Chapter 1 Media Psychology: From Asocial Media to Social Media - Psychology of You 2.0: Psychology of Social Media

Psychology  of  You  2.0:  Psychology  of  Social  Media

Chapter 1

Media Psychology: From Asocial Media to Social Media

Ulaş Başar Gezgin

1.1. Introduction

What is psychology of social media? A comprehensive response would be based on exploring media psychology theories and research. Neuman & Guggenheim (2011) rewrites the history of theories on media effects in 6 stages:

1) “Persuasion Theories” (1944-1963) which focus on “simple attitude change and behavioral modeling”

2) “Active Audience Theories” (1944-1986) which focus on “motivated attention”

3) “Social Context Theories” (1955-1983) which focus on “interpersonal context of communication”

4) “Societal & Media Theories” (1933-1978) which focus on “long term accumulation of effects”

5) “Interpretive Effects Theories” (1972-1987) which focus on “salience, accessibility, and structure of attitudes”, and

6) “New Media Theories” (1996-onwards) which focus on “expanded two-way communication, networking, [and] expanded content choice” (Neuman & Guggenheim, 2011, pp.175-176).

“Persuasion theories” include voting research, Shannon linear model, Lasswell linear model, persuasion/attitude change, and social learning; “active audience theories” include attribution theory, uses & gratifications, parasocial theory, cognitive dissonance/ social identity, minimal effects, selective exposure, disposition theory, media dependency, and elaboration likelihood model; “social context theories” include two-step flow, diffusion theory, knowledge gap theory, social networks/ social capital, spiral of silence, and third person theory; “societal and media theories” include media hegemony/ public sphere, channel effects, social construction of reality, differential media exposure, and cultivation theory; “interpretive effects theories” include agenda setting, priming, and framing theory; and finally, “new media theories” include computer-mediated communication (Neuman & Guggenheim, 2011, pp.175-176). 

Although an effort to present all these in details by itself requires a book-length space; even by a cursory look, it is obvious that most of the theories mentioned are applications of social psychology models for media studies. Thus, all are relevant for a book on media psychology and psychology of social media. Among these, uses and gratifications theory and cultivation theory are usually endorsed by contemporary media psychology researchers (e.g. Eyal, Metzger, Lingsweiler, Mahood & Yao, 2006; Mastro, Behm-Morawitz & Ortiz, 2007; Saito, 2007). Uses and Gratifications Theory explains why media consumers prefer a particular media and the satisfaction they get from it; while Cultivation Theory focuses on how they are affected by exposure to media. To illustrate these, a comprehensive study can be presented here: In a meta-analysis, Fischer, Greitemeyer, Kastenmüller, Vogrincic, & Sauer (2011) finds a positive connection between exposure to media that glorify risky behaviors (including video games, movies, advertising, TV, and music) and risky behaviors in real life (such as smoking, binge drinking, substance abuse, risky driving, unprotected sex, extreme sports, gambling etc.). Active media exposure (video games) are more powerful than passive exposure in moving users into risky behaviors in real life; and users younger than 24 years of age are the most vulnerable to risk-glorifying media (Fischer et al., 2011). These findings could have been explained by self-selection whereby risk-prone users prefer risk-glorifying media, rather than risk-glorifying media pushing them into risky behavior; but Fischer et al. (2011) shows that self-selection explanation is invalid. Risk-glorifying media causes risky behaviors in real life. Although cultivation theory is not mentioned by Fischer et al. (2011), the most relevant theory in media studies for this meta-analysis is cultivation theory.

Within this theoretical context, Tao & Busy (2007) is a sine qua non for the discussion. They present 3 main components of media psychology research which are media attributes (i.e. the properties of the media), psychological states (e.g. emotions) and media effects. All studies can be classified based on which component they focus more. This classification somehow resembles a reformed behaviorist approach whereby an SOR framework (stimulus (media attributes), response (media effects) and organism (psychological states)) is endorsed. A good example of a study focusing on organism component is Farrar, Krcmar & Nowak (2006) which investigates video games and related mental models.

