Social Media and Attachment Theory

Attachment Theory Applied to Social Media Interactions

Content:

• Ubiquitous social media
• Attachment style predicts social media utilise
• Social media'due south function in dating relationships & Social media addiction
• Self-expression and branding in social media
• Violent content and cyberbullying
• Conclusion: Risks & opportunities

Ubiquitous social media

Social media like Facebook accept shaped how people are managing social relationships [1]. For example, 86% of adults under thirty are using social media on a regular basis [2], which makes clear how pervasive these digital platforms have become.

Zipper style predicts social media employ

In that location is the critique that social media might foster superficial relationships [3]. From the other side around, studies show that the degree to which knowledge is shared online depends on an individual's online attachment, commitment for online relationships, and altruism [4]. It was constitute that attachment style influences online social relationships in correspondence with offline situations. According to attachment theory, attachment preferences effect from continuous interactions leading to patterns of behavior towards a child's caregiver and subsequently towards other people [17]. Individuals who feel secure in relationships are predictably likely to exist socially well connected on social media [5].

Social media's role in dating relationships & Social media addiction

Insecure attachment negatively impacts romantic partnerships. Interestingly though, command and 'spying' through social media tin can reassure a partner of an avoidant attachment fashion person in being cherished, the social media information gathering and monitoring beingness interpreted as interest and care and therefore taken every bit compensation for the generally negatively perceived avoidant zipper style [vi]. In the dating stage of a relationship, Electronic Intrusion (EI), e.g., unannounced surveillance and monitoring of online activities, might be at the same time the result of and reinforce attachment anxiety and therefore plant a problematic online dating behavior [7]. Attachment feet is likewise institute to be associated with social media habit when controlled for the stronger effect of the fright of missing something out [8].

Self-expression and branding in social media

High social media use tin have positive effects on zipper, as to an institution like a college, which can positively influence 1'due south well-being [2]. Social media has proven to provide an effective ways for favorable and accurate self-presentations that is important for one's positive socialization and psychological functioning [9]. The understanding of people's attachment styles from their social media utilize provides opportunities to, for example, marketing-related targeting of potential customers and supporters to predict and strategically influence their attachment to brands, places, products, and services [10]. Marketers can increase zipper to their social media content by increasing source brownie and reputation, due east.g., based on positive user reviews [eleven].

Violent content & cyberbullying

Prosocial TV enhances children'due south social and emotional skills for good for you relationships [12], merely, on the other side, television and video games with violent content might as well develop aggressive behavior [13]. The aforementioned might exist true for social media content. Besides, social media habit tends to atomic number 82 to decreased mindfulness [one]. Furthermore, the risk for socially and emotionally problematic adolescents to be traditionally and cyberbullied at the aforementioned time increases, whereas the combination of both bullying forms accumulates more harm for the teens concerned [14].

Determination: Risks & opportunities

In decision, although social media entails some risks of negatively impacting social relationships, it also offers opportunities from an attachment theory perspective by supporting the germination of social relationships that facilitate positive kid-parent and peer-to-peer attachments [15]. Assessing social and emotional learning (SEL) values in Human Computer Interactions (HCI) therefore is utterly important in today's highly digitally impacted societies [16].

Photo credit: geralt (pixabay.com)

References

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[2] Kim, Y., Liu, Y., & Shan, Z. (2017). Across touchdown: College students' sports participation, social media utilise, college attachment, and psychological well-being. Telematics And Information science, doi:x.1016/j.tele.2017.03.006

[3] Freeman, J. (2016). Possible Furnishings of Electronic Social Media on Gifted and Talented Children's Intelligence and Emotional Development. Gifted Didactics International, 32(two), 165–172.

[iv] Ma, W., & Chan, A. (2014). Knowledge sharing and social media: Altruism, perceived online attachment motivation, and perceived online relationship commitment. Computers In Homo Behavior, 3951–58.

[5] Yaakobi, E. )., & Goldenberg, J. ). (2014). Social relationships and information dissemination in virtual social network systems: An attachment theory perspective. Computers In Human being Beliefs, 38127–135. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2014.05.025

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[7] Reed, L. A., Tolman, R. M., Ward, Fifty. M., & Safyer, P. (2016). Keeping tabs: Attachment anxiety and electronic intrusion in high school dating relationships. Computers In Human Behavior, 58259–268. doi:ten.1016/j.chb.2015.12.019

[8] Blackwell, D., Leaman, C., Tramposch, R., Osborne, C., & Liss, G. (2017). Extraversion, neuroticism, attachment style and fear of missing out as predictors of social media use and addiction. Personality And Individual Differences, 11669–72. doi:ten.1016/j.paid.2017.04.039

[9] Orehek, E., & Human, L. J. (2017). Self-expression on social media: Do tweets present authentic and positive portraits of impulsivity, self-esteem, and attachment mode?. Personality And Social Psychology Message, 43(one), lx–70.

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[11] Chung, N., & Han, H. (2016). The relationship amid tourists' persuasion, zipper and behavioral changes in social media. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2016.09.005

[12] Christensen, C. Thousand., & Myford, C. M. (2014). Measuring Social and Emotional Content in Children's Television: An Musical instrument Development Written report null [article]. Periodical Of Broadcasting And Electronic Media, (1), 21.

[xiii] Arnett, J. J. (2012). Human development: A cultural arroyo. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Instruction, Inc.

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[15] Levine, D. T., & Stekel, D. J. (2016). So why have yous added me? Boyish girls' technology-mediated attachments and relationships. Computers In Man Beliefs, 6325–34. doi:x.1016/j.chb.2016.05.011

[sixteen] Slovak, P., & Fitzpatrick, G. (2015). Teaching and Developing Social and Emotional Skills with Engineering science. ACM Transactions On Calculator-Human Interaction (TOCHI), 22(iv), 19:1–xix:34. doi:ten.1145/2744195

[17] Lin, J. (2015). The part of attachment manner in Facebook use and social capital: evidence from university students and a national sample. Cyberpsychology, Behavior And Social Networking, xviii(three), 173–180. doi:10.1089/cyber.2014.0341

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