Facebook Profile Pictures

The purpose of this article is to investigate Facebook profile images in order to assess candid differences between male and female users. Through the correlation of the profile images of male and female Facebook users, the paper will objectively investigate the character development and sexual orientation in an informal communication site. Notably, candidness was established by studying the photo album, the number of profile pictures, the main profile picture, and an examination of the significant difference in the amount of profile photograph difference and the content between males and females. Participants in the study were Facebook users between the ages of 15 and 35 who were actively enrolled in a university or college. Most often, the profile pictures are inactive, appropriate, posed and with subject content. The candidness content of profile pictures of Facebook users did not vary significantly by gender. The research findings implications and future research recommendations were discussed.

Keywords: Facebook users, Candid difference, Males and females, and profile pictures.

Candidness of Facebook Profile Pictures

Introduction

The Facebook users update their Facebook status to reflect their current emotions and affairs to their online friends. The number of Facebook users continues to grow tremendously with almost 500 million as the current users who spend per month on the site approximately over 700 billion minutes. According to Hum et al., (2011), Facebook was launched the year 2004, and by the year 2010, it was the social site that was frequently visited as it helps people to communicate with their friends, families, and coworkers conveniently and efficiently. The profiles of each Facebook user build enables one to add notes, photos, links, videos, to share with other Facebook users with limited or unlimited access to their profile pictures. Also, Facebook users can interact through Facebook Chat online combining with the other elements to develop a picture personality that imparts to the more noteworthy group. Profile photos of the Facebook user uncover self- picture to the whole system. The paper plans to explore if there is a distinction in the authenticity among the female and male profile pictures of Facebook Users.

The profile picture in Facebook forms the focal part of the online self-introduction basic to relational success with much prevalence and importance to the users. There is little-known research that has analyzed the Facebook profile pictures of users posting and how their content differs by gender (Hum, Chamberlin, Hambright, Portwood, Schat, & Bevan, 2011). Understanding the difference of candidness of profile pictures between males and females of Facebook users will grow the information concerning web-based social networking and its points of confinement with parts of why and how social site users perceive and benefit from their social sites.

The study of the difference in candidness of between male and female profile picture in Facebook users motivates and obtains the social interests of maintaining friendships by creating and enhancing a self-image. According to Zhang (2010), Facebook users can improve and build self-image through the profile pictures they use on Facebook as their profiles to identify self and to connect with other users. The choice of Facebook profile the user uses determines the levels of trust with other users and the liberty to interact freely with certain satisfaction levels. According to Valenzuela, Park, and Kee (2009), the online identity enables connection with other peers and possesses higher happiness in their social content. For instance, the college students use Facebook as a social capital to interact through civic participation, life satisfaction, political engagement and development of social trusts among its peers starting from their profile pictures. Young political participants in colleges and universities utilize Facebook to convey their political conclusions, suggestions, and views and to disseminate legislative information to the intended targeted groups. The platform unites and empowers peers and organizations with similar interests and beliefs enhancing self-expression and geographical and political connections.

The study chose Facebook over other social networks due to the fact those users visit Facebook for various distinct purposes with more social capital and due to the reason that Facebook currently is the most popular social network. Profile pictures of the Facebook users help in identification of personalities and real-life experiences shaped together with word affirmatives to describe the user as social and outgoing. According to Zhao, Grasmuck and Martin (2008), users on Facebook who use profile pictures that identify themselves as someone else have underlying negative impulses on the online worlds. The profile picture identities and gender identification for self-representations encourage less anonymous Facebook environment leading to people acting differently as compared when with more anonymous identity. The Facebook profiles vary depending on the nature of the settings and groups of participation which to some extent contribute the anonymous set of profile pictures to hide identity.

The profile picture is famous for identity which is critical in forming self-concept that determines the totality of person’s thoughts and feelings about the images used as profiles. Users of Facebook identify themselves to get to be known by others from their profile pictures. Although, there are circumstances that necessitate users to hide their identity by using disguised profiles preventing people from identifying them when encountered face-to-face by sex, race, looks and the shared knowledge. According to Zhao, Grasmuck and Martin (2008), Facebook users utilize physical manipulations of the material settings, gender, and their profile picture to generate desired or anticipated impression of themselves among other peers. In situations where face-to-face video chats or interactions occur, people seek to use personalities and background settings to set up a new identity.

Most Facebook users build their self-identity through mimetic ways or indirectly showing other users who view their profiles glimpses of their personalities compared to specific direct identifications. For instance, Facebook user status uses a male profile pictures together with an affirmative status that publicly claims her love to and commitment to her husband reinforcing the accepted societal norms yet in addition shows how clients make personalities through mimetic ways that leave a clue for the viewer to interpret. According to Utz (2010), the formation of online impressions can be expanded through looking at some profile pictures posted by the users, friends, shared traits, social desirability, forming nonverbal behaviors that identify self through impressions.

