Estroversione e condivisione virtuale: L’effetto della percezione di sé sull’utilizzo di Facebook

[Autom. eng. transl.] Numerous studies show that extroversion tends to be associated with greater use of social networks, in particular Facebook. Surprisingly, however, no study has ever experimentally investigated the verse of this association. What would induce people to "share" more? This experiment tests the hypothesis that the simple perception of oneself as more than one. less extroverted can influence the motivations that would lead people to share more content on Facebook. In an experimental design between subjects, the participants (N = 36) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: in the first one they were made to believe, through a false feedback, to be among the most extroverted participants of the study; in the second, among the most introverted. They were then asked to use a Facebook group specifically created for 5 weeks ("wellness" theme) and then to indicate on Likert scales which motivations had led them to share the contents on the group. Surprisingly, although no differences were found between conditions in the actual use of the Facebook group, in the "extraversion" condition the participants emphasized more the sharing motivations typically associated with an expansive and extroverted personality, such as getting involved, t (33) = 2.16, p = .038, d = .74, having success, t (21.64) = 2.95, p = .008, d = 1.01, and the "getting noticed", t (23.28) = 2.78, p = .011, d = .95. The experiment shows that the mere perception of one's own presumed extraversion is, already by itself, capable of systematically influencing the motivations that would push people to use Facebook, leading them to conform these motivations to self-perception.