The Scroll of Approval: Receiving More Likes on Social Media Makes People Feel More Powerful

Genavee Brown*, Jordan Dawson, Jennifer Merrit, Kris McCarty

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Previous work has shown the importance of social capital and positive feedback for garnering power and feeling powerful. We explore whether these relationships hold online (n = 289). In study 1, we test our hypothesis in a correlational study of both Facebook and Instagram users. We also test our findings experimentally (Studies 2 and 3) using the Ostracism Online paradigm which closely resembles a social media site and allows participants to be assigned to receive many or few likes and assign them to a responsibility v. opportunity condition (Study 3). We found that a larger number of contacts in one’s network and receiving more likes were positively associated with feeling more powerful online. Together, these studies show how social media can influence feelings of power.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages14
JournalCommunication Reports
Early online date3 Feb 2025
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 3 Feb 2025

Keywords

  • feedback
  • likes
  • power
  • social capital
  • social media

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