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Valentin Flauraud / REUTERS
New research suggests that use of Facebook and other social media can lead to less self-control.
Most of us use social media every day. Research shows this online networking makes people feel better about themselves. But could that positive feeling have a negative impact on behavior, making you spend more or even eat more?
As strange as it sounds, a new study suggests the answer is “yes.”
Two marketing professors say their research shows – for the first time – that using online social networks can influence behavior by reducing self-control. They conclude that Facebook and other social media can have significant effects on consumer judgment and decision-making.
"People who use Facebook more tend to have a higher body-mass index (BMI), increased binge eating, carry more credit card debt and have lower credit scores,” said Andrew Stephen, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
Stephen and Keith Wilcox, an associate professor at Columbia University, believe these “unintended psychological consequences” of Facebook use are related to the ego boost people get from social media. And they found that effect is greater if you have a high percentage of close friends online.
"Simply browsing Facebook makes people feel better about themselves and momentarily enhances their self-esteem," noted Wilcox. “It’s that enhanced self-esteem that ultimately lowers your self-control.”
The loss of self-control, they suggest, can result in self-indulgence. When you feel good, you can rationalize ordering dessert or buying something you don’t really need. “I feel good today,” you tell yourself. “I deserve a treat.”
Experiments verify the Facebook effect
Wilcox and Stephen did an online survey with 541 Facebook users in the U.S.
They asked the volunteers about their online habits: how many hours they spend on Facebook each day and how many close friends they have on the site.
They asked about their financial situation: how many credit cards they had, how much debt was on those cards and their credit score.
They also asked for height, weight and how often the person engaged in binge eating.
The survey showed that for those with strong social ties, Facebook use “is a significant predictor of a range of behaviors that are consistent with poor self-control.”
These findings were consistent with what the professors found when they did a series of experiments: Being on Facebook for even a few minutes can make people have less control over the spending and food decisions they make afterward.
In one experiment, volunteers browsed the Internet or went on Facebook for five minutes. Then they were asked to take part in an online auction for a new iPad. Those who had been on Facebook and who had a higher percentage of close friends on Facebook submitted higher bids than the volunteers who simply browsed the Internet before heading to the auction.
Is there really a cause-and-effect here? Or is it that people who have less self-control (i.e. more credit card debt, lower credit scores and higher BMI) tend to use Facebook more?
Some may doubt the conclusion of this report, but Professor Stephen said he is “absolutely convinced” Facebook use “is causing people to have reduced self-control in a variety of situations."
What can we learn from this?
Wilcox and Stephen believe the Facebook effect is subtle and develops over time. The impact would seem to be more pronounced with heavy users.
"Ultimately, the way you counteract this is by raising your self-awareness,” Professor Wilcox told me. “It's not about don't spend time on Facebook, but just be aware of what it might be doing to you."
Professor Stephen believes these psychological repercussions are not limited to Facebook, but take place on any social media that promotes relationships and sharing with friends.
"It's the strong connections that really trigger this boost in self-esteem which has this commensurate reduction in self-control," Stephen said.
Both professors would like to see more research done in this area. But they conclude their report with this caution:
“Given that self-control is important for maintaining social order and personal well-being, this subtle effect could have widespread impact.”
This study, Are Close Friends the Enemy? Online Social Networks, Self-Esteem, and Self-Control, will be published next year in the Journal of Consumer Research. It is currently available online at the Social Science Research Network.
Keep up-to-date with the latest on consumer news at www.consumerman.com. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter
Leave a Comment:
Facebook makes us spend more? I don't have any money so I guess I should reduce my time on there even more. Instead of once a week for 5 minutes seeing people's parties I was never invited to, political jokes, and baby pictures I will read it once a month. Such a loss!
I find this odd, I never got so much of an "ego boost" from any social networking that I suddenly changed my mind about purchasing something.
"People who use Facebook more tend to have a higher body-mass index (BMI), increased binge eating, carry more credit card debt and have lower credit scores." Certainly nothing to be bragging about.
Sounds like the conclusions of researchers who failed statistics... or a media who are completely misrepresenting their results.
http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive/phd051809s.gif
Correlation does not imply causation. Did the authors stop to consider that people with higher BMI and poor spending habits may be more prone to seeking validation from social media? Is the Journal of Consumer Research peer reviewed?