The users’ profile pictures rarely reflect accurate personal representations and warrants further scrutiny of other posed pictures as the majority consider their profiles to determine which critical information to share with other users. According to Hum et al., (2011) seventy-four percent of college and university students use their true identity as Facebook profile pictures with personalized persons’ taste and the tendency of self-description like products. Self-presentations in Facebook user profiles, gender and the amount of picture posed form the fundamental reasons why people get attracted to an individual user, sustaining the friendship, continued use of Facebook and identity for intimacy development. Some pictures posted by a Facebook user, profile picture used and gender identified establishes showing and not telling supporting the contention that profile picture and sexual orientation contain verifiable correspondence hints of Facebook profiles. Profile pictures include the learning of the growing identity building in social media contexts including off-line aftermath disclosures coinciding with the developed perception. According to Mesh and Beker (2010), online self-disclosures form a more open and expressive because of secrecy when contrasted with eye to eye connections with the extreme requirement for diminishing vulnerability.

In the gender aspect on Facebook users, female users are more likely to change their profile pictures and update their status often, meet new people, shop often compared to males. The variations in online behaviors indicate that male and females differ on how they interact, pose photos and update status as their general way of spending time online (Guadagno, Muscanell, Okdie, Burk, & Ward, 2011). Males mostly use Facebook more intensely to search to play games, job leads, and reading news, get the sport and financial information, participate in politics, and for dates. Contrary to male, females use Facebook for interpersonal communications, search for broad details, and shop. Females have different goals contrary to males on Facebook, whereby, females engage in various activities interacting with virtual humans, cooperative activities, explorative activities and chat interactions.

The previous growing researchers on gender have shown minimal use of Facebook about pictures posted by males and females. For instance, upon analyzing the specified number of Facebook user who post pictures of marijuana and liquor related pictures, women postured more photographs of liquor utilize all the more regularly contrasted with males who posed marijuana more often (Hum et al., 2011). The implications of pictures posted imply that alcohol is more preferred in females and foster connections when posted on Facebook as compared to males who prefer marijuana as a social desire to engage with friends. Females are more likely to post the picture on Facebook that reveals their significant others, family, friends and relatives, holidays, social events and alcohol as compared to males uploading photographs of sports-related activities, and limited self-disclosure. Females are motivated to upload higher amount of photos for the desire to store memories and data as compared to males who don’t get driven by memories in uploading pictures to Facebook. According to Mesh and Beker (2010), females are more likely to pose more photos in Facebook and allow them to be publicly viewed as compared to males who are likely to post videos of them on Facebook.

“The previous studies that explored candidness of profile pictures found out 76% of the n=114 participants to pose pictures. Twenty -two of the participants composing of 14.7% illustrated between candid and posed while only 11 participants of showed candid pictures that composed of 7.3% of the participants. The study showed no significant difference in gender on candidness of the profile pictures. X2(3) = 5.98 p = 0.11.” The study seeks to highlight more about Candidness of the profile pictures of the previous studies with a broader age range.

The hypothesis

“There is a difference in the candidness between male and female profile pictures”

“There are candidness between candid and posed, posed and the other”

“There is candidness among various age”

Method

Research design and Procedures

The participants were the present college and understudies selected indiscriminately from a dynamic Facebook rundown of friends of the researcher. The study exclusively involved the Facebook friends only due to the procedure of obtaining consent from non-Facebook friends through emailing them first to acquire participants’ approvals. The researcher can only access the Facebook profiles and photo albums just when active friends and codding of active friends profiles in Facebook increased the privacy, confidentiality, of the participants and avoiding participants changing their profile pictures to “more appropriate profiles” during the study and codding.

The study consent was obtained by emailing the participants on their email contacts after being selected randomly requesting their permission to take an interest in the examination. The relevant subtle elements of the investigation were given to the potential participants with the duration and dates of which their profile pictures codding conducted. The number of participants was 50 public Facebook profiles composed of 25 males and 25 females with the equal representation of 50% females and 50 % male final participants.

Measures

The exploration of “the difference in the candidness among male and female profile pictures” was done through codding into four constructivists; candidness, “between candid and posed, posed and other”. The predictor variable was gender and criterion variable of candidness.

Results

Descriptive Analysis

Table showing Descriptive analysis

Descriptive Statistics

N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation Profiles 50 1.00 50.00 25.5000 14.57738 Gender 50 1.00 2.00 1.5000 .50508 Candidness 50 1.00 4.00 2.3200 .97813 Age 50 1.00 2.00 1.5000 .50508 Valid N (listwise) 50

Candidness

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Candid 14 28.0 28.0 28.0 between candid and posed 10 20.0 20.0 48.0 posed 22 44.0 44.0 92.0 other 4 8.0 8.0 100.0 Total 50 100.0 100.0