A set of media psychology studies are developmental, which means their samples are children, adolescents and babies. For example, Krcmar, Grela, & Lin (2007) investigates vocabulary learning from TV by toddlers; Courage & Setliff (2009) discusses the influence of TV and video viewing on 1-3 year olds; Nielsen, Simcock & Jenkins (2008) focuses on imitation by 24-month-olds as a response to live and televised models; Linebarger & Piotrowski (2009) shows how TV improves narrative skills of pre-schoolers; Vandewater & Bickham (2004) observes the positive influence of educational media on pre-reading and reading skills among 2-5 year olds; Becker-Blease, Finkelhor, & Turner (2008) explains how media exposure to traumatic events such as September 11 attacks, kidnappings and sniper shootings influence viewers’ reactions among those aged 2-17; Latner, Rosewall, & Simmonds (2007) explores the association between childhood obesity stigma and exposure to TV, video games and magazines among 10-13 year olds; Vandewater, Shim & Caplovitz (2004) studies obesity and television and video game use among children aged 1-12; and Moriarty & Harrison (2008) investigates TV exposure and disordered eating patterns among preadolescent boys and girls. Of course, hundreds of studies can be added to this list.

  

Although these and other relevant studies are promising; an understudied age group is the elderly. In contrast to these developmental studies, many media psychologists conduct research with undergraduate students, usually due to convenience and financial and time constraints. As developmental media psychology studies are quite fragmented without a general message for cognitive and social development, they have not been presented in this review. Most of the media psychology studies presented here are the ones based on undergraduate students. This is obviously a major limitation of the review, as media users have a history of media use that can’t be ignored. For example, children are quite sensitive to TV commercials. Robinson, Saphir, Kraemer, Varady & Haydel (2001) presents a successful intervention program to decrease children’s toy purchase requests by reducing television viewing. Many other developmental media psychology studies are relevant for a book on media psychology and psychology of social media. Before defining and presenting social media and psychology of social media, it would be better to mention some media psychology studies on TV and video game use as examples to guide further discussions. The next two sections are definitely not meant to be comprehensive. Other reviewers can add many more to the list.

1.2. Psychology of TV

4 topics are the most popular in psychology of TV research. These are: TV and violence/ aggression, TV and gender roles, TV and body image (and obesity), and representations on TV and social cognitions in real life.

In a large-scale study, Bushman (2006) finds that TV programs with warning labels for violent materials make people of all ages curious about those programs and thus they want to watch them. This is called as ‘forbidden fruit hypothesis’ (Bushman, 2006). Bushman (2006) recommends the use of information labels instead of warning labels to deter fragile viewers from watching violent materials. It is also found that males, children (those younger than 18) and those who watched violent materials more than others before are more willing to view violent content (Bushman, 2006).

Kirsch (2006) reviews various studies on cartoon violence and aggression. A common observation is that use of comedic elements in cartoons trivializes violence. Kirsch (2006) lists the following as the “factors that lead to the trivialization of comedic violence”: Cognitive transformation, schematic processing, priming and contextual factors. In a second list, Kirsch (2006) presents the following as factors that affect the perception of violence in non-comedic cartoons: Graphicness, perceived actuality, perceived similarity and perceived reality. 

Do violent contents on media lead to violent behaviors in real life? This question is too naïve to proceed. A better question would be “Psychologically speaking, what is the best way to screen violence on media especially on TV?” If violence is shown to be punished harshly on TV, this may deter potential aggressors. Rewarding of violence should be avoided. Movies showing police, soldiers or heroes attacking so-called ‘criminals’ who “deserve to be attacked” may lead security professionals to be more aggressive and anti-democratic in doing their jobs in real life. So kids are not the only segment of the audience to be vulnerable. It may also influence young viewers, as violence is justified in such narratives. Furthermore, self-identifications with the characters in TV narratives may have strong psychological effects on audiences. For example, an African-American TV viewer watching the narrative of an African-American who was kept in prison on unfair grounds can be anxious about his/her own security.

