Personality and Emerging Adults’ Friend Selection on Social Network Sites

• In Event: ICA Plenary Interactive Paper/Poster Session II
  In Interactive Paper Session: Children, Adolescents, and the Media Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

Personality mutual selection effect exists among the building of friendship network on the online network sites. Personality and its consistence will affect the decisions of emerging adults selecting friends, being selected as a friend. Self-rating big-five personality and frequencies of contact in online social network site are collected in a sample of 160 college freshmen (M= 18 years) from 4 classes during a 2 month period. Using social network analysis SIENA, this study examined how personality and its similarity act in friendship selection for just acquaintances. The results showed that people high in Extraversion, Neuroticism, Agreeableness and low in Openness to Experience have more friends on the online social network sites, which verifies both Rich-get-rider Hypothesis and Social Compensation Hypothesis. People who have low levels of Extraversion, Consciousness, Neuroticism and high levels of Openness to Experience are more being selected as a friend online. When considering about personality homophily on selection, only Openness to Experience similarity have a salutary effect.

Authors

• Yixin Zhou, Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

• Mingjie Zhou, Institute of Psychology Chinese Acedemy of sciences Key laboratory of Mental Health