Social media culture can encourage risky and inappropriate posting behavior
Now a new study by the University of Plymouth investigates why young adults might post content on social media that contains sexual or offensive material. Led by Dr Claire White from the University's School of Psychology, the study suggests that such risky social media posts are not just due to impulsivity, but might be a deliberate strategy to fit in with the wider social media culture that makes people believe 'it's the right thing to do'. Existing studies show that impulsiveness is predictive of online risk taking behaviours, but this additional research with British and Italian young adults highlighted that high self-monitoring -- or adapting behaviour in line with perceived social norms -- was equally predictive of posting risky content, which Dr White says could mean young people think it's the best way to behave. To measure risky online self-presentation the research team, which also included PhD student Clara Cutello, Dr Michaela Gummerum and Prof...