Measuring Gratification From and Consequences of Likes
The Potential for Maladaptive Social Media Behavior
Abstract
Abstract. Paralinguistic digital affordances (PDAs; e.g., likes) are sought out by social media users and serve an important function of enhancing social reputation in online contexts. Nonetheless, there has been no standardized measure for evaluating gratification from receiving PDAs. This study provides a brief, validated self-report questionnaire on PDA gratification. The results of factor analysis verified the three-factor structure (i.e., emotional, status, and social gratifications) of the questionnaire. Internal consistency was established using inter-item correlation, corrected item-total correlation, and Cronbach’s alpha. Gratification from receiving PDAs was positively associated with risky behaviors used to enhance fame, tendency to use social media’s black market, and problematic Internet use. The findings provide preliminary evidence that gratification from receiving PDAs may increase the likelihood of maladaptive fame-seeking behaviors in social media users. The Gratification From Receiving PDAs Questionnaire appears to be a promising measure that may offer new insights into the motivations involved in social media use.
References
1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107(2), 238–246. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.107.2.238
(1980). Significance tests and goodness of fit in the analysis of covariance structures. Psychological Bulletin, 88(3), 588–606. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.88.3.588
(2019). Experimental evidence of observed social media status cues on perceived likability. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(1), 41–51. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000164
(2018). Risky behavior via social media: The role of reasoned and social reactive pathways. Computers in Human Behavior, 78, 183–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.09.036
(1993).
(Alternative ways of assessing model fit . In K. A. BollenJ. S. LongEds., Testing structural equation models (pp. 136–162). Sage.2017). How many likes did I get?: Purpose moderates links between positive social media feedback and self-esteem. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 69, 232–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2016.09.005
(2016). Follow me and like my beautiful selfies: Singapore teenage girls’ engagement in self-presentation and peer comparison on social media. Computers in Human Behavior, 55(Part A), 190–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.09.011
(2017). Lying or longing for likes? Narcissism, peer belonging, loneliness and normative versus deceptive like-seeking on Instagram in emerging adulthood. Computers in Human Behavior, 71, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.01.037
(2014). Cultivating social resources on social network sites: Facebook relationship maintenance behaviors and their role in social capital processes. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19(4), 855–870. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcc4.12078
(2016). One click, many meanings: Interpreting paralinguistic digital affordances in social media. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 60, 171–187. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2015.1127248
(2018). When nobody “likes” you: Perceived ostracism through paralinguistic digital affordances within social media. Social Media + Society, 4(3), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118800309
(2017). “Liking” and being “liked”: How are personality traits and demographics associated with giving and receiving “likes” on Facebook? Computers in Human Behavior, 68, 292–299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.048
(2018). Problematic social networking site use and comorbid psychiatric disorders: A systematic review of recent large-scale studies. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00686
(2015). Use of social networks by university students. Human Information Interaction, 2(1), 59–73.
(2019). Psychometric evaluation of the nine-item Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIUQ-9) in nine European samples of internet users. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10, Article
(136 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.001362020). Getting fewer “likes” than others on social media elicits emotional distress among victimized adolescents. Child Development, 91(6), 2141–2159. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13422
(2018). “Likes” as KPI: An examination of teenage girls’ perspective on peer feedback on Instagram and its influence on coping response. Telematics and Informatics, 35(7), 1994–2005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2018.07.003
(2021). Examining the links between active Facebook use, received likes, self-esteem and happiness: A study using objective social media data. Telematics and Informatics, 58, Article
(101523 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2020.1015231994). Goodness of fit in confirmatory factor analysis: The effects of sample size and model parsimony. Quality and Quantity, 28, 185–217. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01102761
(2019). In search of likes: Longitudinal associations between adolescents’ digital status seeking and health-risk behaviors. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 48(5), 740–748. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2018.1437733
(2017). Development and validation of a new tool to measure the facilitators, barriers and preferences to exercise in people with osteoporosis. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorder, 18, Article
(540 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-017-1914-52019). “Likes” as social rewards: Their role in online social comparison and decisions to like other people’s selfies. Computers in Human Behavior, 92, 76–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.10.017
(2016).
(What’s in a Like? Attitudes and behaviors around receiving likes on Facebook . In ACMEd., Proceedings of the 19th ACM conference on computer-supported cooperative work & social computing (pp. 1501–1510). ACM.2018). What the brain ‘likes’: Neural correlates of providing feedback on social media. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 13(7), 699–707. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsy051
(2018). A functional approach to the Facebook Like button: An exploration of meaning, interpersonal functionality, and potential alternative response buttons. New Media & Society, 20(4), 1451–1469. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444817697917
(2020). Social media use and risky behaviors in adolescents: A meta-analysis. Journal of Adolescence, 79, 258–274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2020.01.014
(2021). Hiding Instagram likes: Effects on negative affect and loneliness. Personality and Individuals Differences, 170, Article
(110509 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.1105091981). Nursing research: Design, statistics, and computer analysis. F. A. Davis Company.
(2016). How affective is a “like”? The effect of paralinguistic digital affordances on perceived social support. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, 19(9), 562–566. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2016.0162
(2018). Are you happy for me … on Facebook? The potential importance of “likes” and comments. Computers in Human Behavior, 78, 26–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.08.050
(