So Why Do People Use Facebook?

A new Boston University study entitled "Why do people use Facebook?" proposes that the social network meets two primary human needs: (1) the need to belong and (2) the need for self-presentation. It is a pretty academic analysis, but several interesting observations include the review of a study that found that people with a high level of narcissism and people with low levels of self-esteem spent more than an hour per day on Facebook and that it can help self-esteem. For a contrast, see this teen study of Facebook that cites one of the reasons teens use it is fear – fear of not keeping up and fear that somehow they are going to ridiculed or exposed in some way and they need to be online to make sure they can stem the tide before it becomes a flood. Of course the issue of not keeping up may be exacerbated, or become even more dire, as Facebook just added 60 new apps meant to help users share even more about their daily activities. Actually, as a long time observer, I find it rather funny that tech watchers are calling it “frictionless sharing” as someone indubitably will find a way soon to make it into something less benign.