Saito (2007) explores the influence of TV viewing on traditional gender roles and finds that these roles are bolstered among heavy female viewers, while more conservative viewers are more liberalized by TV exposure. Women are more likely to be shown as victims in TV programs. Most of the time, they are portrayed in typically feminine professions (e.g. housewife, nurse, teacher etc.). Furthermore, beautiful women are more likely to be portrayed on TV than intelligent women. Studies such as Saito (2007) are promising, as they open up new areas of investigation within the framework of evolutionary psychology.

Majority of the studies on media and body image are on females (e.g. Anschutz, Engels, Becker, & van Strien, 2008; Anschutz, Engels, Becker, & van Strien, 2009; Anschutz, van Strien, & Engels, 2008; Birkeland, Thompson, Herbozo, Roehrig, Cafri, & van den Berg, 2005;  Maltby, Giles, Barber, & McCutcheon, 2005; Tiggemann, 2006; Yamamiya, Cash, Melnyk, Posavac, & Posavac, 2005). Barlett, Vowels & Saucier (2008) proposes that idealized body images presented by media are not only negatively influencing females but also males. In a meta-analysis, they observe that media pressure to be lean and muscular is related to various psychological variables such as “body satisfaction, body esteem, self-esteem, psychological disorders (e.g., depression), and behavioral outcomes (e.g., excessive exercising)” among male viewers (Barlett, Vowels & Saucier, 2008, p. 279). Older viewers (college-aged males vs. adolescent males) are more influenced by media pressure to be lean and muscular (Barlett, Vowels & Saucier, 2008).

Tiggemann (2005) fails to find a relationship between total TV viewing time and variables related to body image among adolescents, but she does find relationships between time spent on watching soap operas and music videos and body image variables. This opens up the possibility that elements of TV programs and not the overall exposure are the culprits behind body dissatisfaction. Secondly, if Barlett, Vowels & Saucier (2008) and Tiggemann (2005) would be read together, it may appear that there is no surprise that no relationship is found between viewing time and body image among adolescents, as the media pressure is expected to be heavier among college-aged participants. Another finding by Tiggemann (2005) is on television usage: Watching TV for social learning and escape from negative affect (but not for entertainment) is related to body image variables. Boys watch TV primarily for enjoyment and girls for social learning (Tiggemann, 2005).

Halford, Gillespie, Brown, Pontin, & Dovey (2004) compares obese, overweight and lean children to investigate the influence of food advertisements on food intake. Obese and overweight children increase their food consumption after viewing food advertisements; and food advertisements affect all children in one way or another. Thus, Halford et al. (2004) names food advertisements as promoters of child obesity and overeating.

Dixon & Azocar (2007) is an example of research on the influence of TV viewing (specifically crime news programs) on cognitions related to racial stereotyping about Black Americans. As Black Americans are overrepresented on TV crime news compared to actual Black American crime rate, long-term and heavy exposure to crime news forms negative racial stereotypes about Black Americans. Furthermore, short-term negative effects of Black-dominated crime news viewing are also very well documented (Dixon & Azocar, 2007). In the same vein, Mastro, Behm-Morawitz & Ortiz (2007) investigates influence of TV portrayals of Latinos on cognitions about Latinos. Similar to the case of African Americans, Latinos are represented in negative roles on TV such as uneducated, lazy, criminal, silly, drug dealer/user etc. This contributes to stereotyping of Latinos in real life. As a result, heavy TV viewers endorse more negative stereotypes about Latinos (Mastro, Behm-Morawitz & Ortiz, 2007).

1.3. Psychology of Video Games

The findings by media psychologists about the effects of video games on users are mixed. In other words, some fail to find a relationship, while some others are negative. In a moderately longitudinal study with a relatively large sample, Gentile, Swing, Lim & Khoo (2012) observes bidirectional causality between video game playing on the one hand, and impulsivity and attention problems on the other, which means video game playing causes impulsivity and attention problems; and children with impulsivity and attention problems are the ones to play video games. Time spent on video games is found to be a strong predictor of impulsivity and attention problems. (As a cautionary note, Gentile et al. (2012) states that the way they define the term “attention problems” excludes visual attention which matches another field of research.) Likewise, Carnagey & Anderson (2005) finds that prior exposure to violent video games is related to self-reported physical aggression. Supporting these results, Bartholow & Anderson (2002) finds that violent video games lead to aggression and this relationship is stronger for males; and Farrar, Krcmar & Nowak (2006) finds that gamers who play bloody video games hold more aggressive intentions, and more involvement and immersion in the game are associated with more violent intentions. 