Now I know why my BMI is 22......I hate Facebook.
My BMI is 18 (just on the line of being underweight), and I spend a good deal of my time on Facebook.
Ever since going public (and losing GM's advertisiing the week before) Facebook has been trying very hard to show potential advertisers that spending money to advertise on FB is money well spent.
Problem is that, despite what this "study" suggests, the reality is that people don't click the ad banners on FB.
I don't even see the ad banners on fb. Viva adblock.
Huh, so that's why I'm skinny because I hate Facebook. I guess that's good to know. Who pays for these studies?
Ok, so here's where this 'study' discredits itself, spoken in the words of one of the two marketing professors (call it what it is: two guys who teach marketing at a university):
Really? What a generalization! And how did they come to such a conclusion? based on what sampling of the population that uses FB? Oh, this is based on an online survey of 541 FB users- there ya go! It applies to ALL 1 billion of us then! Yay!
Wow, there's a crock. How did they draw such a conclusion: Enhanced self esteem = lower self control (??) Correlation does not imply causation.
People also eat treats when they feel down and bad too. Overeating can be a way to compensate for feeling low self esteem.
This study is a pile of steaming poop!
Maybe people are on facebook more because they don't have as much money or time to go out as much as others. Maybe They are on-line type people that do spend more time on a computer than a gym and tend to eat while on computer.
Even when they go out they are on Facebook with their smart phones. That is the problem.
Maybe people on Facebook are heavier because they sit on their fat a**es in front a computer all the time, instead of moving around???
Slow news day huh?
My bet is Facebook paid for this via a grant. Typical modern research, give the person paying the answer they want.
So, by not using facebook we save money. Hmmmmm.
I really think they have it the other way around. Broke, overweight, anxiety-ridden, low self esteem types are more likely to seek "internet socialization" over public socialization. It's just like the "people who eat vegetables and foods high in fiber tend to weigh less" crock. It's really that people who want to be healthier make conscious decisions to eat vegetable and foods high in fiber and therefore DO weigh less. Oh, and if FB is causing Financial issues and obesity, I'd better stay far away from PINTEREST now before I turn into a sarcastic-prank playing-humorous-pessimistic-broke-bulimic-anorexic-coldhearted-well meaning-heartless-animal loving Martha Stewart.
If professor Stephen is "absolutely convinced" on the basis of this study, he's an idiot and should have his degrees revoked by the universities that granted them.
No it doesn't. Who performed this study? The same group that said Rmoney was going to win by a landslide?
Statistically speaking; with 1 billion members I would think the FB society would EXACTLY represent its own local population (City, State, Country). Therefore, using the researched conclusion of the "Professors", it would mean the entire WORLD is fat, lazy and depressed! Don't think so. Actually, FB might be having just the opposite effect (with various support groups etc). It help start the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street movements and likely helped elect a President (by encouraging younger, leaner, happier and more energetic voters to get involved! :-)). Cheers to all.
This is one of the most lamest studies I've seen. No control in the experiment, because all were eventually led to the same auction. No exiting questionnaire. No specific statistics. No breakdown of the demographics. No second experiment to compare with the first. These guys are amateurs!
I think this story is lame and a waste of time to even read! MSNBC should stick to reporting real news like the huge number of companies that have laid off employees since Obama was elected.
I thought this was obvious? They have no self-control because they constantly go from one thing to another. Check Facebook, check twitter, text, browse other sites, and go back to Facebook (even if it's been a few minutes) to see if something "new" is on there. Over time, this will lead them to "rewire" the way they act so that they can't focus on any one thing in real life and succumb to impulses more often.
I feel really bad for the children growing up with cell phones today. They are practically living on Facebook and other social sites - and not in the real world.
How does FB lead to binge eating when you have to hold the little devise with both hands to work it?... and walk (exercise) into traffic while looking at it?
Comments should be first before the article so you don't waste your time reading it!!!
At long, long last. Have you no shame???
It is time to put an end to LYING with statistics and stop trying to have them rule our lives!
Facebook doesn't make me do anything, so STOP IT!
It's not the money it's the time.
I just don't buy it. I hope I don't lose face.