Facebook, personality and needs - a case from Turkey

AbstractThis study explored the relationship between the Big Five and two psychological needs, namely belonging and self-presentation, manifested during the use of Facebook. This paper maintains that on Facebook, individuals fulfill their primary needs of belonging and self-presentation in terms of their personalities. The participants completed a survey self-evaluating their personality and assessing the activities and motives they perform. Behaviors and motives pertaining to the need of belonging were predicted best by agreeableness and neuroticism. Extraversion was associated with the urge to use Facebook in order to communicate with others. Behaviors and motivations pertaining to the need of self-presentation were predicted best by the traits of conscientiousness and neuroticism. The findings indicate that conscientious individuals are prudent in their online self-presentation. It was also found that one's actual, hidden, and ideal selves were a part of the relationship between Facebook and personality. Neuroticism, agreeableness and extraversion were positively associated with the tendency to express one's actual self. Neuroticism was positively related to the expression of ideal and hidden self-aspects. The relationship between neuroticism and self-disclosure is mediated by these self-aspectsKeywords: internet, facebook, identity, anonymity, big five, need to belong, self-presentationINTRODUCTIONModern computerized communication tools such as social networking sites have seamlessly combined email, instant messaging, blogging and multimedia sharing. As the review of Bargh and McKenna suggests (2004) , these created an immense impact on social life, part of which is due to social networking sites. In 2010, more than 60 % of American adults utilized social networking sites (Zickuhr, 2010) , whereas today the figure has risen to 80 % with Turkey at 45 % (Kemp, 2014), Facebook being the top contender in both countries.Facebook is an online tool by means of which users not only socialize with one another (Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe, 2007; Boyd & Ellison, 2008) , but also create and manage their identities through self-presentation ( Zhao, Grasmuck & Martin, 2008; Nadkarni & Hofmann, 2012). The users manage their self-presentations by uploading pictures, updating status, and by similar means (Kleck, Reese, Behnken, & Sundar, 2007; Zhao, Grasmuck, & Martin, 2008; Amichai-Hamburger & Vinitzky, 2010; Mehdizadeh, 2010; Gosling, Augustine, Vazire, Holtzman, & Gaddis; Ong, et al., 2011) . The proliferation of the use of Facebook, as well as other social networking sites, has been matched with an expanding body of research examining demographic features of the users, motivations for use, self-presentation and social interactions (Wilson, Gosling, & Graham, 2012). The relationship between personality and Facebook use has been examined extensively in the literature (Moore & McElroy, 2012; Amichai-Hamburger & Vinitzky, 2010; Ross, Orr, Sisic, Arseneault, Simmering, & Orr, 2009). Nadkarni and Hofmann (2012) explained this relationship by declaring that Facebook use is driven by two needs , belonging and self-presentation. The current study attempts to integrate these by examining how personality guides the use of Facebook, with the intention of fulfilling the needs of belonging and self-presentation.BelongingBaumeister and Leary (1995) assert that the need to belong is a fundamental human motivation and that humans are highly dependent on the social support of others. Hence, it may be considered as the primary motive behind Facebook use. Facebook allows users to communicate with others and learn about them and thereby fulfill belonging needs. According to Sheldon, Abad, & Hirsh (2011), Facebook can be an effective tool for coping with feelings of social disconnection: being disconnected drives its use and getting connected rewards it. …