PSYCHOLOGY OF SOCIAL MEDIA
1. Intro & psychological underpinnings of social media and social
networks
2. The psychology of individual differences: personality
Does personality have anything to do of what people write on
social media?
Is Social Media Use Changing Who We Are?
3. Romantic Relationships
Phubbing
4. Social media and well-being
Social Media and Body Image
Social media and self-objectification
5. Cyberbullying
6. Guest lecture: Being connected in a self-determined way – mindful
media use as a measure against digital stress?
The use and abuse of social media
7. Guest lecture: Social Media and Democratic Outcomes: The Case of
Incidental Exposure
Political participation and social media - Social (media) movements
and protests
,PSYCHOLOGY OF SOCIAL MEDIA
SESSION 1 – INTRO & PSYCHOLOGICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF SOCIAL
MEDIA AND SOCIAL NETWORKS
INTRODUCTION
Social media: overlapping fields → here focus on psychology
Social media and marketing
The psychology of social media…
Social media use is pervasive across all ages – what is the impact of this use?
• Endless communication and connection provided by social media - is it changing the way we think and
absorb information?
• Are some developing social media habits that can simultaneously benefit and harm their mental
health?
• Why, why, why?
o What are our psychological motivations of posting, commenting, scrolling etc?
o What makes a habit turn into an addiction?
, o How does social media use shape identity?
o What are the mental health benefits/challenges associated with social media use?
• Endless questions………………………..
• This course is really about trying to understand why and how so much of our everyday lives and
modern culture came to be saturated with these incredibly popular services.
• Other questions that we will answer on the basis of science:
o How are identities expressed and negotiated on social media? Can we still be ourselves in
anonymous online environments?
o How many ‘friends’ can we actually connect with?
o What is the point of sharing pictures that disappear?
o Why do we want to add a sh*tload of hashtags to our Instagram pictures?
o To what extent do social media and extremism go hand in hand?
o Why and how should we swipe for sex?
o Why do some cyberbully others on social media?
→ only 5% of the American adults used at least one
social media platform in the beginning of the study
→ 2011 half of all Americans.
→ The more Americans adapted SM, the
social media user base has grown more
representative of the broader population.
Youth was the first to adapt, but usage by
all increased recently. Why? The young
adults became older
→ Yt & Fb biggest share in America
→ also dependent on age and gender
, → Huge age gaps, depending on the platform
→ Biggest age gap for snapchat
→ Instagram use is wide
→ Fb users and Insta users diverge very much
→ Fb more coherent group of users
→ e.g. Instagram: diff for diff ages
→ it’s a part of our daily lives
1. Intro & psychological underpinnings of social media and social
networks
2. The psychology of individual differences: personality
Does personality have anything to do of what people write on
social media?
Is Social Media Use Changing Who We Are?
3. Romantic Relationships
Phubbing
4. Social media and well-being
Social Media and Body Image
Social media and self-objectification
5. Cyberbullying
6. Guest lecture: Being connected in a self-determined way – mindful
media use as a measure against digital stress?
The use and abuse of social media
7. Guest lecture: Social Media and Democratic Outcomes: The Case of
Incidental Exposure
Political participation and social media - Social (media) movements
and protests
,PSYCHOLOGY OF SOCIAL MEDIA
SESSION 1 – INTRO & PSYCHOLOGICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF SOCIAL
MEDIA AND SOCIAL NETWORKS
INTRODUCTION
Social media: overlapping fields → here focus on psychology
Social media and marketing
The psychology of social media…
Social media use is pervasive across all ages – what is the impact of this use?
• Endless communication and connection provided by social media - is it changing the way we think and
absorb information?
• Are some developing social media habits that can simultaneously benefit and harm their mental
health?
• Why, why, why?
o What are our psychological motivations of posting, commenting, scrolling etc?
o What makes a habit turn into an addiction?
, o How does social media use shape identity?
o What are the mental health benefits/challenges associated with social media use?
• Endless questions………………………..
• This course is really about trying to understand why and how so much of our everyday lives and
modern culture came to be saturated with these incredibly popular services.
• Other questions that we will answer on the basis of science:
o How are identities expressed and negotiated on social media? Can we still be ourselves in
anonymous online environments?
o How many ‘friends’ can we actually connect with?
o What is the point of sharing pictures that disappear?
o Why do we want to add a sh*tload of hashtags to our Instagram pictures?
o To what extent do social media and extremism go hand in hand?
o Why and how should we swipe for sex?
o Why do some cyberbully others on social media?
→ only 5% of the American adults used at least one
social media platform in the beginning of the study
→ 2011 half of all Americans.
→ The more Americans adapted SM, the
social media user base has grown more
representative of the broader population.
Youth was the first to adapt, but usage by
all increased recently. Why? The young
adults became older
→ Yt & Fb biggest share in America
→ also dependent on age and gender
, → Huge age gaps, depending on the platform
→ Biggest age gap for snapchat
→ Instagram use is wide
→ Fb users and Insta users diverge very much
→ Fb more coherent group of users
→ e.g. Instagram: diff for diff ages
→ it’s a part of our daily lives
