See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/327237851

Self-Concept and Attitude towards the Use of Facebook : A Study on the Post-
Graduate Students

Article · April 2018

CITATIONS READS

0 355

2 authors, including:

Ujjwal Kumar Halder

University of Gour Banga
66 PUBLICATIONS   23 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Research View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Ujjwal Kumar Halder on 23 September 2018.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE RESEARCH EXPLORER ISSN NO: 2347-6060

Self-Concept and Attitude towards the Use of Facebook : A Study on

the Post-Graduate Students
Ujjwal Kumar Halder1 and Josnara Khatun*2
1Assistant Professor, Department of Education, University of Gour Banga, Malda, West Bengal.
2Assistant Professor, Siliguri Mahila Mahabidyalaya, Siliguri, Darjeeling, West Bengal.
*Corresponding Author: josnarakhatun.malda@gmail.com

Abstract— The present study was carried to find out the relation between self-concept and attitude towards the use
of Facebook among the post-graduate students in terms of their gender, locality. The investigator adopted two tests- i) The
Self-Concept Scale (SCS) developed and standardized by Halder (2015) and ii) Test of Attitude towards Facebook Use
developed and standardized by Halder (2016) are used for his required data. Researchers used Pearson correlation method
for statistical analysis. The study explored that there are significant positive correlations between personality and attitude
towards the use of Facebook of post-graduate male and female students. The study also showed that significant positive
correlations between personality and attitude towards the use of Facebook of Post Graduate urban and rural students.

Keywords— Personality, Self-Concept, Attitude towards the Use of Facebook, Post-Graduate Students,
Gender and Locality.

I. INTRODUCTION
Now Facebook is the leading social networking sites with two billion users. It brings the world close together. Facebook
is becoming the vital factor for affecting users’ sense of self. It allows users to share the photos and videos with whom, they
would like to share and then broadcast the image through posts to Facebook friends. According to the Facebook official
there were over 1.5 billion people actively use Facebook at least once in a month (Facebook, December, 2015), with over 1
billion daily active users on average (Facebook, 2016). In a study (Ahmad, 2014), it was noted that within a one minute time
span on Facebook users request a total of 100,000 new friends, give 3,125,000 likes, send 150,000 messages, and upload
about 240,000 photos. It is the media of the present time through which the users present their selves in an online profile
and make a network by adding friends and share information, comment on something and find the information needed.
Through the Facebook self-presentation, users consider what information to share and what to hide. That means every user
questioned himself before posting that is this picture perfect or not? Self-presentation in Facebook is not only the reflection
of self, also we are always hope feedback from others such as likes, comments. It is related to our self-esteem and self-
concept. More specifically, when users get positive comment from others then naturally we motivate towards positive self-
regard and we can aware about self-concept. Facebook provide us good opportunities to express and gather information
relevant to their self-concept. So, today many researchers think that how Facebook is the determining factor for the
development of self-concept. If we think that social media is a social laboratory, then undoubtedly can be said that social
media is that platform where user are free to express their self and on the basis of expression we make our online identity
that helps to develop our self-concept. Fullwood, James, and Chen-Wilson (2016) showed that adolescents who spent more
time on Facebook and had fewer Facebook friends were more likely to present multiple versions of self while online and
development of self-concept during adolescence and the potential for the online world to facilitate flexible identity
construction and self-presentation. Yang and Brown (2016) explored Intentional Facebook self-presentation engaged
students in self-reflection, which was related to lower self-concept clarity concurrently but higher self-esteem longitudinally.
Today, adolescents give and receive feedback as well as display public selves constantly through SNS.

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 4, APRIL/2018 255 http://ijire.org/

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE RESEARCH EXPLORER ISSN NO: 2347-6060

These venues provide teens a place to be in frequent evaluation of the self and others, which thus promotes development
of self-concept (Siegle, 2011). Self-expression in online is constructive for self-concept development because it gives teens
control over how their identity is displayed, therefore providing a sense of empowerment (Ward, 2010).

