Elsevier

Computers in Human Behavior

Volume 33, April 2014, Pages 339-348
Computers in Human Behavior

Blinded by the light: Illuminating the dark side of social network use through content analysis

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.08.017Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Content analysis of the descriptive, textual communication, and photo content in Facebook profiles.

  • All categories of controversial/privacy-threatening content were more frequent than any of the prosocial content categories.

  • Males and females differed in the amount of personal contact information and controversial content disclosed.

Abstract

The present study reveals the results of a content analysis of the descriptive, textual communication, and photo content found in 208 college student Facebook profiles. An a priori coding scheme was developed for this investigation based on (1) news reports and stories on controversies surrounding online social network use, (2) research on social uses of the Internet, and (3) insights from the author, a longtime Facebook user. Results show that all categories of controversial content were more frequent than any of the prosocial content categories, suggesting that there is an overrepresentation of negative content on Facebook, even though many of the specific frequencies are low. In addition, the vast majority of students did not disclose personal contact information on their profiles, and males and females differed in the amount of personal contact information and controversial content disclosed. The study results document the nature of online social network content and point to possible effects of displaying and/or being exposed to controversial content online.

Introduction

Social networking sites (SNS) have emerged as one of the most popular forms of Internet communication. These websites allow users to post personal information and communicate with other members through a variety of channels. The number one SNS worldwide, Facebook, has more than 750 million unique monthly visitors (Alexa, 2013). Yet, as Facebook has skyrocketed in popularity, a trail of controversy has followed. 45% of employers are reportedly using the site to screen job applicants (Hill, 2012), and cyberstalkers have used SNS like Facebook to find information on potential victims (Sodhi & Sharma, 2012). In truth, how much potentially “damaging” material is actually on Facebook? Popular media coverage may suggest controversial content (e.g., pictures of and/or references to partying, alcohol, drugs, sex, profanity, nudity, etc.) is rampant, but this is not necessarily the case. Despite the lack of research surrounding Facebook profile content, user interest in the SNS is undeniable. This paper presents the results of a content analysis of the prevalence of controversial content on Facebook.

Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg and introduced to the students of Harvard University on Wednesday, February 4th, 2004. News of the social network quickly spread across campus, and over two-thirds of the student population became registered members within the first few weeks of its existance. The “craze” then expanded to other Ivy League colleges, including: Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown, MIT, Stanford, and Yale (Arrington, 2006). Since its launch nearly ten years ago, Facebook has grown to more than 1 billion active users in numerous countries, with more new users joining daily (Ljepava et al., 2013, Newsroom, 2013).

Facebook’s popularity surge is astounding; according to Shaw (2012), “social media accounts for 18% of all time spent online,” with the average American devoting 22.5% of their Internet usage to these sites (Nielsen, 2011). It is nearly impossible to avoid references to Facebook in today’s culture. Communication and mass media courses discuss its benefits and drawbacks, evening news stories report on its surrounding controversies, magazine and newspaper headlines amplify the risks and benefits of its use, NASDAQ notes its daily stock price, and even hip-hop artist, Nsami, raps about it in his song Facebook Livin’. These are just a few of the ways SNS have captured the attention of the general public, and college students in particular. As of 2009, more than 90% of young adults in the US were routine Internet users (Lenhart, Purcell, Smith, & Zickuhr, 2010). Today, upwards of 8 out of 10 young adults have a registered Facebook profile (Brenner, 2012), with college students logging in, on average, five times per day for more than 100 minutes in total (Junco, 2012). These figures have clearly multiplied at exponential rates with the addition of new users and novel features available to Facebook members (e.g., creating personal applications, uploading videos, live chat, gaming, etc.).

Although there are similar websites (e.g., Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, etc.), those behind Facebook attempted to maintain the feel of a small, safe, personally networked community and took many precautionary steps in doing so. Unlike other SNS, Facebook membership was originally limited to college and university students, and uploaded photographs were routinely screened for pornography. It was then opened up to high school users in 2005, and for everyone worldwide at the end of 2006 (About Facebook., 2013).

As of today, anyone with access to a valid email address can register for membership and login to the site. Each member creates a profile with photographs and varied degrees of personal information ranging from: college attended, gender, birthday, hometown, and place of employment, to political views, favorite quotes/movies/music/television shows, and relationship status (see Fig. 1).

Members can surf Facebook and browse other profiles of students, alumni, staff, faculty colleagues, family members, and acquaintances, along with making requests to be connected to them as “friends.” Once a request link has been made, the other person receives a notification that someone has listed and asked for his or her friendship, and the person has the choice of whether to accept or deny the request. If the request is accepted, the two members are bound together as “friends” and have access to each other’s profiles even if one or both are private, and this will remain in effect until one or the other decides to break the connection link by “defriending.”

