The Impact of Social Media “Likes” on Social Distancing Behaviors in Adolescents
Abstract
American psychologist Arthur Aron found in a landmark 1997 study that sensitive questioning that encourages reciprocal self-disclosure greatly increases interpersonal intimacy between strangers. In order to evaluate linguistic intimacy, a data annotation approach and measurement paradigm were later introduced by research presented at EMNLP 2020. By examining possible differences in teenage reactions to people at a range of social distances, the current study seeks to further this line of research. The experiment, which was carried out in a field environment, featured 50 volunteers who answered an online questionnaire measuring their affective reactions to various people endorsing their social media posts. The results suggest that teenagers are more sensitive to positive reinforcement from people with whom they have stronger social ties.
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