II. SELF-CONCEPT AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE USE OF FACEBOOK

Self-concept is the perception about one’s self. In this study, the totality of the Real-Self and Self-Esteem was treated as
the Self-Concept. Self-concept, defined as beliefs and thoughts about the self, is learned and amended over time as new
information about the self is absorbed and new self-schemata are formed (Smith and Hung, 2010). So, the investigator
considering these two important dimensions for carried out this research.
a. Real-Self - It is the true existence about Who I am? A real self refers to the actual thoughts and beliefs one has of
himself. Seidman (2013) showed that those who feel able to express their ‘‘true self’’ online are more active on
Facebook, have more self-oriented motivations for posting, and post more personally revealing and emotional content.
b. Self-Esteem - Self-esteem is a positive regard about one’s self. Wilson et. al found (2010) no link between self-esteem
and SNS use. In the study by Valkenburg, Peter and Schouten (2006) found that Facebook can enhance 'social self-
esteem', measures as perceptions of a user's physical appearance and close relationship, this is especially evident when
'Facebook friends' give positive feedback. Ellison et al (2007) also found that users of Facebook with low-self-esteem
may seek the social opportunities created on Facebook which creates positive benefits for one's self-esteem.
Mehdizadeh (2010) found a negative correlation between self-esteem and Facebook use.
Attitude is an acquired mental construct. It helps an individual to determine positive and negative responses towards
stimuli. Facebook is a web based interactive social networking sites. In this research, these dimensions were treated –
a. Purpose of Facebook Usage- Why we are actually use Facebook? The main purpose of Facebook use is giving us
to the sense of belongingness in virtual world.
b. Privacy on Facebook Use- Facebook privacy is that where users can post photos, videos with whom, the users can
allow. It is an effort to help users better understand what data users are sharing, with who, and how you can manage
these permissions.
c. Compulsivity for Facebook Use- Compulsive use, also known as deficient self-regulation (LaRose, Lin, and Eastin,
2003) reflects lack of controllability (Bargh and Chartrand, 1999). O’Reilly (2016) showed that social networking
can cause compulsive behaviours and it is clear that it significantly affects younger adults.
d. Self-Presentation through Facebook- Self-presentation is defined as the behaviour used to present information
about the self to a real or imagined audience (Michikyan, Dennis, and Subrahmanyam, 2014). Uhlir (2016) founded
that time spent on social media and the degree of others’ perceived self-presentation will each be positively
correlated with depression, and these relationships will be mediated by social comparison. The study demonstrated
that people feel depressed when they spend time on social media because they are frequently exposed to the self-
enhancing images of others, which provides an opportunity for negative social comparison. Seidman (2013)
suggested that True self-expression was positively correlated with frequency of posting on others’ walls, but not
posting on one’s own wall or receiving posts from others and concluded that true self-expression was positively
associated with the level of personal disclosure of participants’ wall posts.
Castro and Marquez (2017) studied the use the use of Facebook to explore self-concept and found that Facebook users
construct their virtual identity with elements from both the actual and the ideal-self, although they predominantly stress
those aspects, which make them look more socially desirable. Košir et al (2017) showed that Facebook users reported
significantly higher peer relations self-concept. They also showed that the measures of Facebook usage explained incremental
variance in peer-relation self-concept beyond classroom peer acceptance measures. A significant interaction effect, was
found in this study, between emotional connectedness to Facebook and gender was found; being highly emotionally
connected to Facebook was beneficial only for girls’ peer relations self-concept. The studies conducted by Appel, Schreiner,
Weber, Mara and Gnambs (2016) provided consistent evidence of a negative relationship between Facebook intensity and
self-concept clarity and their longitudinal study showed that Facebook intensity predicted a decline in self-concept clarity
over time.

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 4, APRIL/2018 256 http://ijire.org/

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE RESEARCH EXPLORER ISSN NO: 2347-6060

Mersin and Acılar (2015) revealed that self-esteem of Turkish university students does not have significant association
with Facebook use. It was also found that there was no statistically significant difference between self-esteem of those who
use and those do not use Facebook and there was no relationship found between characteristics of Facebook use and self-
esteem among Facebook users either. Gutierrez (2015) looked at the relationship between the use of Facebook and Self-
esteem and founded that i) usage of Facebook is negatively related to self-esteem, ii) those who are single invest more time
on Facebook than those in a relationship.