To date, ample academic research has focused on Facebook and other SNS as a virtual space to spread healthcare messages, news stories, and political agendas, grow business and adopt new marketing strategies, impact users’ self-esteem and self image, spout hate messages and stalk potential victims, promote learning in higher education, and meet important needs and wants. However, no existing studies have looked specifically at the content of the sites through a content analysis.

Several articles explored the subject of treating SNS as unconventional healthcare platforms since they are available not only for private use, but for professional networking in the healthcare field as well (Luo, 2007). Through both quantitative survey and qualitative interview data, Vyas, Landry, Schnider, Rojas, and Wood (2012) found that Latino adolescents perceive public health messages on SNS as credible and as an essential way to receive them. Bull, Levine, Black, Schmiege, and Santelli’s (2012) trial experiment attempted to determine whether SNS could be used for health education interventions regarding sexually transmitted infections (STI). Data revealed that STI prevention “push” notifications posted on Facebook could, in fact, help “facilitate prevention of declines in condom use among high-risk youth in the short term” (p. 471). Wolynn (2012) also discussed the use of SNS to promote and support breastfeeding through push notifications:

We have to go where the people are, make ourselves available and relevant and valuable in their social networks and in their social media platforms, and then push our information to them every month, every week, every day…Pushing is fast, convenient, almost effortless, and highly effective at reaching its target(s). It’s the kind of communication at which social media excels and the kind to which Generation Y—and, if those staggering numbers are any indication, a whole lot of other generations—is happy to consume, to consider, and to adopt as their own. (p. 365)

There has also been research conducted on SNS and source credibility. Two studies examined the strength of ethnic identity of a spokesperson promoting health messages (Spence et al., 2013, Spence et al., 2013). The results indicated strong evidence for tailoring messages based on the target audience in question. Additionally, Edwards, Spence, Gentile, Edwards, and Edwards (2013) investigated the effects of Klout score (overall influence on a social network) on source credibility, competence, and character and found that online users are able to make credibility judgments about others, even with limited exposure or contact.

Another line of research has focused on SNS as a means to disseminate both print and television-based news. Oeldorf-Hirsch (2012) conducted an experiment to evaluate the potential benefits of seeing and sharing news content on Facebook, and how this can lead to further engagement. The results suggest that feelings of involvement increased when a user shared a news story accompanied by his/her own opinion about the topic. In addition, users who tagged friends felt a greater sense of community and influence, and more “likes” led to greater interest, involvement, positive psychological outcomes, and feeling informed about the topic. Glynn, Huge, and Hoffman (2012) found that extroverts, younger people, those with lower life satisfaction, and women were significantly more likely to use Facebook for news purposes (e.g., reading news, posting links to news stories, commenting about news events, etc.). Another interesting finding was that these relationships could, in part, be driven by the fact that these types of people are more likely to spend significant time and post more content on Facebook. Holton and Chyi (2012) also noted that news stories accessed through Facebook can lead to news surplus or overload, which can ultimately cause people to shut down cognitively. This indicates that a delicate balance must be struck between using SNS to broadcast news and the amount that is presented to users.

Nonprofit, for-profit, and government agencies have also followed suit and are now using SNS to take audiences from passive bystanders to interactive consumers and engaged political activists (Kelly, 2007). Businesses and corporations are relying heavily on the word-of-mouth marketing that can take place through these sites. It allows companies to share content, create opportunities, build a network of contacts, and increase relationship management and sales performance (Rodriguez, Peterson, & Krishnan, 2012). Lovejoy and Saxton (2012) observed that nonprofit organizations focus on information, action, and community messages when using SNS to engage the public and stakeholders. Another study found that these organizations use social media “to inform and educate viewers about their missions, programs, and services…[and] discuss the organizations’ advocacy, volunteering, and fundraising efforts” (Waters & Jones, 2011, p. 248). Politicians and government agencies are also using SNS as an influential marketing tool. During the 2008 presidential election, more than 1,000 Facebook groups were created centering on Barak Obama and John McCain (Woolley, Limperos, & Oliver, 2010). Conroy, Feezell, and Guerrero (2012) discussed the implications of SNS political group membership and political engagement (e.g., knowledge and participation), noting that SNS group involvement transferred to political participation offline. De Zúñiga (2012) found similar results, stating that political knowledge and efficacy, along with frequency and size of political discussion networks, are significant predictors of on- and offline political participation.

