@article{MeythalerKrauseBaumannetal.2023,
  author    = {Meythaler, Antonia and Krause, Hannes-Vincent and Baumann, Annika and Krasnova, Hanna and Thatcher, Jason Bennett},
  title     = {The rise of metric-based digital status},
  series = {European Journal of Information Systems},
  journal   = {European Journal of Information Systems},
  publisher = {Taylor and Francis},
  address   = {London},
  issn      = {0960-085X},
  doi       = {10.1080/0960085X.2023.2290707},
  pages     = {1 -- 28},
  year      = {2023},
  abstract  = {Widespread on social networking sites (SNSs), envy has been linked to an array of detrimental outcomes for users' well-being. While envy has been considered a status-related emotion and is likely to be experienced in response to perceiving another's higher status, there is a lack of research exploring how status perceptions influence the emergence of envy on SNSs. This is important because SNSs typically quantify social interactions and reach with metrics that indicate users' relative rank and status in the network. To understand how status perceptions impact SNS users, we introduce a new form of metric-based digital status rooted in SNS metrics that are available and visible on a platform. Drawing on social comparison theory and status literature, we conducted an online experiment to investigate how different forms of status contribute to the proliferation of envy on SNSs. Our findings shed light on how metric-based digital status influences feelings of envy on SNSs. Specifically, we could show that metric-based digital status impacts envy through increasing perceptions of others' socioeconomic and sociometric statuses. Our study contributes to the growing discourse on the negative outcomes associated with SNS use and its consequences for users and society.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KrauseGrosseDetersBaumannetal.2022,
  author    = {Krause, Hannes-Vincent and Große Deters, Fenne and Baumann, Annika and Krasnova, Hanna},
  title     = {Active social media use and its impact on well-being},
  series = {Journal of computer-mediated communication : a journal of the International Communication Association},
  volume    = {28},
  journal   = {Journal of computer-mediated communication : a journal of the International Communication Association},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press},
  address   = {Oxford},
  issn      = {1083-6101},
  doi       = {10.1093/jcmc/zmac037},
  pages     = {12},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Active use of social networking sites (SNSs) has long been assumed to benefit users' well-being. However, this established hypothesis is increasingly being challenged, with scholars criticizing its lack of empirical support and the imprecise conceptualization of active use. Nevertheless, with considerable heterogeneity among existing studies on the hypothesis and causal evidence still limited, a final verdict on its robustness is still pending. To contribute to this ongoing debate, we conducted a week-long randomized control trial with N = 381 adult Instagram users recruited via Prolific. Specifically, we tested how active SNS use, operationalized as picture postings on Instagram, affects different dimensions of well-being. The results depicted a positive effect on users' positive affect but null findings for other well-being outcomes. The findings broadly align with the recent criticism against the active use hypothesis and support the call for a more nuanced view on the impact of SNSs. <br /> Lay Summary Active use of social networking sites (SNSs) has long been assumed to benefit users' well-being. However, this established assumption is increasingly being challenged, with scholars criticizing its lack of empirical support and the imprecise conceptualization of active use. Nevertheless, with great diversity among conducted studies on the hypothesis and a lack of causal evidence, a final verdict on its viability is still pending. To contribute to this ongoing debate, we conducted a week-long experimental investigation with 381 adult Instagram users. Specifically, we tested how posting pictures on Instagram affects different aspects of well-being. The results of this study depicted a positive effect of posting Instagram pictures on users' experienced positive emotions but no effects on other aspects of well-being. The findings broadly align with the recent criticism against the active use hypothesis and support the call for a more nuanced view on the impact of SNSs on users.},
  language  = {en}
}