Do you count the ‘Likes’ you get on Facebook?
Then you may have lost purpose in your life, claims study
Many people feel a sense of self-esteem when they open Facebook to see their status or new profile picture has received more likes than expected
But if you don’t feel this way it could be a good thing, according to a new study.
One group of people who do not feel a boost in self-esteem when they receive virtual feedback is those with a sense of purpose.
Researchers at Cornell University studied the effects of purpose in the online world, in two separate studies.
‘We found that having a sense of purpose allowed people to navigate virtual feedback with more rigidity and persistence,’ said Anthony Burrow, co-author of the study and assistant professor of human development.
‘With a sense of purpose, they’re not so malleable to the number of likes they receive.
‘Purposeful people noticed the positive feedback, but did not rely on it to feel good about themselves.’
Professor Burrow defined a sense of purpose as ongoing motivation that is self-directed, oriented toward the future and beneficial to others.
People with a strong sense of purpose tend to agree with such statements as ‘To me, all the things I do are worthwhile’ and ‘I have lots of reasons for living’, the researchers said.
In the first study, the researchers have found having a sense of purpose limits how reactive people are to positive feedback on social media.
While it is nice to receive compliments, it may not be a good thing to base one’s self-esteem on them, Professor Burrow said.
‘Otherwise, on days when you receive few likes, you’ll feel worse.
‘Your self-esteem would be contingent on what other people say and think,’ he said.
‘Over time that’s not healthy, that’s not adaptive. You want to show up with rigidity: ‘I know who I am and I feel good about that.’’
The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, found purposeful people are able to inhibit impulsive responses to perceived rewards.
This is because they have the ability to see themselves in the future, and act in a way to help them get to that goal rather than for short-term satisfaction.
In the first experiment, the researchers used nearly 250 Facebook users from around the US.
They measured the participants’ self-esteem and sense of purpose, and asked how many likes they usually received on their photos.
The users who reported getting more likes on average also reported greater self-esteem.
But those with a high level of purpose showed no change in self-esteem, no matter how many likes they got.
‘That is, receiving more likes only corresponded with greater self-esteem for those who had lower levels of purpose,’ Professor Burrow said.
In the second study, the researchers asked about 100 Cornell students to take a selfie and post it to a mock social media site.
The students were told that photo had received a high, low or average number of likes.
Getting a high number of likes boosted self-esteem – but, again, only for students who had less purpose.
‘In fact, those higher in purpose showed no elevation in self-esteem, even when they were told they received a high number of likes,’ Professor Burrow said.
Previous studies found a sense of purpose can act as a buffer against bad things like stress, but this is the first to show it lowers people’s reaction to positive events.
Without a sense of purpose people can act against their own interests even when something positive happens, said co-author Nicolette Rainone.
‘For example, if I’m studying for a big exam and get a good score on a practice test, that can make me think, “Oh, I really don’t need to study.”
‘And that may ultimately decrease my final score, because I stopped persisting,’ she said.
‘Having a purpose keeps you emotionally steady which is essential for successful academic and work performance.’