Facebook Study: New Study reveals Facebook may improve Self-Esteem

Facebook Study

Contrary to previous studies, a recent Facebook study has revealed that it may actually raise self esteem. The Facebook study advised users who are feeling down or depressed to view their profile page which the study claims would lift their mood. This advice comes from a Facebook study which findings concluded that peoples Facebook pages helped validate users. It reassures them of their self worth and improving feelings about self perception. Co-author of the research and Facebook study, Jeff Hancock revealed. “The conventional wisdom surrounding Facebook, states the social networking platform is merely a time sink. It leads only to an assortment of varied negative consequences. However our research has found opposite conclusions. The research has shown that the site can actually be a psychologically meaningful activity. An activity which, we found provides users with a great sense of well being at an astonishingly deep level psychologically.”

The Cornell professor of communication, computer and information science, continued in another statement. “Our study suggests that the extraordinary amount of Facebook usage may actually be a reflection of its ability to satisfy ego needs. These needs have been found to be fundamental to the human condition.” To prove these statements, the co-authors Hancock and Catalina Toma examined how study participants reacted after receiving negative feedback on a speech they presented. Together they found that after receiving bad feedback, in both of the experiments which were performed participants were more likely to check their Facebook profiles on Facebook. It was also found that after checking their profiles, participants were less defensive and became more relaxed.

Again Hancock provides an insight. “As a widely available, everyday source of self affirmation, Facebook appears to be a useful instrument in people’s effort to preserve self worth and personal integrity.” The researchers believe this to occur because of the freedom of expression allowed on the profile page. The page allows users to display the personal relationships and characteristics which hold dearest. It was further found that Facebook helps remind and reaffirm users of their goals. Also their values and personal relationships. The findings develop a whole new meaning when it is considered that over one billion people globally have a profile on the platform. Furthermore studies are finding people are increasingly living a greater amount of their lives on the internet via social media.“Perhaps online daters or those who are recently divorced, find solace in the reaffirmation of self and personal identity which their Facebook profile encompasses. We found especially with those who had divorced recently that composing or reviewing their Facebook profiles allowed them to review their core beliefs and values. As I previously mentioned this activity was found to provide a sense of well being at a deep emotional level.” Hancock said, “Again students facing imminent examinations and deadlines, we observed found release from the stress by viewing their social media profile pages.”

Facebook Study Research Published

The results of this research were taken from two experiments. Each experiment analysed 88 under graduate students. The experiments were conducted by Jeff Hancock and Catalina Toma. The research was published in the March 2013 edition of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Brothers Grimm Google Doodle: Google celebrates The Brothers Grimm

Brothers Grimm Google Doodle

On 20^th December 2012 Google honoured the 200^th anniversary of the talented storytellers and writers the Brothers Grimm with a Brothers Grimm Google Doodle. The Grimm Brothers are amongst the best known folk story tellers, and their stories continue to be told to children to this day.

Included within their vast cannon are Cinderella, The Frog Prince, Rumpelstiltskin and Hansel and Gretel.

Google honoured the 200^th anniversary of the brothers by producing an interactive Google Doodle telling one of their most famous tales, Little Red Riding Hood.

The search engine announced the Doodle via a tweet which read: “Today we celebrate Grimm’s Fairytales with an interactive story of Little Red Cap (aka Red Riding Hood).” The Brothers Grimm Google Doodle based tale began with Little Red Cap (Red Riding Hood) replacing the first O in the Google logo. Users were encouraged to follow her story via a flashing red arrow. The story was broken down into 21 slides which told the famous tale of a young girl going to help her frail grandmother. On her way to her grandmother’s house Little Red Riding Hood bumps into a devious and hungry wolf who intends to devour the red hooded heroine. However, as is common knowledge to most, the wolf’s plan is thwarted by a humble lumberjack who saves the day. The Doodle ends depicting grandma content after being rescued, knitting a purples scarf which incorporates the Google logo. To view the Brothers Grimm Google Doodle in its entirety, click here.

The Grimm fairy tales were created by the brothers, Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm and Wilhelm Carl Grimm. Many of their tales have been adapted into Disney films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping beauty. However readers of the Grimm renditions will be more than aware that the Grimm tales are far darker than their Disney counterparts. The Grimm tales are adaptations of German folklore tales. The brother’s diligently spent years collecting the stories from various sources including local storytellers, at the beginning of the 19^th century. Their industrious efforts resulted in the 1812 publication of a book containing 86 German folklore tales. Another compilation of short stories followed in 1814 this time containing 84 stories. Their final publication was the two part tour de force Deutsche Sagen, which included a jaw dropping 585 German Folklore tales. The Brothers literary efforts did not go unrewarded; in 1819 they were both given honorary doctorates at Marburg University.

