It is all about being popular: The effects of need for popularity on social network site use
Open accessAbstract
Prior research on predictors of social network site (SNS) use has mainly focused on the Big Five, narcissism, and self-esteem. Results have been inconsistent, and variance explained was rather low. Need for popularity (NfP) might be a better predictor of SNS use, because SNSs are ideal venues for people with a high NfP. Study 1 tested NfP, self-esteem, need to belong, entitlement, and vanity as predictors for a range of SNS behaviors; Study 2 replaced entitlement and vanity with narcissism and added the Big Five as predictors. SNS behaviors assessed were grooming, strategic self-presentation, profile enhancement, disclosure of feelings, routine use of SNS , and number of friends . Results showed that NfP was the strongest and most consistent predictor of SNS behaviors. This pattern indicates that NfP plays an important role in SNSs.
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References 37 · Cited by 241
- Authors
- Utz, S., Tanis, M., & Vermeulen, I.
- Affiliations
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
- Venue
- Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2011-10-11
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 37-42
- ISSN
- 2152-2715 (ISSN-L)
- 2152-2723
- OpenAlex
- W2060960003
- Semantic Scholar
- 0576e810fbf7b668867e616159d26f449952fe7b
- Cited by
- 241
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 26.69
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- research.vu.nl
- Locations
- Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- VU Research Portal (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Digital Academic REpository of VU University Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Networks and Communications › Media and Digital Communication
- Keywords
- social network sites, narcissism, self-esteem, need to belong, entitlement, vanity, Big Five personality traits, strategic self-presentation, online grooming, number of friends
- MeSH terms
- Data Collection, Female, Humans, Male, Narcissism, Personality, Regression Analysis, Self Concept, Social Desirability, Internet, Young Adult, Social Networking
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