Walther and colleagues (2008) investigated how college students tended to make
judgements about a Facebook profile based on information that ‘friends’ posted on
their sites about that person. What this study found was:
(i) It is good to have good looking friends in Facebook as you gain no
advantage from looking better than your friends;
(ii) Complimentary or prosocial statements by friends about profile owners
improved the profile owner’s social attractiveness and credibility;
(iii) Facebook has the potential to reinforce stereotypes and behaviours that
could be harmful to young people (for example, if a target person is female
and pictures of her drunk are posted on other people’s facebooks then she
was denigrated whereas an attractive male in similar shots received
admiration and respect).
While Walther et al’s study confirms the double standards that persist in society, an
outcome of their research that is interesting in terms of self-representation and self-
exposure is that ‘friends’ statements significantly altered perceptions of profile owners’
(p. 44). One can alter his/her own details on their own profile or delete unwanted
photographs; however, it is difficult to modify or manipulate statements made by others
(for example, their pictures and wall postings). Walther’s research raises a significant
question that warrants further research into textual authority of social networks,
particularly, they ask: ‘Are we known by the company we keep?’ (p. 29).
Retrieved from: Digital Culture & Education (DCE)
Publication details, including instructions for authors
http://www.digitalcultureandeducation.com/
Look at me! Look at me! Self-
representation and self-exposure through
online networks
Kerry Mallan
School of Cultural and Language Studies in Education
Queensland University of Technology
Online Publication Date: 15 May 2009
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