These sites have also motivated investigations into the link between SNS use and self-esteem. Valkenburg, Peter, and Schouten (2006) investigated the impact of SNS on teenagers’ sense of worth and confidence, arguing that “positive feedback on the profiles enhanced adolescents’ social self-esteem and well-being, whereas negative feedback decreased their self-esteem and well-being” (pp. 585). Over a course of three studies, Forest and Wood (2012) found that those with a low self-esteem considered Facebook to be a good platform for self-disclosure; however, their pessimistic and depressing posts prompted unwanted negative responses from other people. Conversely, Gonzales and Hancock (2011) observed that people who updated and viewed their own Facebook profiles experienced a greater sense of self-esteem. In addition, Mehdizadeh (2010) revealed that people who rate higher in narcissism and lower in self-esteem were more active on Facebook and frequently posted self-promotional content (e.g., flattering photos, positive comments about themselves, inspirational quotes, etc.). Similarly, Kalpidou, Costin, and Morris (2011) found that having a large number of Facebook friends thwarts academic and emotional adjustment among college freshman, though the opposite relationship exists for upper-classmen. Results also indicated that spending a lot of time on SNS is related to low self-esteem.

An additional area of research has focused on the implications of using social media in higher education settings to enhance learning and social connectedness (see Cardona-Divale, 2013, Everson et al., 2013, Hung and Yuen, 2010, Nobles, 2012, Ractham et al., 2012). Most recently, however, the social networking hype has shifted towards cyberbullying and cyberstalking. This form of harassment is considered to be crueler and more damaging than traditional bullying because of “an increased potential for a large audience, an increased potential for anonymous bullying, lower levels of direct feedback, decreased time and space limits, and lower levels of supervision” (Sticca & Perren, 2013, p. 739). Many users place personal information on the Internet, fully expecting it to remain private; however, uploading photos or information on the World Wide Web allows the entire online universe to access it at any time, even when it has been hypothetically “deleted.” This generally unknown reality has led to personal problems and legal situations for numerous users. SNS are essentially “replacing the street corner and playground discussions of the past [and] any digital record can confront its author again as an e-discovery document in a court of law” (Ponschock, 2007, p. 4371). Moreover, cyberbullying and cyberthreats are causing much trepidation in schools and concern for parents. Willard (2007) predicted the real-life online risks that teenagers take when they log on to SNS: offensive posts, malicious rumors, bigotry and hate, exclusion from online groups, intimidation and harassment, and the disclosure of one’s own personal intimate information by other peers online. Kwan and Skoric (2013) found that engagement in risky online behaviors (e.g., disclosing personal information, posting controversial content that could compromise safety, friending or accepting friend requests from strangers, etc.) was positively related to bullying. They also noted that 59.4% of users experienced at least one form of bullying on Facebook in the last year (e.g., receiving offensive messages, insults or threats, being made a spectacle to laugh at, experiencing exclusion from groups, and being tricked or coerced into revealing confidential information).

With the plethora of studies concerning social media as a healthcare platform, news source, business and political lobbying venue, classroom tool, and self-esteem obstacle, one cannot deny Facebook’s popularity and importance in interactive communication now and in the future. Previous studies on SNS have been successful at incorporating marketing strategies, adolescent self esteem issues, and fear tactics. By posing good questions and tackling touchy topics, researchers have created the stepping-stones for further examination; nevertheless, no prior research has empirically documented content posted on Facebook profiles through a content analysis. Answers to this question could help predict the nature and pervasiveness of information that users choose to place on their Facebook profiles, as well as strengthen our understanding of how and why people use SNS.

Some high-profile cases involving Facebook have recently received unfavorable news coverage. Students have posted controversial material (e.g., alcohol, drugs, partying, profanity, sexual contact), and the media, parents, and authority figures have generalized such misconduct to a sizable segment of the student population. Critics are making the assumption that most Facebook users are tactless, irresponsible, and reckless “kids” who are out of control.

Although these kinds of antics online may appear to be harmless fun, the fact that many Facebook members are unaware that their profiles are now being scrutinized by faculty members, potential employers, athletic officials, and even public safety officers is a major concern because this scrutiny may expose damaging information about their lives (Bedi, 2013). Revealing posts and exceedingly risqué pictures online can not only lead to embarrassment but often bring much more detrimental consequences.