Likely, there are huge numbers of researches on Facebook, but there is a lack of the study on the attitude towards the use
of Facebook and self-concept in the field of Education in terms of the gender, locality of the residence of the students and
academic discipline. Hence, the researchers selected the problem to conduct the present study on the post graduate students
of the University of Gour Banga, Malda.

III. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The researchers carried out their study to attain the following objectives:
 to find out the relation between self-concept and attitude of the post-graduate students towards the use of
Facebook.
 to find out the relation between self-concept and attitude of the male and female post-graduate students towards
the use of Facebook.
 to investigate the relation between self-concept and attitude of the male urban and rural post-graduate students
towards the use of Facebook.

IV. HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY

The null hypotheses of the present study were as follows:
H0.1: There is no significant relation between post-graduate students’ self-concept and attitude towards the use of
Facebook.
H0.2: There is no significant relation between male post-graduate students’ self-concept and attitude towards the use
of Facebook.
H0.3: There is no significant relation between female post-graduate students’ self-concept and attitude towards the
use of Facebook.
H0.4: There is no significant relation between urban post-graduate students’ self-concept and attitude towards the
use of Facebook.
H0.5: There is no significant relation between rural post-graduate students’ self-concept and attitude towards the use
of Facebook.

V. METHOD OF THE STUDY

In order to achieve the objectives of the present study normative survey method of descriptive research was used to
measure and assess the post graduate students’ self-concept and their attitude towards the use of Facebook.

VI. POPULATION AND SAMPLES OF THE STUDY

The Post Graduate students studying at 21 academic departments of the University of Gour Banga, Malda, West Bengal
were treated as the population of the present study. The total sample of the study was consisted of 400 Post Graduate
students from seven departments of Arts and Humanities Faculty.

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 4, APRIL/2018 257 http://ijire.org/

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE RESEARCH EXPLORER ISSN NO: 2347-6060

VII. VARIABLES OF THE STUDY

In the present research self-concept of the post graduate students and their attitude towards the use of Facebook were
considered as the research variable and the gender and locality of the students’ residence were treated as independent
variables.
VIII. TOOLS USED IN THE STUDY
In this research, the researchers adopted and used two psychological tests as follows –
i. The Self-Concept Scale (SCS) was prepared and standardized by Halder (2015). It was consisting of 33 statements.
ii. The Test of Attitude towards Facebook Use developed by Halder (2016). The scale contained thirty-five statements
and specific directions for the respondents.

IX. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE STUDY

In the present study, the researchers analysed the data collected from sample group and presented the analysis in the
following manner:
H0.1: There is no significant relation between post-graduate students’ self-concept and attitude towards the use of
Facebook.
TABLE I
RESULTS OF CORRELATION BETWEEN POST-GRADUATE STUDENTS’ SELF-CONCEPT AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE
USE OF FACEBOOK.
Correlations
Total Sample (N = 400) A B C D E F G H Mean SD
A. Self-Concept 1 108.70 9.46
B. Real-Self .92** 1 89.34 8.48
**
C. Self-Esteem .45 .07 1 19.37 3.68
D. Purpose of FB Use .32** .30** .13* 1 51.90 6.48
E. Self-presentation through FB .21** .197** .09 -.015 1 30.35 5.81
F. Compulsivity for FB Use .05 .06 -.01 .06 .03 1 13.37 2.38
G. Privacy on FB .17** .15** .08 .15** -.02 -.34** 1 11.14 3.23
** ** ** ** ** ** **
H. Attitude towards Use of FB .41 .38 .16 .72 .59 .19 .34 1 106.75 9.69
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
Table 1 shows that the PG students obtained M =108.70, SD = 9.46 in self-concept; M = 89.34, SD = 8.48 in real-self;
M = 19.37, SD = 3.68 in self-esteem; M = 51.90, SD = 6.48 in purpose of Facebook use; M = 30.35, SD = 5.81 in self-
presentation through Facebook; M = 13.37, SD = 2.38 in compulsivity for Facebook use; M = 11.14, SD = 3.23 in privacy
on Facebook; M = 106.75, SD = 9.69 in attitude towards use of Facebook. From the Table 1, it was found that there were
significant positive correlations between real-self and self-concept (r = .92, p < 0.01); self-esteem and self-concept (r = .45,
p < 0.01); purpose of Facebook use and self-concept (r = .32, p < 0.01); purpose of Facebook use and real-self (r = .30, p
< 0.01); purpose of Facebook use and self-esteem (r = .13, p < 0.05); self-presentation through Facebook and self-concept
(r = .21, p < 0.01); self-presentation through Facebook and real-self (r = .20, p < 0.01); privacy on Facebook and self-
concept (r = .17, p < 0.01); privacy on Facebook and real-self (r = .15, p < 0.01); privacy on Facebook and real-self (r = .15,
p < 0.01); privacy on Facebook and purpose of Facebook use (r = .15, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and self-
concept (r = .41, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and real-self (r = .38, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of
Facebook and self-esteem (r = .16, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and purpose of Facebook use (r = .72, p <
0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and self-presentation through Facebook (r = .59, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 4, APRIL/2018 258 http://ijire.org/

