How Do Young Adults Feel About Receiving “Likes” on Social Media? The Moderating Role of Shyness and Cybervictimization

The current study explored the emotional effects on individuals of receiving fewer "Likes" than others on social media, as well as the potential moderating roles of participant shyness and previous experiences with cybervictimization. Participants were 1,007 undergraduate students (751 women; <i>M</i> _<i>age</i> = 19.33 years, <i>SD</i> = 7.2 years) from a university in Eastern Ontario, Canada. During a standardized social media task, participants were randomly assigned to receive either "few Likes," "some Likes," or "many Likes." They completed self-report measures (e.g., self-esteem, sense of life meaning, emotions, loneliness, and intentions to limit social media use) both before and after the experimental task. Among the results, participants who received fewer likes reported significantly lower levels of self-esteem, reduced feelings of meaningful existence, and fewer positive emotions. Additionally, the negative impact of insufficient positive social media feedback was more pronounced among emerging adults who reported being more shy and had previously experienced cybervictimization. Our findings shed light on the potential detrimental outcomes associated with social media use among young adults.