Understanding Perceptions of Problematic Facebook Use

While many people use social network sites to connect with friends and family, some feel that their use is problematic, seriously affecting their sleep, work, or life. Pairing a survey of 20,000 Facebook users measuring perceptions of problematic use with behavioral and demographic data, we examined Facebook activities associated with problematic use as well as the kinds of people most likely to experience it. People who feel their use is problematic are more likely to be younger, male, and going through a major life event such as a breakup. They spend more time on the platform, particularly at night, and spend proportionally more time looking at profiles and less time browsing their News Feeds. They also message their friends more frequently. While they are more likely to respond to notifications, they are also more likely to deactivate their accounts, perhaps in an effort to better manage their time. Further, they are more likely to have seen content about social media or phone addiction. Notably, people reporting problematic use rate the site as more valuable to them, highlighting the complex relationship between technology use and well-being. A better understanding of problematic Facebook use can inform the design of context-appropriate and supportive tools to help people become more in control.

Presented at CHI 2019.

Transcript

1. Understanding Perceptions of Problematic Facebook Use Justin Cheng, Moira Burke, and Elena Davis !1
2. Social media connects people !2 Ellison, et al. 2007; Harris & Rae 2009; Obar, et al. 2012
3. But sometimes, people feel that their social media use is
 problematic !3
4. But sometimes, people feel that their social media use is
 problematic !4 (i.e., negative life impact + difficulty controlling use)
5. But sometimes, people feel that their social media use is
 problematic !5 (or addictive?)
6. Problematic Facebook use has been linked to... !6
7. Problematic Facebook use has been linked to... !7 depression Hunt, et al. 2018; Kim, et al. 2006
8. Problematic Facebook use has been linked to... !8 loneliness Hunt, et al. 2018; Ryan & Xenos 2011
9. Problematic Facebook use has been linked to... !9 worse grades Junco & Cotten 2012; Kirschner & Karpinski 2010
10. A large-scale survey and behavioral analysis to understand problematic Facebook use and how we can reduce it. !10 Today
11. Problematic Use on Facebook !11
12. Problematic Use on Facebook !12
13. Problematic Use on Facebook !13 What is it? Who experiences it? What behaviors are related?
14. Problematic Use on Facebook !14 What is it?
 Who experiences it? What behaviors are related?
15. Defining Problematic Use !15
16. Challenge: no formal definition exists !16
17. Challenge: no formal definition exists !17 Multiple
 proposed symptoms Negative Life Impact
 Lack of Control
 Salience
 Tolerance
 Mood Modification
 ... Billieux, et al. 2015; Cash, et al. 2012; Chakraborty, et al. 2010; Kuss & Griffiths 2011; Ryan, et al. 2014
18. Challenge: no formal definition exists !18 Wildly varying
 prevalence estimates 0.3% (US)
 3.5% (Korea) 8.1% (US) 18% (UK) 38% (China) ... Billieux, et al. 2015; Cash, et al. 2012; Chakraborty, et al. 2010; Kuss & Griffiths 2011; Ryan, et al. 2014
19. Problematic Facebook use is... !19 Negative life impact + Difficulty controlling use Our Broad Definition Peng, et al. 2010; Griffiths 2005
20. Measuring Problematic Use !20 (and its associated behaviors)
21. Method !21 Survey on perceived problematic use
 +
 De-identified, aggregated Facebook activity data
22. Survey !22 4 questions on
 negative life impact 2 questions on
 difficulty controlling use Relationships Lack of sleep Work/school performance Life impact Control over
 time spent Concern over not
 logging in more
23. Survey !23 4 questions on
 negative life impact 2 questions on
 difficulty controlling use Relationships Lack of sleep Work/school performance Life impact Control over
 time spent Concern over not
 logging in more (and a question on major life events as a control)
24. Behavioral Data !24 De-identified
 Facebook activity Time spent Interactions Viewed content (and demographics)
25. Population !25 ≈20,000 people in the US on Facebook
26. Problematic Use on Facebook !26 What is it?
 Who experiences it? What behaviors are related?
27. Who experiences problematic use? !27
28. How prevalent is problematic use? !28
29. 3.1% of people report problematic use !29 (US-only, weighted by age, gender, and time spent)
30. How does problematic use vary with age? !30 Banyai, et al. 2017; Fernández-Villa, et al. 2015; Hur, 2006; Koc & Gulyagci 2013 Is it highest among teens?
31. Reported Problematic Use 0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7% Age 14 18 22 26 30 34 38 42 46 50 54 58 62 66 70 74 78 !31 Problematic use decreases with age Steinberg & Monahan 2007; Steinberg 2008
32. Is problematic use higher among... !32 Men? Women?
33. Is problematic use higher among... !33 Men? Women? Andreassen, et al. 2012 Banyai, et al. 2017 De Cock, et al. 2014 Cam & Isbulan 2012 Durkee, et al. 2012 Yen, et al. 2009
34. Is problematic use higher among... !34 Neither? Blachnio, et al. 2016; Rumpf, et al. 2014; Tang, et al. 2016 Men? Women? Andreassen, et al. 2012 Banyai, et al. 2017 De Cock, et al. 2014 Cam & Isbulan 2012 Durkee, et al. 2012 Yen, et al. 2009
35. Problematic use is higher among men !35 Reported Problematic Use 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% Age 14 18 22 26 30 34 38 42 46 50 54 58 62 66 70 74 78 Men Women (Insufficient data for non-binary genders)
36. Major life events play a role too !36 People who recently experienced a breakup were
 2.4x more likely to report problematic use