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE RESEARCH EXPLORER ISSN NO: 2347-6060

Facebook and compulsivity for Facebook use (r = .19, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and privacy on
Facebook (r = .34, p < 0.01) of the post-graduate students. The only significant negative correlation was found between
privacy on Facebook and compulsivity for Facebook use (r = -.34, p < 0.01) of the post graduate students. Besides, the
correlation between real-self and self-esteem; self-esteem and self-presentation through Facebook; purpose of Facebook use
and self-presentation through Facebook; compulsivity for Facebook use and self-concept; compulsivity for Facebook use
and real-self; compulsivity for Facebook use and self-esteem; compulsivity for Facebook use and purpose of Facebook use;
compulsivity for Facebook use and self-presentation through Facebook; privacy on Facebook and self-esteem; and privacy
on Facebook and self-presentation through Facebook were found statistically insignificant.
Hence, the null hypothesis (H0.1) was rejected and it may be interpreted that there is a significant relation between self-
concept and attitude of the post-graduate students towards the use of Facebook.

H0.2: There is no significant relation between male post-graduate students’ self-concept and attitude towards the use of
Facebook.

TABLE 2
RESULTS OF CORRELATION BETWEEN MALE POST-GRADUATE STUDENTS’ SELF-CONCEPT AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS
THE USE OF FACEBOOK.
Correlations
Male Students (N = 216) A B C D E F G H Mean SD
A. Self-Concept 1 110.66 9.10
**
B. Real-Self .92 1 90.59 8.35
C. Self-Esteem .40** -.01 1 20.06 3.63
** **
D. Purpose of FB Use .32 .31 .09 1 53.11 6.60
E. Self-presentation through FB .10 .08 .07 .03 1 31.25 5.80
F. Compulsivity for FB Use .05 .07 -.04 .14* .10 1 13.46 2.32
**
G. Privacy on FB .09 .05 .11 .04 -.06 -.36 1 11.64 3.23
H. Attitude towards Use of FB .32** .29** .13 .73** .61** .27** .24** 1 109.46 9.79
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

From the Table 2, it was found that the male post graduate students obtained M =110.66, SD = 9.10 in self-concept;
M = 90.59, SD = 8.35 in real-self; M = 20.06, SD = 3.63 in self-esteem; M = 53.11, SD = 6.60 in purpose of Facebook use;
M = 31.25, SD = 5.80 in self-presentation through Facebook; M = 13.46, SD = 2.32 in compulsivity for Facebook use;
M = 11.64, SD = 3.23 in privacy on Facebook; M = 109.46, SD = 9.80 in attitude towards use of Facebook.
It was also found that there were significant positive correlations between real-self and self-concept (r = .92, p < 0.01);
self-esteem and self-concept (r = .40, p < 0.01); purpose of Facebook use and self-concept (r = .32, p < 0.01); purpose of
Facebook use and real-self (r = .31, p < 0.01); compulsivity for Facebook use and purpose of Facebook use (r = .14, p <
0.05); attitude towards use of Facebook and self-concept (r = .32, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and real-self
(r = .29, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and purpose of Facebook use (r = .73, p < 0.01); attitude towards use
of Facebook and self-presentation through Facebook (r = .61, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and compulsivity
for Facebook use (r = .27, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and privacy on Facebook (r = .24, p < 0.01) of the
male post-graduate students. The only significant negative correlation was found between privacy on Facebook and
compulsivity for Facebook use (r = -.36, p < 0.01) of the male post graduate students.

