your brain on facebook, icwsm 2010
TRANSCRIPT
Your Brain on Facebook:Neuropsychological Associations with Social Versus other Media
Kristie Fisher, University of WashingtonScott Counts, Microsoft Research
Wellcome Images
eeg :: social v. traditional media
Why do this?
Long term: possible input/feedback to social interaction systems.
Short term: inform design through better understanding of automatic information processing.
eeg :: social v. traditional media
eeg :: some background
doctor
eeg :: some background
nurse
eeg :: some background
eeg :: some background
doctor
eeg :: some background
popcorn
eeg :: some background
eeg :: some background
Is MySpace associated with frivolity?
Is connecting with friends on Facebook
really associated with feelings of
intimacy?
Is reading a Twitter feed similar or
dissimilar to reading a book or
magazine article?
To what extent do people find personal
blogs personal?
Media and concepts
study :: stimuli categories
ConceptsAddictive
StoryInterestingFrivolousPersonalUseful
Media TV
BooksSocialNews
study :: example trial
study :: media stimuli examples
TV Books
FacebookNews
study :: concept definitions
study :: measurement
study :: method summary
• Pairs of media images X concept word • Media types: TV, books, news sites, Facebook• Concept words: addictive, story, interesting, frivolous, personal, useful
• Computer-based task• 24 combinations X 22 trials each = 528 trials
• Measurement at three levels of processing:• EEG• Timed Binary Decision• Questionnaire
• Participants:• 16 Microsoft employees (10 male)• 30 years old on average• Time with media:
• 12 hrs/wk watching TV• 5 hrs/wk reading books• 8 hrs/wk reading news sites• 6 hrs/wk on Facebook
results :: questionnaire
• More addictive, but less useful than news• Tells less of a story than books, TV• More frivolous than books, news• More personal than all other forms of media
results :: decision task
• Very addictive• Tells less of a story than books, TV• More personal than all other forms of media• Overall, quite similar to the questionnaire responses
Heat map: TV + “addictive” N400: “addictive”
results :: example eeg data
results :: eeg
• Equal to other media in terms of addictive, interesting, useful, frivolous
• Tells less of a story (midline, lateral, peripheral electrodes)• Less personal (midline, lateral, peripheral electrodes)
study :: implications, suggestions, and limitations
Media parity:FB as interesting, useful,
addictive and not frivolous as
other media
Books
Internet NewsSocial Media 2000
2000 BC
1000Printing Press (1440)
Newspapers (1600’s)
0
1000 BC
study :: implications, suggestions, and limitations
Personalization and Self-
Identification• Purposeful connection
building
• Easy switching to close
friends, family
• Identity v. bond attachment
Patrick Mayon (flickr)
study :: implications, suggestions, and limitations
Telling stories• Status updates on
storylines?
Rune T (flickr)
study :: implications, suggestions, and limitations
Making it tangible• What’s the ratty, marked-up,
favorite book equivalent?
• Photo album equivalent?
nicholaslaughlin (flickr)
study :: implications, suggestions, and limitations
Limitations• Only one form of social
networking/media
• Limited subject population
• Can we believe the EEG
results?
study :: implications, suggestions, and limitations
Limitations• Only one form of social
networking/media
• Limited subject population
• Can we believe the EEG
results?
• Apples to oranges?
Opportunities• Compare online media
• Other subject populations
(teens v. 30’s?)
• Corroborate with other
physiology
• Expand into real-time
capture of physiology
Your Brain on Facebook:Neuropsychological Associations with Social Versus other Media
Kristie Fisher, University of WashingtonScott Counts, Microsoft Research
Wellcome Images