Checking friends’ Facebook photo albums is an online activity that contributes to our propensity to fall prey to Problematic Internet Use. When in need of a distraction from work or something to look at while chatting on the phone, I, along with many others I know, have developed a habit of clicking the “Photos” tab to see if any of our Facebook friends have posted pictures recently. Sometimes the photos we stalk are those of our good friends – other times, they are acquaintances we’re not even sure why we have. Sometimes they are photos of people we know, and sometimes they are photos of people we’d prefer not to. Either way, we stalk – and we like it.
Wallace’s ideas of Locus of Control and Operant Conditioning may explain why photo-stalking may lead to PIU. Firstly, when we are on Facebook, our actions remain un-monitored – there is no evidence of what we’ve done. In addition, we are free to check out anyone’s profiles/pictures that we are friends with, or those of anyone with an open profile. This notion of Locus of Control means that we believe we have control over our circumstances and what we do online is entirely dictated by us. Secondly, Operant Conditioning explains the variability of the photo-stalker’s schedule of “rewards.” We are not always rewarded with exciting pictures to stalk – we are rewarded when we are we enjoy the particular pictures posted and want to look at them over others.
Caplan discusses individuals’ psychosocial problems as a reason for PIU. All of these are not necessarily applicable in the case of Facebook picture-stalking, as there is no actual interaction occurring that is being alleviated for the socially anxious by the online medium. Looking at photos has nothing to do with social competence or FtF confidence. However, this behavior can become compulsive and disruptive. The affordances of internet interaction applicable to this phenomenon are greater anonymity of the stalkers, less perceived social risk as their actions go undetected, and more intense self-disclosure by those who post pictures of themselves.
A unique property of photo-stalking is that it goes on constantly, and it is virtually undetectable. There has not yet been any technology able to track people’s viewing of pictures (like there has been for checking AIM profiles), which makes the hobby all the more secretive, appealing and addicting. There are a host of reasons for looking at others’ pictures, and it has proven to be a habit of the masses.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Hey Lauren,
I found your post very enlightening. My girlfriend spends hours looking at people’s Facebook pictures and although at first I found it kind of creepy, I can now see why she is hooked on it. The point that I found most interesting is about locus of control. I can see how this internal locus of control can lead to problematic internet use due to the fact that one is not monitored and has a feeling of being in control. On top of that, I agree that many people spend time looking at other’s pictures for no other reason than because they can, choosing any one whose profiles they can view. Your point about the lack of technology to identify people who look at your Facebook pictures is very good, adding anonymity and the possibility of becoming addicted. Great post!
Hi Lauren,
I really found your post quite interesting. I know tons of people who picture stalk on social networks like facebook, friendster and myspace all the time. I'm not gonna lie, I stalk too. I find that I only look at pictures if a friend's album shows up on the newsfeed. I also find that I only look at certain friends' pictures for two reasons:
1. if i feel insecure about my relationship with a certain friend (like if i think my old friend from hs has a new best friend)
2. if i just met someone and don't know him/her that well
I'm sure other people take on the same mentality in terms of picture stalking. Why is that?
Post a Comment