Facebook in context(s): Measuring emotional responses across time and space

This article advances a contextual approach to understanding the emotional and social outcomes of Facebook use. In doing so, we address the ambiguity of previously reported relationships between Facebook use and well-being. We test temporal (shorter vs longer time spans) and spatial (at home vs away...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inNew media & society Vol. 20; no. 3; pp. 1047 - 1067
Main Authors Bayer, Joseph, Ellison, Nicole, Schoenebeck, Sarita, Brady, Erin, Falk, Emily B
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.03.2018
Subjects
Away
social capital
well-being
mood
mobile
location
spatial
temporal
home
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:This article advances a contextual approach to understanding the emotional and social outcomes of Facebook use. In doing so, we address the ambiguity of previously reported relationships between Facebook use and well-being. We test temporal (shorter vs longer time spans) and spatial (at home vs away from home) dimensions of Facebook activity using an innovative approach. By triggering smartphone surveys in response to users’ naturalistic Facebook posting, we captured the immediate context of both mobile and desktop activities during daily life. Findings indicated positive—yet fleeting—emotional experiences up to 10 minutes after active posting and higher arousal for 30 minutes following posting at home. Nonetheless, Facebook activities predicted no changes in aggregate mood over 2 weeks, despite showing positive relationships to bridging social capital during the same period. Our results call attention to fleeting experiences (vs enduring consequences) and encourage future research to specify temporal and spatial boundaries.
ISSN:1461-4448
1461-7315
DOI:10.1177/1461444816681522