Facebooking by Adolescents: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Facebook, as the world’s most popular social networking site, is serving approximately 2 billion people including 92% of adolescents who are online daily. This narrative review includes published research from the last decade on the use and misuse of Facebook by adolescents. The research on Facebook use has focused on motives for its use, which have been primarily for companionship and relationship maintenance. In turn, online relationships have facilitated or debilitated offline relationships. The Facebook misuse research, also called Facebook addiction research, includes prevalence data, Facebook addiction scales, the effects of and the risk factors for Facebook addiction. The effects have included negative behaviors online and negative relationship outcomes. The risk factors have included intense Facebook usage, fear of missing out, mood states (loneliness, stress, depression and anxiety) and personality factors (extraversion and narcissism). Since most of the research has been cross-sectional, direction of effects cannot be determined. This literature is also limited by the almost exclusive use of self-report measures. Nonetheless, the research highlights the problematic use of Facebook by adolescents.