Facebook Norms: How People use Facebook to Share and Connect with Others (2009)

Undergraduate: Jeff LaFlam

Faculty Advisor: Melanie Green
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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The present research investigates the norms of Facebook use amongst both undergraduates and non-student adults. My survey findings show that both groups use Facebook extensively in their social lives. Users in both groups utilize the site similarly to keep up with current friends, rather than to meet new friends. When sharing information on Facebook, users prefer to find out things privately, but often share important news publicly on the site, sometimes with unexpected consequences. Users also use the site to evaluate others they have met and initiate communication with them, with extraverts doing more evaluating and introverts initiating more communication. There is also a gender difference where undergrad males, but not females, use the site to find a romantic partner.