In a series of experiments, Carnagey & Anderson (2005) contrasts non-violent video games and video games that reward violence and those that punish violence. It is found that games that reward violence triggers aggressive affects, behaviors (physiological measures) and cognitions; and that games that punish violence increases hostile emotions as the players are frustrated by punishment. In other words, violence in video games induces aggression in real life regardless of rewarding or punishment of violent behavior in the games.

In contrast, Ferguson, San Miguel, Garza & Jerabeck (2012) fails to find any relationship between violent video game exposure and youth aggression in a longitudinal study. Depression, antisocial personality traits, exposure to family violence and peer influences are found to be the best predictors of youth violence. Based on these findings, Ferguson et al. (2012) states that the panic over the alleged negative consequences of video games is not justified; and recommends policymakers to direct the funds to prevention programs other than those related to video games.

In most of the video games, women are shown as busty, sexy, promiscuous etc. characters. It is rare to see women of video games in roles usually attributed to men such as engineering, politics etc. Miller & Summers (2007) conducts a content analysis on video game magazines to find out how male and female characters are portrayed in video games. Most of the time, males are the heroes or main characters of the games and they are shown in powerful positions with weapons and abilities. In contrast, females are supplemental characters in revealing clothes in most of the video games (Miller & Summers, 2007). Dill, Brown & Collins (2008) finds that playing sexist video games is associated with more tolerance for sexual harassment in real life; and that long term exposure to such games leads to higher level of rape-supporting attitudes. Furthermore, some games normalize violence against women. The case is even worse, if one keeps in mind that more males prefer to play sexist and violent games than females (Dill, Brown & Collins, 2008). Overall, males are more willing to watch violent TV programs and play violent video games (Eyal et al., 2006).

Media violence exhibits different characteristics with regard to the type of media. For example, violence in video games is personalized and usually rewarded; while violence on TV is neither personalized nor always rewarded (Carnagey & Anderson, 2005). Rewarding in video games further reinforces violent behaviors in the game (Carnagey & Anderson, 2005). Furthermore, violence in video games is continuous or repetitive and interactive; while that on TV is intermittent or discrete and non-interactive (Eyal et al., 2006). On the other hand, video games are more distant to real life compared to TV programs. In fact, the narratives on TV programs are self-relevant, while video games are mainly for fun and/or pastime. Of course, TV viewing is also for fun and/or pastime, but it simultaneously serves multiple functions. Eyal et al. (2006) which finds that exposure to violent video games does not predict aggressive political opinions can be considered as a support for this explanation.

Violent TV exposure is a predictor of aggressive political opinions, while violent video game playing is not (Eyal et al., 2006). This may be explained by the fact that items in aggressive political opinions questionnaires closely resemble violent TV programs which portray the use of violence by security professionals against criminals; while no items match the type of violence observed in video games (Eyal et al., 2006). It is clear that more research is necessary that compare violent TV vs. violent video game exposure to come up with stronger conclusions.

1.4. Psychology of Social Media

Time for some basic facts:

- 6 billion subscriptions for mobile phone lines have been reported (MobiThinking, 2012). 

- More than 2.2 billion Internet users in the world, with half in Asia have been reported (Internet World Stats, 2011).

- More than 200 million Facebook accounts in North America and nearly 200 million Facebook accounts in Asia have been reported (Socialbakers, n.d.).

- “In 2009 17 % of married couples met online” and “1 in 5 singles have dated online” (Online Dating Services Statistics, 2011).

- 72% of Americans play online games (Entertainment Software Association, 2011).

