with existing self-esteem issues. Constantly comparing yourself to others and seeing content that may have been edited can be harmful, so I would be curious if this portion of the study would hold up.
With the new information coming out just yesterday about Facebook’s whistleblower, I would be very curious to see what happens. So much has happened since 2007, with this situation unfolding in just the last 24 hours. Will Facebook become obsolete?
I did not hear about the Facebook whistleblower. I am interested to hear about this news tomorrow in class. I also agree with your statement that Facebook and other social media platforms are not good for individuals’ self-esteem. In the documentary that I had to watch for class, it revealed that the number of teen girls who have been admitted to hospitals for self-harm has increased significantly since 2011. Instagram was created in 2010 so self-harm among teen girls and social media can definitely be linked together.