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 4, APRIL/2018 259 http://ijire.org/

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE RESEARCH EXPLORER ISSN NO: 2347-6060

But the correlation between real-self and self-esteem; purpose of Facebook use and self-esteem; self-presentation through
Facebook and self-concept; self-presentation through Facebook and real-self; self-presentation through Facebook and self-
esteem; self-presentation through Facebook and purpose of Facebook use; compulsivity for Facebook use and self-concept;
compulsivity for Facebook use and real-self; compulsivity for Facebook use and self-esteem; compulsivity for Facebook use
and self-presentation through Facebook; privacy on Facebook and self-concept; privacy on Facebook and real-self; privacy
on Facebook and self-esteem; privacy on Facebook and purpose of Facebook use; privacy on Facebook and self-presentation
through Facebook; and attitude towards use of Facebook and self-esteem of the male post graduate students were found
statistically insignificant.
Hence, the null hypothesis (H0.2) was rejected and it may be interpreted that there is a significant relation between male
post-graduate students’ self-concept and attitude towards the use of Facebook.

H0.3: There is no significant relation between female post-graduate students’ self-concept and attitude towards the use of
Facebook.

TABLE 3
RESULTS OF CORRELATION BETWEEN FEMALE POST-GRADUATE STUDENTS’ SELF-CONCEPT AND ATTITUDE
TOWARDS THE USE OF FACEBOOK.
Correlations
Female Students (N = 184) A B C D E F G H Mean SD
A. Self-Concept 1 106.41 9.38
B. Real-Self .93** 1 87.86 8.41
**
C. Self-Esteem .45 .07 1 18.54 3.58
D. Purpose of FB Use .24** .23** .09 1 50.48 6.06
** ** *
E. Self-presentation through FB .27 .29 .03 -.15 1 29.29 5.65
F. Compulsivity for FB Use .04 .03 .01 -.06 -.05 1 13.26 2.45
** ** ** **
G. Privacy on FB .19 .22 -.02 .23 -.04 -.35 1 10.54 3.14
H. Attitude towards Use of FB .43** .44** .08 .68** .53** .08 .41** 1 103.57 8.55
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

From the Table 3, it was found that the female post graduate students obtained M =106.41, SD = 9.38 in self-concept;
M = 87.86, SD = 8.41 in real-self; M = 18.54, SD = 3.58 in self-esteem; M = 50.48, SD = 6.06 in purpose of Facebook use;
M = 29.29, SD = 5.65 in self-presentation through Facebook; M = 13.26, SD = 2.45 in compulsivity for Facebook use; M
= 10.54, SD = 3.14 in privacy on Facebook; M = 103.57, SD = 8.55 in attitude towards use of Facebook.
It was also found that there were significant positive correlations between real-self and self-concept (r = .93, p < 0.01);
self-esteem and self-concept (r = .45, p < 0.01); purpose of Facebook use and self-concept (r = .24, p < 0.01); purpose of
Facebook use and real-self (r = .23, p < 0.01); self-presentation through Facebook and self-concept (r = .27, p < 0.01); self-
presentation through Facebook and real-self (r = .29, p < 0.01); privacy on Facebook and self-concept (r = .19, p < 0.01);
privacy on Facebook and real-self (r = .22, p < 0.01); privacy on Facebook and purpose of Facebook use (r = .23, p < 0.01);
attitude towards use of Facebook and self-concept (r = .43, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and real-self (r = .44,
p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and purpose of Facebook use (r = .68, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of
Facebook and self-presentation through Facebook (r = .53, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and privacy on
Facebook (r = .41, p < 0.01) of the female post graduate students.

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 4, APRIL/2018 260 http://ijire.org/

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE RESEARCH EXPLORER ISSN NO: 2347-6060

The significant negative correlation was found between self-presentation through Facebook and purpose of Facebook
use (r = -.15, p < 0.05) and privacy on Facebook and compulsivity for Facebook use (r = -.35, p < 0.01) of the female post
graduate students. But the correlation between self-esteem and real-self; purpose of Facebook use and self-esteem; self-
presentation through Facebook and self-esteem; compulsivity for Facebook use and self-concept; compulsivity for Facebook
use and real-self; compulsivity for Facebook use and self-esteem; compulsivity for Facebook use and purpose of Facebook
use; compulsivity for Facebook use and self-presentation through Facebook; privacy on Facebook and self-esteem; privacy
on Facebook and self-presentation through Facebook; attitude towards use of Facebook and self-esteem; and attitude
towards use of Facebook and compulsivity for Facebook use of the female post graduate students were statistically
insignificant.
Hence, the null hypothesis (H0.3) was rejected and it may be interpreted that there is a significant relation between female
post-graduate students’ self-concept and attitude towards the use of Facebook.

