Background
Empirical research is a primary study in which the authors collect data on a phenomenon to test theories or hypotheses. Analyzing such studies is essential to students as it helps them understand the various sections, content, and writing of a scholarly paper. In their article, “Negative Social Comparison on Facebook and depressive symptoms: Rumination as a Mechanism,” the authors focus on mechanisms for Facebook users developing stress (Feinstein et al., 2012).
The paper is a survey of a sample of university students enrolled in a psychology course. Although the article is limited by its reliance on a one-time self-report, it offers significant insights into the interaction between social media and mental health. The primary research question for the paper is: “Does negative self-comparison with others while using Facebook increase depressive symptoms?” The other main research question was whether increased rumination catalyzes such symptoms.
Ideally, the authors were trying to discover that people can start having stress due to comparing their posts, fashion, or anything else with others, followed by negative self-criticism that can influence the development of negative emotions. In addition, the researchers wished to establish whether the frequency of thinking about Facebook comparisons moderates the interaction outcome. Therefore, the objective was to understand if people get depressive symptoms when they compare with others on Facebook and if the amount of time spent doing such activity has any effect on the intensity of the influence.
Literature Review
The researchers cited more than 50 scholarly articles, mostly comprised of research studies done by other authors interested in the topic. For instance, the authors cite the work of Davila et al. (2012), whose cross-sectional study revealed less positive and more negative self-reports regarding interactions on social networks. Still, time spent on social media had no significant impact. Davila, Hershenberg, Feinstein, Gorman, Bhatia, and Starr are researchers published by Psychology of Popular Media Culture. Moreover, the authors describe the work of Haferkamp & Krämer (2011), who found that people who spend more time on social media looking at attractive people of the same gender experience more stress compared to those who look at non-attractive individuals of the same sex.
Nina Haferkamp is from the University of Munster’s Department of Communication, where they studies with co-author Nicole Krämer. Although previous studies had examined, in general, some of the negative implications that social media use may have on the mental health of its users, the current study aimed to establish the specific processes that expose users to the risk of having depressive symptoms. Particularly, the current researchers used path analysis for testing mediation models to enhance knowledge of the action mechanisms and control for overall social comparison tendencies for getting stringent tests.
Methodology Section
The research methodology and approach used by the current study differed from those done by past researchers. For instance, they used path analysis, where the participants had to complete the first survey and a three-week follow-up. The advantage of path analysis is that it is effective when simultaneously testing relationships between the outcome and predictor variables.
The research design used by the authors was an online survey in which the participants were required to complete a general social comparison questionnaire with some questions specific to the interactions on Facebook. The survey method is a quantitative approach where the questions asked are closed-ended. Noteworthy, the study had four primary measures: Facebook and general social comparisons, ruminations, and depressive symptoms. The questionnaire included questions on all the variables under investigation to enable correlational studies on them.
The research participants had to meet specific inclusion criteria to be eligible for participation. For instance, respondents had to be learners at least 18 years old and enrolled in a psychology course, where they were given extra credits for participating in the study. The selection in terms of gender was 181 females and 105 males, but 9% failed to complete the follow-up assessment, leading to a retention rate of 96% (Feinstein et al., 2013).
Moreover, nine other participants were excluded for failing to finish a single measure or more. The racial/ethnic distribution of the participants included 42% Asians, 40% Caucasians, 3% Middle-Easterners, 5% African Americans, and the rest amounted to 6% (Feinstein et al., 2013). Given the online nature of the experiment, the participants were allowed to participate from any location.
Discussion Section
The researchers start by outlining the hypothesis that they were testing, which includes whether negative self-comparison with other Facebook users enhances depressive symptoms. Their other interest was establishing whether rumination and the passive repetitive focus on the resultant effect can lead to more depressive symptoms.
The findings showed a positive correlation between social comparisons on Facebook and stress. The association was more significant the first time (T1) compared to the second time of the survey, which was after three weeks (T2). In addition, the authors claim that their findings allow them to deduce that rumination has a mediating impact on the depressive symptoms that users develop when they negatively criticize their social posts by comparing them with others. The authors try to discuss their results by comparing how different or similar they are to other studies.
For instance, their discussion shows consistent results with other studies that when Facebook users continually ruminate over their inferiority, they tend to develop more depression. The authors then give possible reasons for discrepancies in the findings as a way of validating the results. The discussion includes the strength of the study, such as having a large sample from a racially diverse population. However, the study notes the limitation of relying on a one-time self-report measure.
According to the authors, findings from the study have significant public health implications due to the transactional and bidirectional nature of depression. Notably, the study sheds more light on the process that makes people more vulnerable to the negative impacts of Facebook and other social media channels. People in the real world can now be informed and avoid negative practices while using Facebook.
For example, people in the real world can avoid negative social comparison and rumination to avoid developing depressive symptoms. The other way in which this research paper is helpful is in further development of scientific research. For example, the authors provide recommendations for future researchers to test complex models accounting for maladaptive emotional regulation among Facebook and other social media users.
Personal Opinion
My reaction to the paper is that it is insightful and provides significant information on topics relevant to the contemporary world. Many people worldwide use social media channels for interaction. At the same time, there is an increase in discussions and a general perception of the negative impact that Facebook may have on its users.
The complexity is that many people do not know whether to avoid social media in general or to continue using the channels with precautions. The research paper provides a hint on the kind of use that is problematic and needs to be avoided. Specifically, people should prevent negative self-comparison and rumination and instead focus on other positive things, such as building friendships.
Reading through the research article has allowed me to think of different directions that future researchers can take. For example, some researchers can replicate this study but make it longitudinal. The rationale for my suggestion is that the authors stated that the limitation was that they used a one-time self-report. Thus, multiple self-reports should be done for five years; it will enhance the reliability of the paper.
My other suggestion for future researchers is to consider checking the impact of using different forms of social media, including Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, and TikTok, to establish if they have a different impact on mental health. In addition, the sample was from university students who are likely to have the same level of education and age group. Therefore, my suggestion is that future researchers can use samples from people within different age groups and academic qualifications to assess any differences based on those variables.
The authors provide important clarity on some factors that cause social media users to develop stress. Specifically, they show that using Facebook, where people compare their social status with other people, can cause people to develop depressive symptoms. Ruminating over the negative self-image relative to other individuals mediates the problem. The findings of the study are helpful to public health and research. People who use Facebook should be cautious when viewing the profiles of other people to avoid negative self-criticism.
References
Davila, J., Hershenberg, R., Feinstein, B. A., Gorman, K., Bhatia, V., & Starr, L. R. (2012). Frequency and quality of social networking among young adults: Associations with depressive symptoms, rumination, and co-rumination. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 1(2), 72-86. Web.
Feinstein, B. A., Hershenberg, R., Bhatia, V., Latack, J. A., Meuwly, N., & Davila, J. (2013). Negative social comparison on Facebook and depressive symptoms: Rumination as a mechanism. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 2(3), 161-170. Web.
Haferkamp, N., & Krämer, N. C. (2011). Social comparison 2.0: Examining the effects of online profiles on social networking sites. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 14(5), 309-314. Web.