Narcissism or Openness?: College Students’ Use of Facebook and Twitter

Abstract

Abstract Speculation that social networking sites (SNSs) breed narcissism has produced research with mixed results (e.g., Bergman, Fearrington, Davenport, & Bergman, Citation2011; Buffardi & Campbell, Citation2008). This study viewed SNSs as tools for communication and maintaining relationships, examining whether providing information about oneself reflects a positive attitude about sharing such information with one's social network, rather than reflecting narcissism. A questionnaire was completed by 233 undergraduate students. Results indicated that attitude toward being open about sharing information about oneself was significantly related to frequency of using Facebook® and Twitter to provide self-focused updates. Higher levels of narcissism were associated with a larger number of Facebook friends and with the number of self-focused "tweets" an individual sends. Keywords: FacebookNarcissismSocial NetworkingTwitter Notes Note. N = 233. R in parentheses refers to reflected items. Note. N = 233. FB = Facebook®. Note. N = 233. FB = Facebook®. *p = .05. **p = .01. An earlier factor analysis revealed weak communalities for six items, which were subsequently dropped; many of the items were negatively worded and, thus, potentially confusing to respondents (i.e., 2 items were dropped from each factor—specifically, "I don't like to reveal much about myself," "It is fine if people I'm not close to know what I've been up to lately," "I don't keep many secrets about myself," "People are too open about themselves with others," "I don't mind revealing things about me that might be embarrassing," and "I don't worry about what others might think about what I say about myself"). Additional informationNotes on contributorsBruce C. McKinney Bruce C. McKinney (PhD, Pennsylvania State University, 1985) is a Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina–Wilmington. Lynne Kelly Lynne Kelly (PhD, Pennsylvania State University, 1982) is a Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Hartford. Robert L. Duran Robert L. Duran (PhD, Bowling Green State University, 1981) is a Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Hartford.