H0.4: There is no significant relation between urban post-graduate students’ self-concept and attitude towards the use of
Facebook.
TABLE 3
RESULTS OF CORRELATION BETWEEN URBAN POST-GRADUATE STUDENTS’ SELF-CONCEPT AND ATTITUDE
TOWARDS THE USE OF FACEBOOK.
Correlations
Urban Students (N = 166) A B C D E F G H Mean SD
A. Self-Concept 1 110.50 9.87
B. Real-Self .93** 1 90.25 8.70
**
C. Self-Esteem .49 .14 1 20.25 3.62
D. Purpose of FB Use .37** .37** .11 1 51.60 6.62
** ** **
E. Self-presentation through FB.33 .28 .22 .01 1 30.51 5.95
F. Compulsivity for FB Use .02 .05 -.08 -.03 .02 1 13.63 2.44
** ** * ** **
G. Privacy on FB .27 .24 .16 .28 .03 -.45 1 11.18 3.36
** ** ** ** ** **
H. Attitude towards Use of FB .53 .50 .23 .74 .61 .09 .42 1 106.92 10.16
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
From the Table 3, it was found that the urban post graduate students obtained M =110.50, SD = 9.87 in self-concept; M
= 90.25, SD = 8.70 in real-self; M = 20.25, SD = 3.62 in self-esteem; M = 51.60, SD = 6.62 in purpose of Facebook use; M
= 30.51, SD = 5.95 in self-presentation through Facebook; M = 13.63, SD = 2.44 in compulsivity for Facebook use; M =
11.18, SD = 3.36 in privacy on Facebook; M = 106.92, SD = 10.16 in attitude towards use of Facebook.
It was also found that there were significant positive correlations between real-self and self-concept (r = .93, p < 0.01);
self-esteem and self-concept (r = .49, p < 0.01); purpose of Facebook use and self-concept (r = .37, p < 0.01); purpose of
Facebook use and real-self (r = .37, p < 0.01); self-presentation through Facebook and self-concept (r = .33, p < 0.01); self-
presentation through Facebook and real-self (r = .28, p < 0.01); self-presentation through Facebook and self-esteem (r = .22,
p < 0.01); privacy on Facebook and self-concept (r = .27, p < 0.01); privacy on Facebook and real-self (r = .24, p < 0.01);
privacy on Facebook and self-esteem (r = .16, p < 0.05); privacy on Facebook and purpose of Facebook use (r = .28, p <
0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and self-concept (r = .53, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and real-self
(r = .50, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and self-esteem (r = .23, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook
and purpose of Facebook use (r = .74, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and self-presentation through Facebook
(r = .61, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and privacy on Facebook (r = .42, p < 0.01) of the urban post graduate
students. The only significant negative correlation was found between privacy on Facebook and compulsivity for Facebook
use (r = -.45, p < 0.01) of the urban post graduate students.

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 4, APRIL/2018 261 http://ijire.org/

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE RESEARCH EXPLORER ISSN NO: 2347-6060

But the correlation between self-esteem and real-self; purpose of Facebook use and self-esteem; self-presentation through
Facebook and purpose of Facebook use; compulsivity for Facebook use and self-concept; compulsivity for Facebook use
and real-self; compulsivity for Facebook use and self-esteem; compulsivity for Facebook use and purpose of Facebook use;
compulsivity for Facebook use and self-presentation through Facebook; privacy on Facebook and self-presentation through
Facebook; and attitude towards use of Facebook and compulsivity for Facebook use of the urban post graduate students
were statistically insignificant.
Hence, the null hypothesis (H0.4) was rejected and it may be interpreted that there is a significant relation between urban
post-graduate students’ self-concept and attitude towards the use of Facebook.