What is most noticeable about the creative efforts of the Grimm Brothers is the lasting impact which there work has and still has within society’s collective consciousness. A quick glance at television schedules or cinema timetables quickly reveals that the Grimm Brother’s legacy is alive and well. NBC recently launched the series Grimm, which comprised of modern adaptations of the timeless classics. ABC is also embarking on a Grimm related project, providing its own adaptations under the moniker “Once upon a Time”. Away from the screens, a recent publication: Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm aims to present the stories as they originally appeared.

Google has often celebrated the anniversaries of celebrated writers producing animations or interactive interfaces for the occasion. Many Users may remember the interactive “20,000 Leagues under the Sea” themed Doodle to celebrate the 183^rd birthday of Joules Verne. However the impact that the Grimm tales have on many children and their childhood is priceless, providing iconic and timeless tales which match their endless imagination. Due to the strength and quality of their tales it is little wonder that 200 years later they are still widely received. We loved the Brothers Grimm Google Doodle and here’s to 200 more years!

Bing April Fools 2013: Bing Basic and SEO Tag

Bing April Fools 2013

This year Bing joined the search engine April Fools’ Day bandwagon. As a search engine Bing is late to join the April Fools’ Day based tomfoolery however due to the strength of the two gags it unveiled for public consumption the search engine looks to be one to watch in future years. Here are the Bing April Fools 2013 practical jokes.

Bing April Fools 2013: Bing Basic

The search engine realised a blog on April 1^st announcing the launch of “Bing Basic”. The esoteric blog announcing the launch of Bing Basic, explains that the new feature allows users to utilise Bing without the large, colourful and beautiful clickable photos which populate the search engines user interface.

The blog continued to inform users that the search engine was performing a test, if users entered a “certain telltale query” then they would experience:

“…something a little more bland. We decided to go back to basics, to the dawn of the Internet, to reimagine Bing with more of a 1997, dial-up sensibility in mind. We may see some uptick in our numbers based on this test, but the main goal here is just to learn more about how our world would look if we hadn’t evolved.”

Bing provided no indication or hints as to what the keyword was. However when users’ entered Google, the search page changed into the Google homepage with a couple of changes. The tongue in cheek Aprils Fools’ uppercut took on the April Fools’ search engine king at their own game. The main changes in the interface, were that instead of the “I’m feeling lucky”, option users had the “I’m feeling confused” search option. Clicking the option sent users to the explanatory blog on Bing’s homepage.

There is no doubt that the prank was an assault on the bland and sparse nature of the Google homepage, masquerading as an April Fools’ Day joke; so much for the good natured wit and humor of April Fools’ Day. This joke proved to be one of the most daring and provocative internet based April Fools’ to date, and is sure to leave a sour taste in Google’s mouth.

Bing April Fools 2013: Bing’s SEO Tag Prank

In the second April Fools’ joke from Bing, they announced the launch of a new “SEO tag”. This came in the form of a piece of code which allows webmasters to inform Bing where to place their sites. The accompanying blog stated: “it’s time you take control of not just your SEO work, but of your rankings as well!” Examples Include:

< link rel= “SEO” query=“weather” set_to_position=“2”/>

< link rel= “SEO” must_be_before= “*.mycompetitor/*”/>

Hidden within the humour of this ruse is a sly stab at Google. In the blog, Bing states that one of the reasons behind its new SEO policy is that they have seen: “the positive feedback generated by this desire to partner with websites, instead of keeping them in the dark about important data by blocking it or not sharing it.”

The joke may be lost on some people, but it is referring to Google’s (not provided) keyword referrals. This is the data which Google has been exclusively sharing with AdWords advertisers since 2011.

Second Most Tweeted Event in History: Papal Election

Second Most Tweeted Event in History – The Pope

Users of Twitter may have felt recently that their feed was dominated in earlier this year by posts about the new pope. The new pope, Pope Francis I, is the first pope of South American origin. It is surprising perhaps that it has taken this long due to the large Catholic following within the continent. The election of the new pope has been marked as the second most tweeted event in history up to date.

Twitter announced on February 4^th that the site had bore witness to 7 million posts in relation to the ascension. The site went on to state that it expect the number of posts to increase dramatically before the close of the day. At the peak of the tweeting on the topic, a total of 132, 000 tweets per minute were reported to have been posted on the topic. However this was insufficient to topple Twitter champion Obama. Who in November of last year boasted an astounding 237, 000 tweets per minute. Reports have stated that an astounding 20 million tweets were sent regarding the president on the election night.

If the recent papal election is unable to topple Obama’s Twitter supremacy, then it is doubtful that an event will for the foreseeable future. Regardless of this Francis I, has received a respectable second in the Twitter popularity charts. Other events which received high numbers of tweets per minute include the announcement of the Spice Girl reunification tour. The tour amassed 116, 000 tweets per minute at the peak of its popularity. Another event to receive widespread Twitter popularity was Usian Bolts gold medal victory in the 100m. The event at its crescendo achieved 88, 000 tweets per minute on the website. Both of these events occurred during the London Olympic events last summer.

