Adolescent Self-Presentation on Facebook and its Impact on Self-Esteem

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Metzler, Anna^* | Scheithauer, Herbert

Affiliations: Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Correspondence: [*] Address for correspondence: Anna Metzler, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany. E-mail: annarehm@zedat.fu-berlin.de.

Abstract: A considerable body of research has examined the association between self-presentation on social networking sites and personality in adults. Yet, there is a lack of corresponding research on adolescents as well as studies on alternative measures of personality traits of the self. The current study investigates, using a cross-sectional multi-method approach, whether adolescents present themselves according to their self-concept on Facebook, using a multi-dimensional perspective of self-concept, and whether a congruent self-presentation is associated with self-esteem. Adolescents aged 14–17 years (N = 143) were recruited through various online channels. Using multiple regression analysis, we found that overall adolescents’ self-presentation on Facebook reflects their reported self-concept facets. The evidence also suggests that there is a positive association between adolescents’ congruent self-presentation and self-esteem. The implications and future research directions with respect to self-presentation on Facebook in adolescence are discussed.

Keywords: Self-presentation, Facebook, adolescence, self-concept, self-esteem

DOI: 10.3233/DEV-150163

Journal: International Journal of Developmental Science, vol. 9, no. 3-4, pp. 135-145, 2015