Employers are now using Facebook to get a better feel for and learn as much as they can about an applicant (Black and Johnson, 2012, Brown and Vaughn, 2011, Slovensky and Ross, 2012). Research suggests that judgments of other peoples’ personality characteristics based on information posted on SNSs may be accurate (Back et al., 2010). Moreover, close friends of other SNS users indicate that their friends have accurately portrayed themselves on their profiles (Gosling, Augustine, Vazire, Holtzman, & Gaddis, 2011). This is consistent with the assertion that people present a more truthful impression or identity to larger audiences (Schlenker, 1980). However, students whose profiles detail weekend beer-binges and photos of their latest pole-dance extravaganza could be turned down for employment even before making it to the first round of interviews. Such an instance occurred when a promising applicant and recent graduate of Illinois University was denied a high-quality consulting job in Chicago after his potential employer logged onto Facebook and discovered his explicitly vulgar interests: “smokin’ blunts, shooting people and obsessive sex” (Finder, 2006, p. 7). Unfortunately, posts like this are often viewed out of context, and snap judgments could be made with adverse consequences for the applicant.

Additionally, campus police are using Facebook as an undercover law enforcement tool to investigate illegal student activities. Feffer (2006) explained that the Ann Arbor Department of Public Safety and Police Department admit their investigative use of Facebook at the University of Michigan. Security at Penn State also used Facebook profiles and photos “to identify students who rushed the school’s football field after a victory against Ohio State University” (Tambe, 2006). From the gathered information and incriminating photographs, officers amassed grounds to investigate, and even punish and make arrests.

Another example is the reprimanding of four college students attending Northern Kentucky University. The students posted an incriminating photograph of themselves surrounding a beer keg in their dorm room; an on-duty Resident Advisor (RA) saw the photos and immediately phoned authorities. All four students received a one-year on-campus probation, $50 fines, and orders to take an Alcohol Awareness class focusing on the dangers of binge and underage drinking (Davenport, 2005). Additionally, two top-ranked swimmers from Louisiana State University lost their athletic rights and scholarships and were removed from the team because of their affiliation with a Facebook group that ridiculed and belittled their swim team coaches (Brady & Libit, 2006).

Furthermore, over 100 students from Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota were reprimanded and suspended from sports and other extracurricular activities due to the “partying” nature of their online photos (Smith & Blanchard, 2008). Lastly, a 19-year-old male was arrested in February of 2013 and put in jail on a $500,000 bond because of a Facebook argument over a video game. The sarcastic post could land him years in prison: “I’m fucked in the head alright. I think I’ma shoot up a kindergarten and watch the blood of the innocent rain down and eat the beating heart of one of them” (Gross, 2013, p. 1). As of July 2013, the 19-year-old was still incarcerated and was on suicide watch as he awaited his trial. These specific cases of controversy and mayhem surrounding Facebook have led to bans on many athletes and students across the country from using the website; and the cases have sparked heated debates of privacy issues.

However, police officials, college administrators, and prospective employers are not the only people using Facebook to search for information about student members. Jones, Mitchell, Wolak, and Finkelhor (2013) note that in 2010, 1 in 10 young adults reported receiving unwanted sexual solicitations online. An instance in Fox Lake, Illinois involved the arrest of a 23-year old male who masqueraded as a high school girl on Facebook to lure a 15-year old boy to his residence for sex (Wischnowsky, 2007). “Internet sex crimes involving adults and juveniles more often fit a model of statutory rape—adult offenders who meet, develop relationships with, and openly seduce underage teenagers—than a model of forcible sexual assault or pedophilic child molesting” (Wolak, Finkelhor, Mitchell, & Ybarra, 2010, p. 13). In other words, some people are using SNS to seduce, groom, and manipulate potential victims.

Consequently, social network concerns shifted not only to sexual predators and inappropriate material, but also towards issues of privacy invasion. Perhaps two of the largest Facebook debacles to date occurred in September of 2006 and December of 2011 with the implementation of “News Feeds” and the “Timeline,” respectively. These features give logged in members a list of the most recent information about their friends, along with all past uploaded posts, events, and photos. Although this information can be sought out by going through a number of steps, the News Feed and Timeline allow members easy access to personal information about each Facebook friend. Users are automatically informed when their friends add new photos, update their status, write on another friend’s Wall, or even end a relationship with their significant other. All of this gives Facebook a slightly “stalker-esque” feel. At the onset of the News Feed and Timeline, there were countless complaints, official petitions, anti-News Feed and Timeline groups, and even boycotts against the website.

Students are beginning to feel their confidentiality has been breached. Student government leaders at the University of Dayton and Princeton University have gone so far as to enforce public safety policies that forbid the use of Facebook exclusively for collecting controversial material on students (Students plead for Facebook privacy, 2006). Ironically, however, all posted information, including profile details, contact information, photographs, friends, groups, and even Facebook membership, is all voluntary, under control of the user. Users of this service actively choose what to place on their profiles, and in turn, “undergraduates are susceptible to social phishing, identity theft, cyberaggression, and erosion of personal privacy” (Dillard, 2011, p. 3705).