So, what is social media and what kind of studies are undertaken by psychologists of social media? In the narrow sense, social media are the media provided by social networking sites (SNS) and online social networks such as mobile phone networks; while in the wider sense, social media is any online media that are designed and used for social purposes. Converging with this wide understanding, Correa, Hinsley, & Gil de Zúñiga (2010) defines social media use as “use of social networking sites and instant messages” (p.247). To quote in more detail, social media use is

“the particular consumption of digital media or Internet that has little to do with traditional informational media use. Rather, it provides a mechanism for the audience to connect, communicate, and interact with each other and their mutual friends through instant messaging or social networking sites” (Correa, Hinsley, & Gil de Zúñiga, pp. 247-248).

Then what is SNS? SNSs are

“web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system” (boyd & Ellison, 2008, p. 211). 

These media can be inclusive, which means they are open to public (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube etc.); or they can be exclusive as in the cases of community SNSs based on identity features such as location, ethnicity, gender, religion, jobs, political views etc. (e.g. AsianAvenue, BlackPlanet, MiGente etc.) (boyd & Ellison, 2008). Depending on inclusivity/exclusivity, SNSs build up loosely or tightly connected online communities. For example, LinkedIn links professionals; Twitter and Youtube have the capacity to connect like-minded journalists from different localities; Facebook can connect old friends and long-lost community members etc. In 2011 Arab Movements and in the Global Occupy Movement, Twitter and Youtube are mentioned as indispensable tools of communication for rapid social transformation. Deuze, Bruns & Neuberger (2007) discusses how journalism practice has transformed into a more participatory mode where both professional and amateur journalists and both producers and consumers of news are involved in news production; and presents case studies of participatory news production from various countries. Likewise, Hermida & Thurman (2008) explains how British newspapers utilize user-generated (i.e. reader-generated) content.

Before moving to the next topic, a timeline could be helpful to organize the information in this section: boyd & Ellison (2008) presents the timeline for major SNSs based on their launch dates:

1997: Six Degrees.com

1999: LiveJournal, BlackPlanet and AsianAvenue

2000: LunarStorm (relaunched as SNS) and MiGente

2001: Ryze and CyWorld

2002: Fotolog, Friendster and Skyblog

2003: LinkedIn, Tribe.net, Open BC/Xing, Couchsurfing, MySpace, Last.FM and Hi5.

2004: Orkut, Dogster, Multiply, aSmallWorld, Catster, Flickr, Piczo, Mixi, Facebook (Harvard only), Dodgeball, Care2 (relaunched as SNS) and Hyves

2005: Yahoo! 360, Cyworld (China), Ning, Youtube, Xanga (relaunched as SNS), Bebo (relaunched as SNS), Facebook (high school networks), AsianAvenue, and Blackplanet (relaunched as SNS).

2006: QQ (relaunched as SNS), Windows Live Spaces, Twitter, Cyworld (US), MyChurch, Facebook (for corporate networks and then for everyone) (boyd & Ellison, 2008, p. 212).

In this listing, it appears that boyd & Ellison (2008) considers visibility of the users’ networks as the main criterion. There are many other social media supporting websites such as online dating sites (e.g. match.com), e-cemeteries (memorial sites), online game websites and others that do not totally fit the definition by boyd & Ellison (2008) quoted above, but a wider definition. Secondly, of course, more SNSs have been opened since 2006. Thirdly, many more exist in national and local levels: Some countries have their own SNSs that are not listed here. Fourthly, considering the wider definition of social media, Chat, ICQ, e-groups etc. could also be included in the list.

How do social media differ from media? The table below summarizes the differences. As an important note, it should be kept in mind that the distinction may not be necessarily categorical in all the cases; it may well be continuous. For example, video games are more interactive than TVs. Secondly, media is being transformed; and in this process of transformation, TVs, radios, newspapers, printed materials etc. have appeared on social media. So for such cases, it is difficult to demarcate the boundaries.

Table 1. The Differences Between Media and Social Media.

