Genegeerd worden doet vaak pijn. Nu we massaal sociale media gebruiken, is het een interessante vraag of op Facebook genegeerd worden de zelfde impact heeft als in het dagelijks leven. Onderzoek aan de Penn State and Misericordia University toont alvast dat de pijn in beide situaties vergelijkbaar is.

Onderzoeker Joshua Smith stelt: “If you’ve ever felt bad about being ‘ignored’ on Facebook you’re not alone. Facebook — with its approximately 800 million users — serves as a place to forge social connections; however, it is often a way to exclude others without the awkwardness of a face-to-face interaction. Most people would probably expect that being ignored or rejected via a remote source like the Internet would not hurt as much as being rejected in person. Yet, our studies show that people may experience similar psychological reactions to online exclusion as they do with face-to-face exclusion.” (bron)

Abstract van het onderzoek:

We conducted two studies to examine perceptions of, and reactions to, ostracism occurring either in-person or online. In study 1, participants read a vignette describing either in-person or online ostracism, then estimated their psychological and interpersonal responses as if they experienced such ostracism. Participants anticipated experiencing distress, and this was consistent across ostracism method. Ostracism method did predict negative affect (NA), with greater NA increases anticipated for in-person exclusion, compared to online. A significant interaction between gender and ostracism method predicted anticipated belonging. Males anticipated higher belonging in the in-person condition (relative to online); females anticipated more belonging in the online condition. In study 2, participants experienced in-person or online ostracism during a brief interaction with study confederates. Both conditions elicited similar reports of low inclusion, high exclusion, and significant decreases in positive and negative affect. Ostracism method qualified self-esteem (SE) results; chat room participants indicated an increase in SE following ostracism, whereas in-person participants reported a slight decrease. Males and females were similarly affected by both conditions. These studies demonstrate that online experiences of ostracism may be as meaningful as those experienced in person. Whether this finding generalizes to those with less technological familiarity should be examined further.

Highlights