The Effects of Facebook-based Social Support on Health Across Metropolitan and Regional Australians
Edited book (chapter)
Gilmour, John, Jeffries, Carla, Machin, Tanya and Brownlow, Charlotte. 2022. "The Effects of Facebook-based Social Support on Health Across Metropolitan and Regional Australians." Machin, Tanya, Brownlow, Charlotte, Abel, Susan and Gilmour, John (ed.) Social Media and Technology Across the Lifespan. Cham, Switzerland. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 97-114
| Chapter Title | The Effects of Facebook-based Social Support on Health Across Metropolitan and Regional Australians |
|---|---|
| Book Chapter Category | Edited book (chapter) |
| ERA Publisher ID | 2865 |
| Book Title | Social Media and Technology Across the Lifespan |
| Authors | Gilmour, John (Author), Jeffries, Carla (Author), Machin, Tanya (Author) and Brownlow, Charlotte (Author) |
| Editors | Machin, Tanya, Brownlow, Charlotte, Abel, Susan and Gilmour, John |
| Page Range | 97-114 |
| Series | Palgrave Studies in Cyberpsychology |
| Number of Pages | 18 |
| Year | 2022 |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan |
| Place of Publication | Cham, Switzerland |
| ISBN | 9783030990480 |
| 9783030990497 | |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99049-7_7 |
| Web Address (URL) | https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-99049-7_7 |
| Abstract | Facebook has become an important part of building and maintaining relationships and an increasingly integral part of our lives at all developmental stages. Using Facebook to connect with friends and family can provide greater perceptions of social support, providing a buffer between life stress and physical and mental health outcomes. It has been hypothesised that geographically diverse communities may use Facebook to compensate for limited opportunities to access face-to-face social support. This study examines the role of Facebook-based social support on physical and mental health concerns (mental distress, dissatisfaction with life, and physical illness) across two samples of Australian adult Facebook users (209 living in metropolitan areas, 158 living regionally). Greater levels of Facebook-based social support predicted lower levels of health concerns in a metropolitan-based sample. No association between Facebook-based social support and health concerns was found in the regional sample. This result shows that the use of Facebook as a mechanism for social support, and its effects on health, vary across geographical locations, and appears to be mainly found in a metropolitan population. |
| Keywords | Facebook; Social support; Mental health; Regional health; Social media |
| ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 520505. Social psychology |
| Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
| Byline Affiliations | University of Southern Queensland |
| Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
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https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q78ww/the-effects-of-facebook-based-social-support-on-health-across-metropolitan-and-regional-australians
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