Criterion	Media	Social Media
What Are They?	TV, video games, radio, newspapers, magazines, books etc.	Social networking sites, instant messaging, mobile phones, smart phones etc.
Interactivity	Minimally interactive	Highly interactive
Who Generates the Content?	Media professionals, producers and corporations	Users, amateurs, citizens/ netizens, and consumers along with media professionals, producers and corporations.
Synchronicity (Simultaneity)	Low	High
Anonymity vs. Nonymity vs. Pseudonymity	Mostly anonymous (the identity of the media users are not known; and usually no need arises for this piece of information)	All 3 are applicable in different occasions: E.g. Facebook is usually nonymous, Chat is usually anonymous, online dating is usually pseudonymous.
Village vs. City	Media users are citizens (they have no primary relationship. They don’t know each other.)	In anonymous settings, social media users are citizens; in nonymous settings, they are villagers; in pseudonymous settings, they are villagers in the city (cf. Gezgin, 2012).
Impact on User Identity	Low in most of the cases (media use is seldom sufficient to have a significant impact on user identity except the cases where media is a niche media as exemplified by ethnic TV channels or media of political parties)	Strong in most of the cases. People are defined by their networks on social media.
Identification	Users can identify with the characters on media sometimes, but not always.	Identification takes place in most of the cases.
Credibility/ Genuineness	Credibility of media is based on media professionals, governments and corporations.	Credibility of social media is based on citizens/ netizens.
Media- Real Life Connection	Occasionally, media users take action in real life after exposure to some media contents (e.g. buying products or joining events as a response to commercials and invitations on TV or newspapers).	Usually, social media users take action after exposure to social media (e.g. joining events after receiving an e-invitation).
Relationships on Media vs. Real Life	The characters that appear on media and the media users are distant. It is highly unlikely that they will meet in real life.	The characters that appear on social media and the social media users are psychologically (and sometimes physically) close. It is likely that they will interact in real life either by instant or text messages, e-mails, phone calls or face-to-face meetings.
Directionality of Media Relationship	In most of the cases, the relationships between producers and media users are unidirectional. (To paraphrase a statement in a Turkish movie, “we have the TV, we see the TV, but will the characters on TV see us as well?”)	In most of the cases, the relationships between producers and social media users are bidirectional, and even n-directional. ‘N-directional’ means multiple possible directions exist among social media users, as the interactions are public. Anybody in the network can join a social media activity.
Spontaneity	Low on spontaneity. Media production is highly planned.	High on spontaneity, low on planning.
Personalization	Low on personalization. Media assumes homogeneity of the users or limited heterogeneity as seen in the case of different contents for males, females, children, students, job seekers etc.; or for different regions of the country.	High on personalization. Social media assumes heterogeneity of the users and multiplicity of identity features. A social media user does not only have a single identity feature, but many at the same time (e.g. ethnicity (Native American), age (middle aged), gender (female), education level (PhD), occupational status (employed), religion (Buddhist), political orientation (liberal) etc.
Celebrity Patterns	Usually, a small number of people can reach celebrity status. It needs enormous finances and good networking with event organizers and media.	Any number of people can be famous on social media without finances or good networking. A good idea always sells in social media.
Uses and Gratifications	Gratifications by media can be explained by simple models.	Gratifications by social media are much more complicated, and they occur in multiple ways.
Cultivation (Media Effect)	It is clear that reality shows and news programs influence social cognitions, but the influence of fiction (e.g. movies) is not clear.	It is not clear how social media affects social cognitions. Studies on this topic are desperately needed. Besides, it is highly likely that the borders between fiction and non-fiction are blurred on social media in at least some of the cases.

boyd & Ellison (2008) states that “impression management and friendship performance, networks and network structure, online/offline connections, and privacy issues” are the most common themes in SNS research. What would be specific and distinctive about a psychological approach on social media, rather than a non-psychological one? A psychological approach on social media fuses various areas of psychology to study social media from a holistic psychological perspective including personality psychology (as it focuses on which personality types are related with particular uses of social media), social psychology (as it applies theories of group behavior on social media phenomena), developmental psychology (as the primary research group of these studies is high school and university students, although a rising interest can recently be observed in study of adult users and especially elderly people), clinical psychology (as part of the research involves discussions of relevant DSM-IV (Diagnostic & Statistical Manual) criteria and proposals for DSM-V, as well as online mental health service provisions), positive psychology (as it discusses in what ways social media technologies could be used to promote subjective well being and life satisfaction), educational psychology (as it presents good cases of educational uses of social media) and cognitive psychology (as it investigates the cognitive factors affecting user performance and satisfaction (e.g. mobile phone use while driving)).

