Me versus them: Third-person effects among Facebook users

The immense popularity of Facebook with more than 1 billion active users continues to spark the attention of communication scholars. While much is known about Facebook members’ motivations, usage patterns, and gratifications obtained from this social networking site (SNS), minimal attention has been given to examine the perceived consumption and impact of Facebook on users themselves versus others. Applying the third-person effect (TPE) hypothesis to the context of social media, this research uniquely investigates the (a) difference in estimated Facebook effects on self versus others, (b) relationship between perceptions of Facebook use and estimated Facebook effects on self versus others, and (c) association between perceived desirability of Facebook as a social medium and estimated Facebook effects on self versus others. The aforementioned relationships are also moderated by gender and age. Implications for the relevance of TPE on users of SNSs are discussed.