How Do Young Adults Feel About Receiving "Likes" on Social Media? The Moderating Role of Shyness and Cybervictimization.

ABSTRACT: The current study explored the emotional effects on individuals of receiving fewer "Likes" than others on social media, as well as the potential moderating roles of participant shyness and previous experiences with cybervictimization. Participants were 1,007 undergraduate students (751 women; M _age = 19.33 years, SD = 7.2 years) from a university in Eastern Ontario, Canada. During a standardized social media task, participants were randomly assigned to receive either "few Likes," "some Likes," or "many Likes." They completed self-report measures (e.g., self-esteem, sense of life meaning, emotions, loneliness, and intentions to limit social media use) both before and after the experimental task. Among the results, participants who received fewer likes reporte

SUBMITTER: Xiao B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12543267 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature