Personality and Motivations Associated with Facebook Use - Essay Example

The questionnaire sought to discover the divulgence of personally identifiable information, the user attitudes arising from Facebook, and the primary user functions of Facebook. The participants received email access to the study URL and personal identification code.
Results
A majority of participants totaling 85% possessed Facebook accounts. Furthermore, 79% of the participants spent 10 to 60 minutes daily.

Further results indicated that participants in the high extraversion cohort assented to membership in more Facebook groups than participants in the low extraversion cohort. In addition, neuroticism exhibited no relationship with the posting of personal information. Moreover, participants with high neuroticism exhibited a preference for using the Facebook wall in communication. On the contrary, participants low in Neuroticism favored the use of Facebook profiles for posting pictures. Participants high in competency spent more time on Facebook daily in comparison to those with low incompetency.

In addition, participants with high motivation checked their Facebook walls frequently compared to those with low motivation.
Discussion
The findings established that personality attributes were related to some dimensions of Facebook use. Foremost, extraversion played a significant role in the membership of Facebook groups. Thus, due to the high sociability levels of extroverts, they tend to build and maintain connections within Facebook groups. However, extraversion exhibited no relationship with the number of Facebook friends.

Consequently, it proved that extroverts do not use Facebook as a substitute for social functions. Furthermore, neuroticism significantly played a significant factor in information control by regulating what is shared in Facebook profiles and walls. Openness to Experience showed a relationship with online interaction since those with high levels showed a higher affinity for sociability through Facebook. However, the study obtained little information pertaining to personality variables in relation to Facebook use.

Thus, the Five-Factor approach was too broad in the comprehension of detailed internet behaviors. This was due to the exclusion of other specific traits such as shyness or narcissism in the Five-Factor Model.