Exploring similarities and differences between online and offline friendships: The role of attachment style

Internet impropriety: Moral identity, moral disengagement, and antisocial online behavior within an early adolescent to young adult sample

INTRODUCTION

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are the most popular medium for social communication amongst adolescents and young adults. However, there is growing concern surrounding heightened ICT use and the activation of influential social constructs such as moral identity and moral disengagement. The importance of moral ideals to oneself (i.e., moral identity) and the distancing of oneself from these moral ideals (i.e., moral disengagement) are often contextual and were tested for differences in online domains compared to face-to-face interactions.

METHODS

Three hundred and ninety-two early adolescent to young adult participants (M_age  = 19.54 years, SD = 4.48) completed self-report questionnaires that assessed online and face-to-face behavior in this cross-sectional study.

RESULTS

Moral identity in an online context was significantly lower when compared to family and friend contexts. Further, moral disengagement was significantly higher in an online context when compared to face-to-face contexts and online moral disengagement significantly mediated the relationship between online moral identity and antisocial online behaviors (i.e., pirating, trolling, and hacking, etc.,). Both of these contextual differences remained stable across early adolescence to young adulthood.

CONCLUSION

Moral identity and moral disengagement exhibit sociocognitive effects within online contexts across ages of early developmental importance. These results may account for high prevalence rates of antisocial online behavior such as trolling, pirating, and hacking within this sample. As social interaction for younger demographics continues to gravitate online, these results highlight that online contexts can influence important personality constructs.

Insecure Attachment Styles and Phubbing: The Mediating Role of Problematic Smartphone Use

Lately, increasing concern has focused on the incessant and intrusive use of smartphones across a wide range of interpersonal and relational contexts. Of concern is that many people appear to snub someone during face-to-face interactions by focusing more on their smartphone than on their relational partner, namely, phubbing. Individuals with insecure attachment styles may phub their intimate others more often. However, such relationships have not been examined. This study used a cross-sectional design to examine key relationships between insecure attachment styles on phubbing. An online survey was conducted to examine the relationships between the variables of this study ( $N=444$ , 72% female: mean age 20). The analyses revealed both anxious-preoccupied and dismissive-avoidant attachment styles to be positively associated with phubbing. Moreover, both insecure attachment styles indirectly predicted phubbing through problematic smartphone use (PSU). Insecure attachment styles appear to impact how often people phub others within intimate relationships, and further, PSU may function as a mechanism linking these insecure attachment styles with phubbing.

Research trends in social media addiction and problematic social media use: A bibliometric analysis

Despite their increasing ubiquity in people's lives and incredible advantages in instantly interacting with others, social media's impact on subjective well-being is a source of concern worldwide and calls for up-to-date investigations of the role social media plays in mental health. Much research has discovered how habitual social media use may lead to addiction and negatively affect adolescents' school performance, social behavior, and interpersonal relationships. The present study was conducted to review the extant literature in the domain of social media and analyze global research productivity during 2013-2022. Bibliometric analysis was conducted on 501 articles that were extracted from the Scopus database using the keywords social media addiction and problematic social media use. The data were then uploaded to VOSviewer software to analyze citations, co-citations, and keyword co-occurrences. Volume, growth trajectory, geographic distribution of the literature, influential authors, intellectual structure of the literature, and the most prolific publishing sources were analyzed. The bibliometric analysis presented in this paper shows that the US, the UK, and Turkey accounted for 47% of the publications in this field. Most of the studies used quantitative methods in analyzing data and therefore aimed at testing relationships between variables. In addition, the findings in this study show that most analysis were cross-sectional. Studies were performed on undergraduate students between the ages of 19-25 on the use of two social media platforms: Facebook and Instagram. Limitations as well as research directions for future studies are also discussed.

