Social media ostracism: The effects of being excluded online

In times of being always online and connected, cyberostracism—the feeling of being ignored or excluded over the Internet—is a serious threat to fundamental human needs: belonging, self-esteem, control, and meaningful existence. According to the temporal need-threat model, responses to ostracism lead...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Computers in human behavior 2017-08, Vol.73, p.385-393
Main Authors: Schneider, Frank M., Zwillich, Britta, Bindl, Melanie J., Hopp, Frederic R., Reich, Sabine, Vorderer, Peter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Digital media
Emotions
Facebook
Fundamental human needs
Ostracism Online paradigm
Restoration
Self esteem
Social exclusion
Social media
Social networks
Studies
Threats
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Summary:In times of being always online and connected, cyberostracism—the feeling of being ignored or excluded over the Internet—is a serious threat to fundamental human needs: belonging, self-esteem, control, and meaningful existence. According to the temporal need-threat model, responses to ostracism lead to immediate and universal experiences of negative emotions as well as to thwarted need satisfaction. In two experiments (N1 = 105; N2 = 85), we investigated these effects using a new computerized tool, Ostracism Online (Wolf et al., 2015). In both studies we found that ostracism negatively affected emotional states, belongingness, self-esteem, and meaningful existence but not control. Furthermore, Facebook use as a coping strategy after being excluded had no significant impact on need restoration. In sum, our findings highlight that Ostracism Online is a useful tool to connect the research area of social media and ostracism. •We used the Ostracism Online tool to examine the detrimental effects of social media.•Belonging, self-esteem, meaningful existence, and emotional states were threatened.•We found no effects concerning control and psychological well-being.•Facebook use as a coping strategy to restore thwarted needs had no effect.
ISSN:0747-5632
1873-7692
DOI:10.1016/j.chb.2017.03.052