A study was published in the Journal of Cyberpsychology,
Behavior and Social Networking last November that analyzed how frequently
students in relationships used Facebook to check for signs of unfaithfulness.
This is basically the equivalent of “Facebook stalking” your
significant other.
The study was conducted using the theory of planned behavior
(TPB) which analyzed 1) one’s attitude (positive or negative) about stalking,
2) the social pressures (pos or neg) exerted about stalking, 3) how much
control one feels they have over whether or not to stalk.
In summary, the hypothesis was that TPB would predict the
level of intent to stalk, and the level of intent to stalk would predict
whether or not one would actually go through with the behavior.
It also examined demographics (age, gender, length of
relationship, and frequency of FB use), and the levels of trust in the relationship
and self-esteem that one had to see if these things had any impact on the
intent to or frequency of stalking.
My personal hypothesis was the following: If one has a
negative attitude towards the idea of stalking, then they are less likely to
have intent to stalk, whether or not the pressures are high. If one has a
positive attitude toward the idea, then they are more likely to have intent,
regardless of the pressure. I think that the idea that one may or may not have
control over the action is ridiculous.
Facebook stalking is a very controlled behavior.
As for demographics, I would predict that younger females in
any length of relationship would be more likely to intend to perform the
stalking. Of course, this is the stereotype of most females that I have never
seen evidence of being true, so I am predicting this based off of experience. I
also predict that anyone (male or female) who uses FB frequently, will have a
greater intention to stalk. And lastly, I would predict that anyone with low
self-esteem and/or low trust sill have a greater intention to stalk.
Evaluation of the
Results
The results of the study yielded the following:
·
Students with a positive attitude toward
stalking and were receiving social pressure in favor of stalking had a higher
level of intent to stalk. Level of controlled behavior had no reported effect.
·
Those that visit Facebook frequently throughout
the day, as well as those in newer relationships both exhibited higher intents
to stalk, and did stalk. Other demographics didn’t show a particular
correlation.
·
Low levels of trust were revealed higher levels
of intent. Self-esteem had no significant correlation.
The results seemed to be at least somewhat accurate to my
predictions as well as the initial hypotheses however I found the results to be
very vague. For instance, the results showed that “the shorter the duration of,
or the less developed, an individual’s relationship, the more likely people are
to spontaneously monitor their partner”. However, the results don’t explain
what a short duration or less developed means. Is that couples that have been
together less than a year? Less than 6 months? The article was very vague in
that regard.
Besides this, it is the limitations pointed out in the
story that discredit it. For one, this study is the first of its kind, meaning
that there is little too no evidence besides these results to further prove or
explain the results. Also, the sample was skewed disproportionately with a
significant number of female participants than males. And lastly, in many cases
the results did not yield significant variations between terms (for instance
having a positive attitude toward stalking might have only yielded a high level
of intent 55 out of 100 times, not 70 out of 100 as one might assume) so the
results can’t exactly be taken as reliable fact. Basically, the study lacks
validity and credibility.
All said though, I do believe that this is a very
interesting study. I don’t necessarily believe that “Facebook stalking” partners
has become an issue of mass concern, but this study also serves to bring light
to the act of Facebook stalking in itself. The common use of the phrase itself
insinuates negativity about social networking sites and begs the question: Why
are we (as a society) so interested with basically leaving our lives wide open
on the Internet, free to be “stalked”?
I would say that the solution would be to just advise
users to share less information, or at least less detailed information, with
the sites, but then that would erase the whole backbone of social networking in
general. But, if we’re not going to get rid of social networking sites any time
soon, and we put our personal business up for broadcast anyway, then why all
the uncertainty with Google’s new privacy policy? Isn’t it a similar case?
*The link to the study is found in the second paragraph.
*Any references to "stalking" in the post refer to the unofficial term "Facebook stalking".
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