facebook+research

[|A 2010 study] yields interesting data about how people spend their time on [|Facebook] and what effects Facebook has on people's emotions. The researchers differentiated between passive social information-seeking behavior which is defined as social browsing and extractive information-seeking behavior which is defined as social surfing. Social browsing refers to behaviors where one is casually surfing through general information about people. This includes looking viewing one's Newsfeed. Social surfing refers to behaviors where one is looking specific information about people to get to know them better. This includes looking at others' profiles. The research found that Facebook users spent most of their time doing these two activities as opposed to using the communication features of Facebook or editing their profiles or statuses. Additionally, users spent more time searching than browsing. Participants displayed more physiological signs of unpleasantness while they social searching than when they were social browsing and no difference in physiological signs of pleasantness. [|Another 2010 study]compared Facebook to instant messaging to investigate what people do on Facebook and why they use it. This study found that social information was the most important difference between Facebook and instant messaging and was the main reason users used Facebook as a substitute for instant messaging. Facebook more effectively provided users with information about social events, friends' activities, and social information than instant messaging. Another interesting finding of this study was about undergraduate students' motivations for joining Fa cebook. Results indicated that students were motivated to join Facebook because of peer pressure, social connectivity, and curiosity. This study also looked at how Facebook use depends on the age and gender of the user. The study found that gender did not effect frequency of use, but that younger users used Facebook more often than older users. Furthermore, gender and age do not effect frequency of profile updates.

**History**
(There is no text here yet.)

**Opinion**
(There is no text here yet.)

**Future Trends?**
(There is no text here yet.)