چکیده (انگلیسی):

The present two experimental studies examined the extent to which upward and downward comparison processes on Facebook influence people's state self-esteem. Participants were exposed to mock-up Facebook profiles of female and male targets with many or few Facebook friends. Participant sex was also included in the experimental design. In Study 1, a 2 (number of Facebook friends) × 2 (profile owner sex) × 2 (participant sex) experimental design was employed. Unexpectedly, the manipulation had no significant impact on people's state self-esteem. In Study 2, it was examined whether there would be a curvilinear relationship between the number of other's Facebook friends and participant's self-esteem, in that exposure to others with many or few Facebook friends increases self-esteem compared to others with a moderate number of Facebook friends. Hence, Study 2 employed a 3 (number of Facebook friends) × 2 (profile owner sex) × 2 (participant sex) between-participants experimental design. However, there was neither a linear nor a curvilinear impact of the number of other's Facebook friends on participant's level of state self-esteem. Both studies also revealed that the effects were not more pronounced when participants were exposed to same-sex rather than other-sex Facebook profiles.