H0.5: There is no significant relation between rural post-graduate students’ self-concept and attitude towards the use of
Facebook.

TABLE 3
RESULTS OF CORRELATION BETWEEN RURAL POST-GRADUATE STUDENTS’ SELF-CONCEPT AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS
THE USE OF FACEBOOK.
Correlations
Rural Students (N = 234) A B C D E F G H Mean SD
I. Self-Concept 1 107.43 8.96
**
J. Real-Self .92 1 88.69 8.27
K. Self-Esteem .38** -.02 1 18.74 3.61
** ** *
L. Purpose of FB Use .29 .25 .16 1 52.11 6.38
M. Self-presentation through FB .11 .13* -.02 -.03 1 30.24 5.71
N. Compulsivity for FB Use .05 .05 .02 .13 .04 1 13.18 2.33
**
O. Privacy on FB .09 .08 .03 .05 -.06 -.25 1 11.10 3.14
P. Attitude towards Use of FB .31** .29** .11 .71** .58** .28** .27** 1 106.64 9.35
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
From the Table 3, it was found that the rural post graduate students obtained M =107.43, SD = 8.96 in self-concept; M
= 88.69, SD = 8.27 in real-self; M = 18.74, SD = 3.61 in self-esteem; M = 52.11, SD = 6.38 in purpose of Facebook use; M
= 30.24, SD = 5.71 in self-presentation through Facebook; M = 13.18, SD = 2.33 in compulsivity for Facebook use; M =
11.10, SD = 3.14 in privacy on Facebook; M = 106.64, SD = 9.35 in attitude towards use of Facebook.
It was also found that there were significant positive correlations between real-self and self-concept (r = .92, p < 0.01);
self-esteem and self-concept (r = .38, p < 0.01); purpose of Facebook use and self-concept (r = .29, p < 0.01); purpose of
Facebook use and real-self (r = .25, p < 0.01); purpose of Facebook use and self-esteem (r = .16, p < 0.05); self-presentation
through Facebook and real-self (r = .13, p < 0.05); attitude towards use of Facebook and self-concept (r = .31, p < 0.01);
attitude towards use of Facebook and real-self (r = .29, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and purpose of Facebook
use (r = .71, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and self-presentation through Facebook (r = .58, p < 0.01); attitude
towards use of Facebook and compulsivity for Facebook use (r = .28, p < 0.01); attitude towards use of Facebook and
privacy on Facebook (r = .27, p < 0.01) of the rural post graduate students. The only significant negative correlation was
found between privacy on Facebook and compulsivity for Facebook use (r = -.25, p < 0.01) of the rural post graduate
students.
But the correlation between self-esteem and real-self; self-presentation through Facebook and self-concept; self-
presentation through Facebook and self-esteem; self-presentation through Facebook and purpose of Facebook use;
compulsivity for Facebook use and self-concept; compulsivity for Facebook use and real-self; compulsivity for Facebook
use and self-esteem;

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 4, APRIL/2018 262 http://ijire.org/

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE RESEARCH EXPLORER ISSN NO: 2347-6060

compulsivity for Facebook use and purpose of Facebook use; compulsivity for Facebook use and self-presentation
through Facebook; privacy on Facebook and self-concept; privacy on Facebook and real-self; privacy on Facebook and self-
esteem; privacy on Facebook and purpose of Facebook use; privacy on Facebook and self-presentation through Facebook;
and attitude towards use of Facebook and self-esteem of the rural post graduate students were statistically insignificant.
Hence, the null hypothesis (H0.5) was rejected and it may be interpreted that there is a significant relation between rural
post-graduate students’ self-concept and attitude towards the use of Facebook.

X. DISCUSSION
The present study explored that there is a statistically significant positive correlation between self-concept and attitude
towards the use of Facebook of post-graduate students. In case of male and female post graduate students, the relation
between self-concept and attitude towards the use of Facebook is also positive and significant. The study also showed that
significant positive correlations between self-concept and attitude towards the use of Facebook of Post Graduate urban and
rural students. It was only the correlations between privacy on Facebook and compulsivity for Facebook use (r = -.25, p <
0.01) of the post graduate students as well as of all the groups are negative.