Statistical Analysis

CHI-SQUARE OF CANDIDNESS AND GENDER

Table 1: SHOWING CADINDNESS * GENDER Crosstabulation

GENDER Total

MALE FEMALE

CADINDNESS CANDID Count 7 7 14 % within CADINDNESS 50.0% 50.0% 100.0% % within GENDER 28.0% 28.0% 28.0% % of Total 14.0% 14.0% 28.0% BTWN CANDID AND POSED Count 7 3 10 % within CADINDNESS 70.0% 30.0% 100.0% % within GENDER 28.0% 12.0% 20.0% % of Total 14.0% 6.0% 20.0% POSED Count 8 14 22 % within CADINDNESS 36.4% 63.6% 100.0% % within GENDER 32.0% 56.0% 44.0% % of Total 16.0% 28.0% 44.0% OTHER Count 3 1 4 % within CADINDNESS 75.0% 25.0% 100.0% % within GENDER 12.0% 4.0% 8.0% % of Total 6.0% 2.0% 8.0% Total Count 25 25 50

% within CADINDNESS 50.0% 50.0% 100.0%

% within GENDER 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

% of Total 50.0% 50.0% 100.0%

Table Sowing Chi-Square Tests

Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 4.236a 3 .237

Likelihood Ratio 4.349 3 .226

Linear-by-Linear Association .084 1 .772

N of Valid Cases 50

a. 2 cells (25.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 2.00.

Table showing Symmetric Measures

Value Approx. Sig.

Nominal by Nominal Phi .291 .237

Cramer’s V .291 .237

N of Valid Cases 50

Candidness and Age

CADINDNESS * AGE Crosstabulation

AGE Total

YOUNGER(15-25) OLDER(26-35)

CADINDNESS CANDID Count 25 0 25 % within CADINDNESS 100.0% 0.0% 100.0% % within AGE 100.0% 0.0% 50.0% % of Total 50.0% 0.0% 50.0% BEWEEN CANDID AND POSED Count 0 25 25 % within CADINDNESS 0.0% 100.0% 100.0% % within AGE 0.0% 100.0% 50.0% % of Total 0.0% 50.0% 50.0% Total Count 25 25 50

% within CADINDNESS 50.0% 50.0% 100.0%

% within AGE 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

% of Total 50.0% 50.0% 100.0%

Chi-Square Tests

Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Exact Sig. (2-sided) Exact Sig. (1-sided) Pearson Chi-Square 50.000a 1 .000 Continuity Correctionb 46.080 1 .000 Likelihood Ratio 69.315 1 .000 Fisher’s Exact Test .000 .000 Linear-by-Linear Association 49.000 1 .000 N of Valid Cases 50 a. 0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 12.50.

b. Computed only for a 2x2 table

Discussion

The results illustrate that the explored candidness of profile pictures found out 28% of the n=50 participants to candid pictures with equal seven males and seven female contributions. Ten of the participants composing of 20% illustrated between candid and posed whereby, 7 (14%) males and 3 (6%) female while only 22 participants of showed pose pictures that composed of 44% of the participants with 8 (16%) males and 14(28%) females. The other composed of 4% of 3 males and one female. The study showed the difference in gender on candidness of the profile pictures not significant. X2(3) = 4.326 p = 0.237. In addition, the results demonstrates that “the candid, between candid and posed, and posed and other” for the second hypothesis of not significance. The study concludes that the hypothesis of the existence of a “difference in the candidness between male and female profile pictures” is therefore null hypothesis. For the hypothesis of finding out if there is a difference in candidness and age, the results shows there is no correlation between age and candidness.

The study limitations, future study recommendations

The study could only recruit the Facebook friends of the researcher and with notification of the participants about the research could have led them to change their profile pictures and to represent them better thus not compared to someone unaware of the study.

The research offers ideas of the future research incorporating a broader array of social networks, such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and my space among others.

The research implication shows that online practices of an individual contrast from the up close and personal experiences or interactions. Gender plays different roles on the Facebook social network which information of advertisers can use to target separate Facebook Groups.

Reference

Hum, N. J., Chamberlin, P. E., Hambright, B. L., Portwood, A. C., Schat, A. C., & Bevan, J. L. (2011). A picture is worth a thousand words: A content analysis of Facebook profile photographs. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(5), 1828-1833.

Zhang, J. (2010). Self‐Enhancement on a Self‐Categorization Leash: Evidence for a Dual‐Process Model of First‐and Third‐Person Perceptions. Human Communication Research, 36(2), 190-215.

Valenzuela, S., Park, N., & Kee, K. F. (2009). Is there social capital in a social network site?: Facebook use and college students’ life satisfaction, trust, and participation. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 14(4), 875-901.

Zhao, S., Grasmuck, S., & Martin, J. (2008). Identity construction on Facebook: Digital empowerment in anchored relationships. Computers in human behavior, 24(5), 1816-1836.

Utz, S. (2010). Show me your friends and I will tell you what type of person you are: How one’s profile, number of friends, and type of friends influence impression formation on social network sites. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 15(2), 314-335.

Mesch, G. S., & Beker, G. (2010). Are norms of disclosure of online and offline personal information associated with the disclosure of personal information online?. Human Communication Research, 36(4), 570-592.

Guadagno, R. E., Muscanell, N. L., Okdie, B. M., Burk, N. M., & Ward, T. B. (2011). Even in virtual environments women shop and men build: A social role perspective on Second Life. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(1), 304-308.