The social media analysts at Topsy, recorded a slightly higher score for the new pope. Claiming at his peak he achieved 137, 000 tweets per minute. The company went on to claim that it witnessed 4 million tweets, following the announcement of the papal election. These four million posts Topsy claimed were witnessed an astounding 15 billion times over the subsequent hours. During the election the papal election found its way into the top ten trending articles after Francis I victory was announced. The analyst’s at Topsy produced a graph to show where the tweets were originated from. Unsurprisingly a large percentage came from Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s home nation: Argentina. However the 19% of tweets from his home nation were overwhelmed by a majority of tweets from the USA who account for 22%. Surprisingly, the papal homeland of Italy accounted for a mere 3%, only 1% ahead of the largely secular UK.

The initial tweet from the new pope was unsurprisingly waited for in anticipation. The pal page had before the election deleted all of its posted content from the Pope Benedict years from the social media platform. The initial post of Francis’s ascension to the throne of St. Peter has been widely re-posted. The number of re-posts currently stands at 68, 000. Again Obama holds the record for re-tweets. Amassing an astounding 812, 000 re-tweets for his post election victory picture of “four more years”. The first tweet sent by Pope Francis. read “Dear friends, I thank you from my heart and I ask you to continue to pay for me. Pope Francis.”

Reasons To Deactivate Your Facebook Account

To Facebook or Not to Facebook

In this article we look at the many reasons to deactivate your Facebook account. Today it seems everyone has a Facebook account. In fact not having a Facebook account is akin to being a social pariah. It seems that if you do not wish to document your life on social media there must be something wrong with you. 21^st century existentialist joke:

“If something happened and you didn’t put it on Facebook, did it really happen?”

Putting aside jokes, it is true many feel that having no social media account is comparable with having no friends. This perspective does not take into account the many ways in which Facebook can damage our lives instead of enhancing it and the many reasons to deactivate your Facebook account.

Seven Reasons to Deactivate your Facebook Account

To demonstrate:

Seeking work: This proves one of the first compelling reasons to deactivate your Facebook account. A recent survey showed that 90% of recruiters used applicants Facebook profiles as part of their screening process. From this survey it was also found that 69% of applicants were rejected based on the content viewed by recruiters. Whilst you may be unaware of the subjective negatives which your account sends to potential employers. Not having a Facebook account can be viewed with equal scepticism. One extreme conclusion which recruiters have come to for applicants not having a Facebook is that they are a psychopath.

Compulsion: Without realising it, Facebook can be habit forming. One study claims that it is possible to become addicted to social networking websites. However unlike smoking or alcohol, the negative impacts of the addiction are for the most part unnoticeable. Seth Fiegerman, Business Reporter at Mashable, compares it to a credit card. Tempting and encouraging you to spend time which you may not have. Simply put, it is easier to avoid the platform early on than realise the resources lost later on. For many this could be high on the list of reasons to deactivate your Facebook.

Privacy: In the cyber age, privacy is hard enough as it is. However Facebook’s ever changing privacy policy should provide sufficient reason for deactivating your account. Facebook offers all your likes and dislikes as viewable through their graph search. The feature is readily available to anyone capable of accessing a search bar. Also Facebook makes your personal details and information available to marketers. These marketers are then able to use this information, for their own agendas without your knowledge or consent. While it may seem you can delete content and pictures, this is not the case. Online content is immortal and remains even when deleted. If you do not have a Facebook account, your thoughts pictures and details remain private. Hmm, this is one of our favourite reasons to deactivate your Facebook account.

Applying to further education: Just like applying for a job. Many further education establishments use your Facebook details as part of their vetting process.

Exam Time: Facebook encourages procrastination. Deleting your Facebook account during crucial periods such as exam season, can discourage slacking through endless Facebook scrawling.

Facebook lowers self esteem: A study conducted showed that Facebook directly affected self esteem. Many people, women especially, left Facebook feeling self conscious about body image. More than half of the studies 600 participants after looking at others online albums left wishing they had the same body image. The study also said that younger users were more likely to suffer from eating disorders. Due to the pressure they felt to conform to a particular body image. Other studies showed Facebook use promoted narcissism, aggressive behaviour and sleeping disorder in younger users. So for some people, health might be one of a few good reasons to deactivate your Facebook account.

Envy: It is proven Facebook produces envy. No surprise here really. The majority of users promote good things and forget bad things when posting. Presenting an unbalanced view of their lives. Continually reading about others achievements and success can leave a sour taste. It can also lead to comparing your life to the achievements of others. Facebook envy has been proven to cause gossip. In extreme cases degenerating to cyber bullying.