Can friend-networking sites really impact a child's self-esteem?
In this study done by the University of Amsterdam, researchers studied the use of friend-networking sites and their ability to affect adolescents' self-esteem and overall well-being. With the rise of technology in younger generations, friend-networking sites such as Friendster, Myspace, or a more recent Facebook, have had the ability to connect young people to other people all over the internet. Researchers used an online survey to determine if the frequency an adolescent used the site, the number of relationships formed on the site, the frequency feedback was received, or the tone of the feedback received could influence the child's self-esteem and overall well being.
Researchers predict adolescents' social self-esteem will be either be positively or negatively impacted depending on the tone of feedback they receive on their networking sites.
Within the study, self-esteem is defined as an adolescent's view of their own self-worth or satisfaction with themselves. There are three main ways in which this can be evaluated; through physical appearance, through romantic attractiveness, and through their own ability to form and maintain friendships. High self-esteem can then lead to good well-being as well. Researchers predicted that the use of friend-networking sites will affect a child's self-esteem and can be have in either a positive or negative impact. They anticipate that positively toned reactions on friend-networking sites will cause increased social self-esteem and negatively toned reactions will caused low social self-esteem for the user. They surveyed users on a Dutch site called CU2 who voluntary answered questions about how frequently and intensely they used the site, the type and amount of feedback they receive, and personal questions about how they view themselves as well.
Adolescents' social self-esteem was altered by the type of feedback they received on their networking sites, positive feedback led to high self-esteem and negative feedback led to low self-esteem .
Of the users that took the survey, the tone of feedback each participant received greatly varied (See chart in slideshow). Researchers who conducted this study found that self-esteem was directly correlated with their self-esteem. Those who had always or mostly received positive feedback on their site were found to have high self-esteem while the 7% of adolescents who claimed to always or mostly receive negative feedback were found to have much lower self-esteem. This direct relationship proves that what is said about a child on a networking site truly can impact how that child feels about themselves.
Networking sites can have negative effects on children and can even lead to a rise in cyberbullying, another self-esteem killer.
Adolescents often engage in what is known as "imaginative audience" behavior, in which they tend to overestimate the extent to which others are watching or judging them on a daily basis. This can lead to young children being extremely focused on the way they look, act, and are perceived by others. The use of friend-networking sites can make this judgement be felt 24/7 in adolescents because their information is on the internet at all times. Because of this, young people are often more insecure and lack confidence in themselves. These insecurities can be abused with another unfortunate trend on the internet, cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is a form of bullying that is done through the use of electronics or technology, which would also have a negative effect on a child's self-esteem.
The results of the study proved that networking sites aren't all bad, could they be used increase in adolescents' self-esteem?
It is true that there is much controversy with the trend of cyberbully and the impact so many young people interacting on networking sites over the internet having low self-esteem. However, the article states that student's who received positive feedback had higher self-esteem. Therefore, there may be potential for these networking sites, if used properly to only deliver compliments and good thoughts, could potentially help young people gain self-esteem, self-confidence, and boost their overall well-being.
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