Abstract
Alyedreessy, Helsdingen and Al-Sobaihi consider that self-esteem is largely dependent on external validation and social inclusion: high inclusion is related to high self-esteem whereas social isolation is related to lower levels of self-esteem. Lives become virtual, forming links and networks within an internet society, and the question arises of how experiences of being included and acknowledged in this internet society relate directly to women’s feelings of self-esteem. The chapter draws attention to the concept of imaginary audience and its import in the Arabian Peninsula. The authors focus on the Saudi Arabian environment, where women have traditionally experienced limited opportunities for social inclusion, and contemporarily social media provides new means of social interaction and self-expression. Thus, they investigate relationships between inclusion in social media, imaginary audiences and women’s self-esteem.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Al-Subaie, M. “What are the factors underlying the differences between young Saudi women in traditional families that choose to conform to the society norms, and young Saudi women who do not conform.” International Journal of Social, Education, Economics and Management Engineering 8 (2014): 588–591.
“Arab Social Media Report.” Dubai School of Government, 2011. http://www.arabsocialmediareport.com/UserManagement/PDF/ASMR%20Report%203.pdf (accessed August 20, 2015).
Baumeister, R.F. and Leary, M.R. “The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation.” Psychological Bulletin 117 (1995): 497–529.
Baumeister, Roy F., Campbell, Jennifer D., Krueger, Joachim I. and Vohs, Kathleen D. “Does High Self-Esteem Cause Better Performance, Interpersonal Success, Happiness or Healthier Lifestyles?” Psychological Science in the Public Interest 4 (2003): 1–44.
Buhrmester, D., Furman, W., Wittenberg, M. T. and Reis, H. T. “Five domains of interpersonal competence in peer relationships.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 55 (1988): 991–1008.
Denissen, J. J., Penke, L., Schmidt, D. P. and Van Aken, M. A. G. “Self-esteem reactions to social interactions: evidence for sociometer mechanisms across days, people, and nations.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 95 (2008): 181–196.
Diener, E. and Diener, M. “Cross-Cultural Correlates of Life Satisfaction and Self-Esteem.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 68 (1995): 653–663.
Elkind, D. “Egocentrism redux.” Developmental Review 5 (1985): 218–226.
Elkind, D. “Egocentrism in adolescence.” Child Development 38 (1967): 1025–1034.
Ellison, Nicole B., Steinfield, Charles and Lampe, Cliff. “The Benefits of Facebook Friends: Social Capital and College Students’ Use of Online Social Network Sites.” Journal of Computer Mediated Communication 12 (2007): 1143–1168.
Firestone, L. “Self-Esteem vs. Narcissism.” Retrieved from Psychalive: http://www.psychalive.org/2012/06/self-esteem-vs-narcissism/.
Forest, Amanda L. and Wood, Joanne V. “When Social Networking Is Not Working.” Psychological Science (2012): 645–669.
Furnham, A. and Cheng, H. “Perceived Parental Behaviour, Self-Esteem, and Happiness.” Social Psychiatry Psychiatric Epidemiology 35 (2000): 463–470.
Glendinning, A. “Family Life, Health and Lifestyles in Rural Areas: The Role of Self-Esteem.” Health Education 2 (1998): 59–68.
Kuczkowski, Rebecca M. “The Imaginary Audience, Self-Consciousness, and Public Individuation in Adolescence.” Journal of Personality (1994): 219–238.
Leary, M.T. “Self-esteem as an Interpersonal Monitor: The Sociometer Hypothesis.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (1995): 518–530.
Leary, M.R. and Baumeister, R.F. “The Nature and Function of Self-Esteem: Sociometer Theory.” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 32 (2000): 1–62.
LePine, J.A. and Van Dyne, L. “Predicting Voice Behaviour in Work Groups.” Journal of Applied Psychology 83 (1998): 853–868.
McWilliams, M. Psychoanalytic Diagnosis. Guilford: Guilford Press, 1994.
Mehdizadeh, S. “Self-Presentation 2.0: Narcissism and Self-Esteem on Facebook.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking (2010): 357–364.
Murphy, C.A. Kingdom’s Future: Saudi Arabia Through the Eyes of its Twentysomethings. Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2012.
Murray, Sandra L., Holmes, J.G. and Collins, N.L. “Optimizing assurance: The risk regulation system in relationships.” Psychological Bulletin, 132 (2006): 641–666.
Naarajan, D. N. Between Conformity and Non-Conformity: A Comparative Study of the Feminist Critique of the Patriarchal Roles of Women in Doris Lessing and Rajam Krishnan. India: Pondicherry University, 2010.
Nirkko, O.M., Lauroma, P., Siltanen, H., Tuominen and Vanhala, K. “Psychological Risk Factors Related to Coronary Heart Disease. Prospective Studies Among Policemen in Helsinki.” Acta Medica Scandinavica 211 (1982): 137–146.
Peter, J., Valkenburg, P.M. and Schouten, A.P. “Characteristics and motives of adolescents: Talking with strangers on the Internet and its consequences.” Cyberpsychology & Behavior 9 (2006): 526–530.
Raskin, R.N. and Hall, C.S. “A narcissistic personality inventory.” Psychological Reports (1979): 590.
Rosenberg, M. Society and the Adolescent Self-Image. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1965.
Ryan, R. and Kuczkowski, Rebecca. “The imaginary audience, self-consciousness, and public individuation in adolescence.” Journal of Personality 62 (2006): 219–238.
Sahi, H.K. Negotiating with the Past and Contemporary Life of Indian Woman: A Study of the Works of Shashi Deshpande and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. India: Punjabi University, 2009.
Scharlott, B.W. and Christ, W.G. “Overcoming Relationship-Initiation Barriers: The Impact of a Computer-Dating System on Sex Role, Shyness, and Appearance Inhibitions.” Computers in Human Behavior 11 (1995): 191–204.
Thomaes, S., Bushman, B.J., Stegge, H. and Olthof, T. “Trumping shame by blasts of noise: narcissism, self-esteem, shame, and aggression in young adolescents.” Child Development, 79 (2008): 1792–1801.
Torevell, T. “Anxiety UK study finds technology can increase anxiety.” (July 9, 2012). http://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/2012/07/for-some-with-anxiety-technology-can-increase-anxiety/#more-7197 (accessed August 20, 2015).
Tosun, L. and Lajunen, T. “Does Internet use reflect your personality? Relationship between Eysenck’s personality dimensions and Internet use.” Computers in Human Behavior 26 (2010):162–167.
Williams, K.C. “Cyberostracism: Effects of being ignored over the Internet.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2000): 748–762.
Williams, K.C. Social Ostracism: Aversive Interpersonal Behaviors. New York: Plenum Press, 1997.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Alyedreessy, L.M., Helsdingen, A.S., Al-Sobaihi, B. (2017). Social Media, Social Inclusion and Women’s Self-Esteem. In: Maestri, E., Profanter, A. (eds) Arab Women and the Media in Changing Landscapes. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62794-6_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62794-6_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-62793-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-62794-6
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)