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Cited by 104Impact of Technology on AdolescentsPersonality Traits and PsychologyMedia and Digital Communication

Is Facebook linked to selfishness? Investigating the relationships among social media use, empathy, and narcissism

Open access
Alloway, Tracy, Runac, Rachel, Qureshi, Mueez, Kemp, George·2014·Social Networking
DOI 10.4236/sn.2014.33020
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Abstract

The rise of social networking sites have led to changes in the nature of our social relationships, as well as how we present and perceive ourselves. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship among the following in adults: use of a highly popular social networking site—Facebook, empathy, and narcissism. The findings indicated that some Facebook activities, such as chatting, were linked to aspects of empathic concern, such as higher levels of Perspective Taking in males. The Photo feature in Facebook was also linked to better ability to place themselves in fictional situations. For only the females, viewing videos was associated with the extent to which they could identify with someone’s distress. The data also indicated that certain aspects of Facebook use, such as the photo feature, were linked to narcissism. However, the overall pattern of findings suggests that social media is primarily a tool for staying connected, than for self-promotion.

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Crossref · 10.4236/sn.2014.33020

Cites

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  • Narcissism is associated with a great involvement with problematic use of the Internet and social networks.

    “Narcissism is associated with a great involvement with problematic use of the Internet and social networks [20,32,38,39].”

    From Dark Personality Traits and Online Behaviors: Portuguese Versions of Cyberstalking, Online Harassment, Flaming and Trolling Scales (2023) · cites this paper as [38]

    The Results and discussion under “Is Facebook usage linked to narcissism?” report associations between narcissism scores and certain Facebook activities, particularly photo-related activity. The paper does not establish an association with problematic use of the Internet or social networks generally, or with greater overall involvement; §1.3 notes that narcissism was not a strong predictor of time spent on social networking sites in a prior study. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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  • Narcissism is associated with online self-promotion behaviors and trying to be more popular, which can cause problematic Internet use.

    “For its part, narcissism is associated with online self-promotion behaviors and trying to be more popular, which can cause problematic Internet use [20,32,38,39]; this coincides with our results.”

    From Dark Personality Traits and Online Behaviors: Portuguese Versions of Cyberstalking, Online Harassment, Flaming and Trolling Scales (2023) · cites this paper as [38]

    The SNS & Narcissism section describes attention-seeking and efforts to improve others’ perceptions of oneself. The discussion reports an association between narcissism and some Facebook activities, including status updates among female participants. Our copy does not establish that these behaviors are attempts to become more popular or that they cause problematic Internet use. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Dimensions of the dark triad of personality explain online behaviors.

    “These associations reinforce the behavioral characteristics of these individuals and how they may behave on the Internet, allowing us to suggest that dimensions of the dark triad of personality explain online behaviors [4,9,10,16,20,32,34,35,38,39,63].”

    From Dark Personality Traits and Online Behaviors: Portuguese Versions of Cyberstalking, Online Harassment, Flaming and Trolling Scales (2023) · cites this paper as [38]

    The Results and discussion (page unavailable) link narcissism scores to specific Facebook activities, including commenting on photos and, for females, posting status updates. That supports an association between one dark-triad trait and some online behaviors, but the paper does not examine the other dark-triad dimensions or establish that those traits explain online behavior generally. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Establishing new bonds and reviving or reinvigorating existing bonds through direct human contact or via telephone, Skype or social media not only alleviates anxiety, stress, and sadness but also sets the stage for prosocial behavior and empathy.

    “Establishing new bonds and reviving or reinvigorating existing bonds through direct human contact or via telephone, Skype or social media not only alleviates anxiety, stress, and sadness but also sets the stage for prosocial behavior and empathy (Alloway, Runac, Qureshi, & Kemp, 2014).”

    From Stress and coping in the time of COVID-19: Pathways to resilience and recovery (2020) · cites this paper as Alloway, Runac, Qureshi, & Kemp, 2014

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Wandel, T.L. (2009) Online Empathy: Communicating via Facebook to Bereaved College Students. Journal of New Communications Research, 4, 42-53.
  2. Twenge, J.M. (2006) Generation me. Free Press, New York.
  3. Campbell, W.K., Rudich, E.A. and Sedikides, C. (2002) Narcissism, Self-Esteem, and the Positivity of Self-Views: Two Portraits of Self-Love. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 358-368. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0146167202286007 · DOI · Paper page

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Authors
Alloway, T., Runac, R., Qureshi, M., & Kemp, G.
Affiliations
University of North Florida (US)
Corresponding author
Alloway, Tracy
ORCID
Alloway, Tracy
Venue
Social Networking
Publisher
Scientific Research Publishing, Inc.
Published
2014
Volume
03
Issue
03
Pages
150-158
ISSN
  • 2169-3285 (ISSN-L)
  • 2169-3323
DOI
10.4236/sn.2014.33020
OpenAlex
W2157617235
Cited by
104
References
33
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 1
FWCI
26.07
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
Social Networking (publishedVersion, cc-by)
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
Facebook, social media use, empathy, narcissism, empathic concern, perspective taking, self-promotion, online chat, image sharing, video viewing, gender differences, self-presentation

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