In line with the uses and gratifications perspective (Blumler & Katz, 1974), one can assume the choices are made to satisfy social (and other) needs. Xu, Ryan, Prybutok, and Wen (2012) discussed that people use SNS to meet several needs in particular: “utilitarian (rational and goal-oriented) gratifications of immediate access and coordination, [and] hedonic (pleasure-oriented) gratifications of affection and leisure” (p. 210). Kapidzic (2013) found a significant relationship between narcissistic personality traits and the motivation to post pictures that highlight attractiveness and character. Hart (2010) observed that high school students used Facebook to pass time, and college students used the SNS for relationship maintenance. Several other studies noted that Facebook users tend to be more extroverted, narcissistic, and neurotic than nonusers (Ryan and Xenos, 2011, Seidman, 2013).

Recent research on the effects of controversial media content has focused on cultivation-related responses to television. Shanahan, Scheufele, Yang, and Hizi (2004) argued that frequent exposure to controversial content, such as smoking on television programs, would positively correlate to prevalence estimates of smoking in society. Additionally, findings of an experimental study by Kean and Albada (2003) revealed that exposure to alcohol consumption on TV influenced mental constructs concerning alcohol use. Riddle (2010) found that people who watched violent television programs gave higher estimates of real-world crime rates and police corruption. Furthermore, Beullens, Roe, and Van den Bulck (2011b) noted that people with a greater exposure to action programs were more likely to engage in reckless driving or taking risks in traffic. Although cultivation theory was developed to address the effects of television content, it has recently been applied to newer, more interactive media, such as online video games (Beullens et al., 2011a, Beullens et al., 2011b, Cicchirillo, 2010, Van Mierlo and Van den Bulck, 2004, Williams, 2006), and may apply to SNS as well. The question remains whether exposure to anti-academic (e.g., alcohol consumption, drug use, partying, etc.) or pro-academic (e.g., studying, reading, sitting in class, etc.) behaviors ultimately affect the users of Facebook.

While no research to date has examined the effects of controversial content occurring on SNS, it is probable that long-term exposure to such content would lead to higher estimates of the occurrences of certain behaviors in the real world, in line with cultivation theory predictions (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, Signorielli, & Shanahan, 2002). This should be especially true among users with little direct experience with college, such as high school and middle school students, who may internalize these perceptions and use them as future guides for behavior (Van Baaren, Maddux, Chartrand, de Bouter, & van Knippenberg, 2003). And on a more fundamental level, employers (and other power brokers) who see controversial content online would presumably be less likely to hire students who display it, to the determent of an as yet undetermined percentage of the population of student users. It remains unknown what specific information college students are disclosing on their Facebook profiles.

Until now, the content of Facebook and other SNS profiles came from speculation or case example evidence in university newspapers or news broadcasts. A careful look into the types and nature of information students choose to place on their profiles can begin the process of documenting the prevalence of certain forms of content as well as answering questions about why people use these sites. Given the lack of research on controversial content on SNS, the present investigation was directed by four research questions stemming primarily from the controversies discussed earlier and interest in gender differences in Facebook use:

  • RQ1: How prevalent is controversial content on Facebook?

  • RQ2: How frequent is anti-academic behavior compared to pro-academic behavior?

  • RQ3: How much personal information do Facebook users disclose?

  • RQ4: Are there differences between genders in amount of personal information and controversial content disclosed?

Section snippets

Methods

Content analysis has been applied to virtually all forms of communication, including: newspapers, magazines, books, radio broadcasts/commercials, speeches, literature, television, video games, blogs, and the Internet (Gunter, 2000, Holsti, 1969, Krippendorf, 2004). Developing a systematic coding scheme is imperative to launching a content analysis (Kaid and Wadsworth, 1989, Krippendorf, 2004, Nuendorf, 2002, Weber, 1990). In the present study, controversial content on Facebook was coded using

Results

To answer the first and third research questions (RQ1 and RQ3) advanced in this study, descriptive statistics and frequencies were computed. The second research question (RQ2) was tested using a paired samples t-test, and the final research question (RQ4) was tested using an independent samples t-test.

Discussion and conclusions

This study documents the prevalence of controversial and privacy-threatening content on Facebook. In doing so, it provides a baseline for future work examining the use and effects of Facebook and other SNS. More importantly, perhaps, this study provides strong empirical evidence for the presence of particular types of Facebook content, at a time when weaker anecdotal claims about the site seem unbridled in the media and among school administrators, potential employers, and others. Findings of

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    1

    Associate Professor at Cleveland State University, passed away during revision of this manuscript on May 20, 2013.

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