37. Major life events play a role too !37 2.4x 2.0x Breakup or divorce Moved to new city Marriage Lost job Death in family New job Injury or illness Pregnancy 1.8x 1.7x 1.5x 1.4x 1.2x (n.s.) 1.1x (n.s.)
38. 3% of people report problematic use.
 It's more common among younger people and among men. !38 The story so far... ∼
39. Problematic Use on Facebook !39 What is it?
 Who experiences it? What behaviors are related?
40. What behaviors are related to problematic use? !40
41. Behaviors and problematic use !41
42. Behaviors and problematic use !42 Amount of use 1 Social narratives about addiction 5 Notifications 2 Deactivations 3 Active vs. passive use 4
43. How do we quantify differences? !43
44. How do we quantify differences? !44 Separate respondents into two groups (problematic use / not)
45. How do we quantify differences? !45 Separate respondents into two groups (problematic use / not)
46. How do we quantify differences? !46 Match on age, gender,
 friend count, account age Ho, et al. 2007; Iacus, et al. 2012
47. How do we quantify differences? !47 Estimate difference
 using linear regression E(Y|X1 ) Ho, et al. 2007; Iacus, et al. 2012 E(Y|X)
48. Amount of use !48 Is more time spent associated with problematic use? Hong, et al. 2014; Koc & Gulyagci, 2013
49. Time spent on Facebook !49 0 10% 20% -20% -10% Amount of use
50. Time spent on Facebook People who reported problematic use spent 22% more time on Facebook than those who do not report problematic use. !50 0 10% 20% -20% -10% Amount of use All differences were computed using matching, followed by regression.
51. Sessions late at night !51 0 10% 20% -20% -10% Amount of use
52. !52 0 20% 40% -40% -20% Amount of use 10% 30% -30% -10% Sessions late at night People who reported problematic use spent a greater proportion of sessions late at night (12am-4am).
53. Notifications !53 How do notifications relate to problematic use? Kushlev, et al. 2016
54. Likelihood of responding to notifications !54 0 10% 20% -20% -10% Notifications
55. Likelihood of responding to notifications People who reported problematic use were 10% more likely
 to respond to notifications. !55 0 10% 20% -20% -10% Notifications
56. Deactivations !56 How do deactivations relate to problematic use? Baumer, et al. 2013
57. Likelihood of deactivating account !57 0 10% 20% -20% -10% Deactivations
58. Likelihood of deactivating account People who reported problematic use were 160% more likely
 to have temporarily deactivated their accounts. !58 0 100% 200% -200% -100% Deactivations
59. Active vs. passive use !59 How does active or passive use
 relate to problematic use? Shaw, et al. 2015, Verduyn, et al. 2015, Nontasil & Payne, 2019
60. Active vs. passive use !60 "The pull-to-refresh and infinite scrolling
 mechanism on our News Feeds are unnervingly
 similar to a slot machine." Tristan Harris, via The Guardian 2018
61. Proportion of time spent on News Feed !61 0 10% 20% -20% -10% Active vs. passive use
62. Proportion of time spent on News Feed People who reported problematic use spent proportionally
 less time browsing their News Feeds. !62 0 10% 20% -20% -10% Active vs. passive use
63. Proportion of time spent on Messenger !63 0 10% 20% -20% -10% Active vs. passive use
64. Proportion of time spent on Messenger People who reported problematic use were somewhat more likely to spend proportionally more time on Messenger. !64 Active vs. passive use 0 20% 40% -40% -20% 10% 30% -30% -10%
65. Messages sent per hour !65 0 10% 20% -20% -10% Active vs. passive use
66. Messages sent per hour People who reported problematic use sent 39%
 more messages per hour to others. !66 Active vs. passive use 0 20% 40% -40% -20% 10% 30% -30% -10%
67. Social narratives !67 Does reading about addiction
 relate to problematic use? McCombs 2002; Lanette, et al. 2018
68. Reading about technology addiction !68 0 10% 20% -20% -10% Social narratives
69. Reading about technology addiction People who reported problematic use were 115% more likely
 to have read posts and comments about technology addiction. !69 0 100% 200% -200% -100% Social narratives
70. Behaviors associated with problematic use !70 +22% Total time spent Late-night sessions Close friend content Network density Time on News Feed +22% -2% (n.s.) -4% (n.s.) -8% +19% Time in Messenger Messages per hour Notification response Deactivation Read about addiction +39% +10% +160% +115%
71. People nonetheless perceive value !71 The solution to problematic use isn't as
 straightforward as not using social media.
72. What should designers do? !72
73. Provide more control !73 Encourage breaks
74. Provide more control !74 Encourage breaks Allow people to better manage notifications
75. Provide more control !75 Encourage breaks Allow people to better manage notifications Discourage late-night use
76. !76 (To access this, go to "Settings & Privacy" > "Your Time on Facebook") Provide more control
77. !77 (To access this, go to "Settings & Privacy" > "Your Time on Facebook") Provide more control
78. !78 (To access this, go to "Settings & Privacy" > "Your Time on Facebook") Provide more control
79. !79 (To access this, go to "Settings & Privacy" > "Your Time on Facebook") Provide more control
80. Support more meaningful interactions !80 Tran, et al. 2019; Facebook 2018
81. About 3% of people in the US report problematic Facebook use. !81 Summary
82. They spend more time on Facebook (at night), but spend proportionally less time browsing their News Feeds. !82 Summary
83. They are more likely to respond to notifications, deactivate their accounts, or have read about technology addiction. !83 Summary
84. Understanding their experiences
 can inform the design of
 more supportive tools. !84 Summary
85. Understanding Perceptions of Problematic Facebook Use !85 Justin Cheng, Moira Burke, and Elena Davis http://bit.ly/problematic_use