Preference of online friends over face-to-face friends: Effect of interpersonal fears on online relationship building preference

The emergence of online social networking has increased development of exclusively online friendships. Individuals in online environments are willing to invest considerable time and effort to develop and maintain relationships as they would in other gathering spaces. In some cases, individuals find it preferable to make friends via the internet over more traditional means of relationship formation. The current study examines preference for online friends over face-to-face friends. Initially, we developed a brief, one-dimensional, 11-item questionnaire assessing online friendship preference based on semi-structured interviews. Confirmatory factor analysis showed support for a one-factor model. Internal consistency was established using inter-item correlation, corrected item-total correlation, and Cronbach’s α. Subsequently, we examined the psychological determinants and consequences of preference for online friendship formation. Participants who reported higher fear of intimacy and perceived relationship vulnerability reported greater preference for online friends over face-to-face friends. Preference for online friendship was related to increased risk of problematic internet use. The findings suggest that interpersonal fears, combined with attributes of online communication (e.g., reduced social cues and more personal control) motivate some individuals to prefer online intimacies over face-to-face friendships, thereby increasing time spent online.

When friends behave badly: Loneliness and children's expectations of friends and responses to transgressions

Previous research has shown that friendships buffer against loneliness, but some children remain lonely despite having best friends. The current study examines relationships between loneliness and Friendship Functions, expectations, and responses to friendship transgressions in children with best friends (8-11 years; N = 177). Children completed questionnaires that measured loneliness, fulfilment of Friendship Functions, Friendship Expectations, and the Transgressions of Friendship Expectations Questionnaire (MacEvoy & Asher, Child Development, 83, 2012, 104). Findings in the current study showed that loneliness was associated with lower Friendship Expectations and higher reliable alliance in existing best friendships. Loneliness was also associated with lower sadness and lower perceptions of feeling controlled and devalued by their friend when they transgress. Thus, children with best friends experiencing high loneliness may be more permissiveness of friendship transgressions and may need support to ensure that they do not allow their friends to be unfair to them. Statement of contribution What is already known on the subject? Friendships buffer children from loneliness, but some remain lonely despite having friends. Loneliness has been associated with poor-quality friendships. But there is no examination of why children remain lonely when they have friends. What the present study adds? Lonely children overemphasize friendship qualities that help to maintain the relationship. Loneliness was linked to expectations of being friends with less popular and well-liked peers. Lonely children placed less blame on their friends when they violated Friendship Expectations.

The importance of the Whatsapp family group: an exploratory analysis

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to focus on WhatsApp, a mobile messaging service for smartphones that began in 2009. The study uses attachment theory, a social support perspective and one personality characteristic derived from the Big Five theory of personality (“openness to experience”) and attempts to predict how these variables influence the importance of the WhatsApp family group.

Design/methodology/approach

– Research was conducted in Israel during the first semester of the 2015 academic year and encompassed 191 undergraduate communication students. Researchers used six questionnaires to gather personal details, WhatsApp use, WhatsApp importance, attachment, openness to experience, and social support.

Findings

– The findings confirm that the personality characteristic of openness to experience and social support significantly predict the importance of WhatsApp family group. Findings present a complex and ambiguous relationship between the attachment variables and the importance of WhatsApp family group.

Originality/value

– The literature has not yet dealt with the issue of WhatsApp groups. Hence, the current study highlights associations between WhatsApp family group and attachment theory, the personality characteristic of openness to experience, social support, and family frequency use.

[Self-disclosure on the Net: A risk factor for problematic use of the Internet among insecure persons]

INTRODUCTION

Problematic use of the Internet (PUI) is more and more commonly seen among psychiatry patients. PUI is defined as an excessive preoccupation about and use of the Internet, which can be characterized by more time spent on-line than what was planned, with difficulties leading to distress or significant disorders. The new mode of interaction provided by the Internet facilitates self-disclosure, especially for socially anxious persons who feel safer and more comfortable in on-line compared with face-to-face interactions. Several studies point to the fact that insecure attachment, and particularly preoccupied attachment, is associated with problematic use of the Internet. Preoccupied attachment is characterized by a negative model of self and a positive model of others. Persons with a negative model of self feel anxious in interpersonal relationships. Because self-disclosure is easier on-line, it may play a role in problematic use of the Internet.

