First Advisor

Erin Spottswood

Date of Publication

Fall 12-28-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.) in Communication

Department

Communication

Language

English

Subjects

Facebook (Electronic resource), Online social networks -- Psychological aspects, Stress (Psychology), Online social networks -- Social aspects, Stress management

DOI

10.15760/etd.6618

Physical Description

1 online resource (v, 87 pages)

Abstract

This study discusses Facebook as a social network site and a social media application. It compares perceived emotional support, general life stress, and media affordance-based stress from two participant samples - one that reported using the Facebook desktop site most frequently to reach out for emotional support, and one that reported using the mobile application.

The media affordance measure asked participants if perceiving a media affordance was more likely to increase or decrease their stress. In both samples, persistence was more likely to decrease stress, and personalization was more likely to increase stress. On the Facebook Desktop site, searchability was more likely to increase stress. On the Facebook mobile application, pervasiveness was more likely to decrease stress, and association to increase stress. When comparing affordances between samples, there were no significant differences found.

When comparing samples, the Facebook mobile application users reported higher life stress, but there was no difference found in perception of emotional support. Within samples, there was no correlation between perceived stress and perceived emotional support.

Finally, there was a significant correlation found between perception of emotional support on the site and frequency of reaching out for emotional support. On the Facebook desktop site, users reached out by public post and by private message significantly less frequently if they perceived a higher level of emotional support to be available on the site. On the Facebook mobile application, users reached out by public post significantly less frequently if they perceived a higher level of emotional support to be available on the application. No correlation was found for reaching out by private message on the Facebook mobile application.

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Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/27739

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