1.5. Future Directions and Recommendations

Considering the media theories and the findings on TV and video games presented in the beginning, the following points come to one’s mind as interesting and significant areas of research to be considered in future studies:

- The application of the six media effect theories listed by Neuman & Guggenheim (2011) (i.e. “Persuasion Theories”, “Active Audience Theories”, “Social Context Theories”, “Societal & Media Theories”, “Interpretive Effects Theories”, and “New Media Theories”) on social media would be quite fruitful.

- Uses and Gratifications Theory and Cultivation Theory are especially applicable.

- Fischer et al. (2011)’s study on risk-glorifying media can be replicated and expanded to investigate social media. A comparison of risk-glorifying media and social media would be interesting.

- It could be interesting to check whether self-selection behavior exists in social media and if yes, in what ways. Due to the qualities of social media listed above, it is highly likely that self-selection is common among social media users.

- SOR (Stimulus-Organism-Response) framework can be applied to social media.

- Developmental studies can be conducted which will focus on long-term use of social media by children as well as adults.

- As to the developmental media psychology research mentioned before, the links between social media use and vocabulary learning, imitation, narrative skills, pre-reading and reading skills, reaction to traumatic events, obesity, eating disorders etc. can be studied.

- More studies can be dedicated to elderly users of social media.

- The psychological influence of commercials on social media users appears as a promising research area.

- The relationship between social media and aggression/ violence is another interesting topic. This topic can be studied by quantitative approaches or by qualitative approaches whereby social media profiles of young shooters can be analyzed.

- The link between social media and social cognition including ethnic stereotyping can be investigated drawing parallels with Dixon & Azocar (2007) and Mastro, Behm-Morawitz & Ortiz (2007).

- Gender roles and gender differences on social media could be a wonderful test ground for gender models as well as evolutionary psychology frameworks (e.g. mating patterns, intra-sex competition, territory building, social norms etc.).

- The relationship between social media and body image variables (e.g. body satisfaction, self-objectification etc.) can be investigated.

- Inspired by Gentile et al. (2012), some studies can be dedicated to social media use, impulsivity and attention problems.

In this book, research on psychology of Internet, Facebook, mobile phones, online games and online dating are presented in each chapter. In the concluding chapter, future avenues of research are delineated.   

