Psychology of You 2.0: Psychology of Social Media Preface

Psychology  of  You  2.0:  

Psychology  of  Social  Media

Preface

Ulaş Başar Gezgin

As kids, we were exposed to sexist, racist and violent cartoons and video games. We have been bombarded with images of thin females and hypermuscular males. Then we grew up and started to use Internet and then social media. Some of us have spent excessive time on Internet and developed problematic use patterns. For some of us, Internet has been a way to escape from loneliness, for some others it has bred loneliness. Then comes Facebook. It has been good for some of us and bad for some others. This is a place where the distinction between public space and private space has blurred. Our self-disclosure patterns have been modified. We share things that we are not supposed to share offline. Dad shot daughter’s laptop because of a letter on Facebook. Some of us built their self-esteem on how many ‘friends’ we have made on Facebook. Some of us can’t do anything without mobile phones. It became like a new organ of our bodies. Some of us died or ignored babies to starvation due to non-stop online gaming. Some others dated online and married. Social media is everywhere. Nowhere else to go. Social media penetrates all aspects of our lives. This book is about this penetration. It can be read as a book for general public or as a textbook together with the educational materials provided in Appendices. It is unique in endorsing a psychological approach to social media. It tells the story of many of us. De te fabula narratur!

It is obvious that use of social media has psychological antecedents such as certain personality types (e.g. extraversion vs. introversion) and psychological consequences as well which may be positive for subjective well-being or negative as in the case of technology-dependency problems. Even presidential campaigns are on Twitter. Thus this book is quite relevant to the current social structure. 

This book is a continuously updated book (like social media itself) about psychological factors associated with Internet use, Facebook use, mobile phone use, online games, online romantic affairs, online sense of community, and technological addiction discussions such as problematic Internet use and SMS dependency especially among the younger generation. To quote from Chapter 1, this book “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)).”

So welcome to “Psychology of You 2.0” which will help you explore yourself. 

Source: Gezgin,  U.  B.  (2012).  Psychology  of  You  2.0:  Psychology  of  Social  Media.  Germany: Lambert Publishing.

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