REFERENCES
[1] Appel, M., Schreiner, C., Weber, S., Mara, M. & Gnambs, T. (2016). Intensity of Facebook use is Associated with Lower Self-Concept
Clarity: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Evidence. Journal of Media Psychology, 10.1027/1864-1105, 1-13.
[2] Bargh, J. A., and Chartrand, T. L. (1999). The unbearable automaticity of being. American Psychologist, 54, 462-479.
[3] Castro, L., Marquez, J. (2017). The use of Facebook to explore self-concept: analysing Colombian consumers, Qualitative Market Research:
An International Journal, Vol. 20 Issue: 1, pp.43-59, https://doi.org/10.1108/QMR-12-2015-0086
[4] Ellison, N. B., Steinfeld, C., and Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook “Friends:” Social capital and college students’ use of online
social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12, 1143-1168. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-
6101.2007.00367.x
[5] Fullwood, C., James, B. M., Chen-Wilson, C. J., (2016). Self-Concept Clarity and Online Self-Presentation in Adolescents.
Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, Vol. 19(12), DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2015.0623, pp.716-720.
[6] Gutierrez, D. E. (2015). Self-Esteem Issues in Facebook Users. Dominican University of California.
[7] Košir, K., Horvat, M., Aram, U., Jurinec, N., & Tement,S. (2016). Does being on Facebook make me (feel) accepted in the classroom?
The relationships between early adolescents' Facebook usage, classroom peer acceptance and self-concept, Computers in Human Behavior,
62, 375-384, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.04.013.
[8] LaRose, R., Lin, C. A., and Eastin, M. S. (2003). Unregulated Internet usage: Addiction, habit, or deficient self-regulation? Media
Psychology, 5, 225-253.
[9] Mersin, S., Acılar, A. (2015). Exploring the Relationship between Facebook and Self-Esteem among Turkish University Students.
International Journal of Cyber Behavior, Psychology and Learning, 5(4), 62-72.
[10] Michikyan, M., Dennis, J., and Subrahmanyam, K. (2015). Can you guess who I am? Real, ideal, and false self-presentation on Facebook
among emerging adults. Emerging Adulthood, 3(1), 55-64.
[11] O’Reilly, C. (2016). The effect of social media and compulsive behavior on younger and older adults. Department of Social Science, DBS
School of Arts, Dublin.
[12] Schereiner, C., Weber, S., Mara, M., Gnambs, T. (2016). Intensity of Facebook Use Is Associated with Lower Self-Concept Clarity:
Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Evidence. Journal of media psychology, Print ISSN: 1864-1105, Online ISSN: 2151-2388, DOI
10.1027/1864-1105/a000192.
[13] Seidman, G. (2013). Expressing the ‘‘True Self’’ on Facebook. Computers in Human Behavior, pp.367–372.
[14] Siegle, D. (2011). Facing Facebook: A guide for non-teens. Gifted Child Today, 34(2), 14-19.
[15] Smith, C. S., and Hung, L. C. (2010). Self-concept. In Encyclopedia of identity. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Reference, Vol. 2, 674-
677.
[16] Uhlir, J. L. (2016). Social Comparison and Self-Presentation on Social Media as Predictors of Depressive Symptoms. Scripps College.
[17] Valkenburg, P., Peter, J., and Schouten, A. (2006). Friend networking sites and their relationship to adolescents' well-being and social
self-esteem. Cyber-Psychology and Behavior, 9(4), 584−590.doi: 10.1089/cbp.2006.9.772.

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 4, APRIL/2018 263 http://ijire.org/

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE RESEARCH EXPLORER ISSN NO: 2347-6060

[18] Ward, A. E. (2010). Fantasy Facebook: An exploration of students' cultural sources. Art
[19] Wilson, K., Fornasier, S., and White, K. M. (2010). Psychological Predictors of Young Adults' Use of Social Networking Sites.
Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, 13(2), 173-177. doi:10.1089/cyber.2009.0094.
[20] Yang, C. C., Brown, B. B. (2016). Online Self-Presentation on Facebook and Self Development During the College Transition. J Youth
Adolescence, Springer Science and Business Media New York, 45, 402–416, DOI 10.1007/s10964-015-0385-y.

VOLUME 5, ISSUE 4, APRIL/2018 264 http://ijire.org/

View publication stats