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PSYCHOLOGY OF YOU 2.0: PSYCHOLOGY OF SOCIAL MEDIA Ulas Basar Gezgin Chapter Summaries, Keywords and Contents About the Author   Acknowledgments Teaching Guidelines: How To Use This Book for Educational Purposes Preface Chapter 1. Media Psychology: From Asocial Media to Social Media Chapter Summary and Keywords This introductory chapter presents some media theories and some studies on media psychology with a focus on TV and video games. Then, social media are defined and elaborated; and differences between media and social media are delineated. The chapter concludes with future studies on psychology of social media inspired by media psychology research presented in the first portion of the chapter. Keywords: Media psychology, social media, psychology of social media, psychology of TV, and psychology of video games Chapter Contents 1.1. Introduction 1.2. Psychology of TV 1.3. Psychology of Video Games 1.4. Psychology of Social Media 1.5. Future Directions and Recommendations References Chapter 2. Psychology of Internet Chapter Summary and Keywords Internet has entered almost all aspects of our lives. ‘Internet addiction’ is a common term, and some say Internet breeds depression, depression breeds Internet or both; while some others stress the positive consequences of Internet use. Not only companies, but also mental health services are going online; but what are the good practices and what should be the guidelines? How about collection of research data in online environments? This review focuses on Internet addiction (a.k.a. pathological Internet use, problematic Internet use, Internet abuse, compulsive Internet use, excessive Internet use and Internet overuse); Internet, loneliness and personality; online mental health services; and use of Internet for data collection. Keywords: Psychology of Internet, Internet addiction, problematic Internet use, online mental health services, and online data. Chapter Contents 2.1. Internet Addiction (a.k.a. Pathological Internet Use, Problematic Internet Use, Internet Abuse, Compulsive Internet Use, Excessive Internet Use, and Internet Overuse) 2.2. Internet, Loneliness and Personality 2.3. Online Mental Health Services 2.4. Use of Internet for Data Collection 2.5. Future Directions and Recommendations References Chapter 3. Psychology of Facebook Chapter Summary and Keywords What is special about Facebook from a psychological perspective? What are the uses of Facebook? Who are Facebook users? This review aims to answer these questions based on burgeoning field of psychology of Facebook research. As a distinctive characteristic of this field, psychological variables such as personality correlates and Facebook use are investigated with reference to possible applications of psychology of media theories. The review proceeds to discuss methodological and theoretical problems in psychology of Facebook research and provides theoretical and practical recommendations for Facebook researchers. Keywords: Facebook, psychology of media, online community, online networks, social networking. Chapter Contents 3.1. What Is Special About Facebook From A Psychological Perspective? 3.2. What Are The Uses of Facebook? 3.3. Who Are Facebook Users?: Facebook & Personality 3.4. Methodological and Theoretical Problems in Psychology of Facebook Research 3.5. Future Directions and Recommendations References Chapter 4. Psychology of Mobile Phones: The Need for A Mobile Psychology Chapter Summary and Keywords This chapter provides a review of various research fields in psychology of mobile phone use such as problematic mobile phone use and mobile phone dependency, different uses and different users of mobile phones, mobile phone use while driving, cyberbullying, clinical uses of mobile phones, educational uses of mobile phones and mobile learning, and the M generation (mobile generation). It concludes by recommendations for future researchers from a psychological point of view. Keywords: Mobile phones, problematic mobile phone use, mobile phone dependency, cyberbullying, mobile learning, M generation, and mobile generation. Chapter Contents 4.1. Problematic Mobile Phone Use and Mobile Phone Dependency 4.2. Different Uses and Different Users of Mobile Phones 4.3. Mobile Phone Use While Driving 4.4. Cyberbullying 4.5. Clinical Uses of Mobile Phones 4.6. Educational Uses of Mobile Phones and Mobile Learning 4.7. The M Generation 4.8. Future Directions and Recommendations References Chapter 5. Psychology of Online Games: An Ever Quest for Psychology Chapter Summary and Keywords What is problematic online game use (a.k.a. online game addiction)? What are the characteristics of problematic online game users? What is appealing in online games and especially MMORPGs? What are the motivations of online gamers and which needs are met by online gaming? What are the gender differences in online gaming? This chapter answers these questions and makes comprehensive recommendations for aspiring researchers of online game psychology. Keywords: Problematic online game use, online game addiction, motivations to play online games, MMORPGs, and gender differences Chapter Contents 5.1. Problematic Online Game Use (Online Game Addiction) 5.2. What Is Appealing in Online Games? 5.3. Motivations of Online Gamers 5.4. Gender Differences in Online Game Play 5.5. Future Directions and Recommendations References Chapter 6. Psychology of Online Romance: How Online Dating Transforms Mating Processes Chapter Summary and Keywords This chapter answers the following questions from a psychological perspective: What is so appealing about online dating? How males and females differ in online dating? Who are the ones dating online? What are the characteristics of online dating websites? The review concludes by recommendations.  Keywords: Online dating, online romance, online love, cyberlove, internet dating, internet romance, and internet love. Chapter Contents 6.1. What Is So Appealing About Online Dating? 6.2. How Males and Females Differ in Online Dating? 6.3. Who Are The Ones Dating Online? 6.4. What Are the Characteristics of Online Dating Websites? 6.5. Future Directions and Recommendations References Chapter 7. Conclusion: Each Conclusion Is A Preface To A New Book Appendices Appendix 1. List of Variables/ Instruments for Future Studies Appendix 2. List of Recommended Videos for Class Discussions Appendix 3. List of Online Resources Appendix 4. Dr. Gezgin’s Teaching-Learning Principles Appendix 5. Tentative Schedule Appendix 6. Discussion Questions for Each Section