TITLE:
Need for Containment as a Motivation for Facebook Use
AUTHORS:
Liat Feldman
KEYWORDS:
Facebook, Containment, Attachment Style, Psychological Effects, Online, Social Network
JOURNAL NAME:
Social Networking,
Vol.7 No.1,
November
17,
2017
ABSTRACT: Research reveals a mixed picture regarding Facebook uses and psychological
effects associated with them. This study looks at this issue through the lens of
the psychoanalytic concept of containment. We combined this concept with
the anxious and avoidant forms of attachment to create a framework with
which to investigate the active and passive uses of Facebook. Using a questionnaire
administered to 275 Israeli students, we established that the need for
containment predicted logging onto and posting on Facebook after negative
experiences. In addition, fulfillment of one’s need for containment was associated
with posting on Facebook. We also observed a positive change in one’s
feelings about oneself and one’s subjective sense of visibility after posting on
Facebook. These results offer a new approach to exploring both Facebook use
and its effects.