Your Brain on Facebook, ICWSM 2010

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