AIMS

The aim of the study is to better understand the link between insecure attachment and problematic use of the Internet, by examining the mediating role of self-disclosure.

METHOD

Participants anonymously completed the following self-questionnaires on-line: the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), which assesses problematic use of the Internet, the Relationship Scale Questionnaire (RSQ), which evaluates attachment, and the "Real-me" questionnaire, which measures increased self-disclosure on the Internet compared with face-to-face interactions.

SAMPLE

Participants (n=200, 73 % women) were recruited via e-mails, social networks, ads in local stores and leaflets in public places, directing them towards a link in which they could complete the on-line questionnaires.

DATA ANALYSIS

Descriptive analyses were conducted to examine the main characteristics of participants. A t-test was used to explore gender differences. Main analyses consisted of correlational analyses between attachment, the "Real-me", and problematic use of the Internet. A series of regression analyses were then used to test the mediating role of the "Real-me" in the link between insecure attachment and problematic use of the Internet.

RESULTS

Results confirm the associations between problematic use of the Internet and, respectively, preoccupied and fearful attachment. Complete mediation of the "Real-me" in the association between negative model of self (attachment) and problematic use of the Internet was also confirmed.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Preoccupied and fearful attachments are both associated with problematic use of the Internet. These persons have a negative model of self which may hamper their ability to be at ease in face-to-face interactions. Being themselves on the Internet mediates the link between negative model of self and problematic use of the Internet. Resorting to a less threatening environment of exchange may thus explain these insecure individuals' tendency to overuse the Internet. Future research investigating the different activities on the Internet would be useful to better determine whether certain specific activities are more closely linked to problematic use of the Internet among insecure individuals.

The role of attachment style in Facebook use and social capital: evidence from university students and a national sample

Social networking sites (SNSs) can be beneficial tools for users to gain social capital. Although social capital consists of emotional and informational resources accumulated through interactions with strong or weak social network ties, the existing literature largely ignores attachment style in this context. This study employed attachment theory to explore individuals' attachment orientations toward Facebook usage and toward online and offline social capital. A university student sample (study 1) and a representative national sample (study 2) showed consistent results. Secure attachment was positively associated with online bonding and bridging capital and offline bridging capital. Additionally, secure attachment had an indirect effect on all capital through Facebook time. Avoidant attachment was negatively associated with online bonding capital. Anxious-ambivalent attachment had a direct association with online bonding capital and an indirect effect on all capital through Facebook. Interaction frequency with good friends on Facebook positively predicted all online and offline capital, whereas interaction frequency with average friends on Facebook positively predicted online bridging capital. Interaction frequency with acquaintances on Facebook was negatively associated with offline bonding capital. The study concludes that attachment style is a significant factor in guiding social orientation toward Facebook connections with different ties and influences online social capital. The study extends attachment theory among university students to a national sample to provide more generalizable evidence for the current literature. Additionally, this study extends attachment theory to the SNS setting with a nuanced examination of types of Facebook friends after controlling extraversion. Implications for future research are discussed.

Comparing online and offline self-disclosure: a systematic review

Disclosure of personal information is believed to be more frequent in online compared to offline communication. However, this assumption is both theoretically and empirically contested. This systematic review examined existing research comparing online and offline self-disclosure to ascertain the evidence for current theories of online communication. Studies that compared online and offline disclosures in dyadic interactions were included for review. Contrary to expectations, disclosure was not consistently found to be greater in online contexts. Factors such as the relationship between the communicators, the specific mode of communication, and the context of the interaction appear to moderate the degree of disclosure. In relation to the theories of online communication, there is support for each theory. It is argued that the overlapping predictions of each theory and the current state of empirical research highlights a need for an overarching theory of communication that can account for disclosure in both online and offline interactions.