I’ve 500 friends, but who are my mates? Investigating the influence of online friend networks on adolescent wellbeing
| Pages | 135-148 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-05-2014-0022 |
| Published date | 21 September 2015 |
| Date | 21 September 2015 |
| Author | Paul Best,Brian Taylor,Roger Manktelow |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Public mental health |
I’ve 500 friends, but who are my mates?
Investigating the influence of online friend
networks on adolescent wellbeing
Paul Best, Brian Taylor and Roger Manktelow
Dr Paul Best is PhD Researcher
at School of Sociology and
Applied Social Studies, The
University of Ulster,
Newtownabbey, UK. Professor
Brian Taylor is based at School
of Sociology and Applied Social
Studies, The University of
Ulster, Newtownabbey, UK.
Dr Roger Manktelow is based
at School of Sociology and
Applied Social Studies, The
University of Ulster,
Londonderry, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between online friend networks and
the mental well-being (MWB) of adolescent males.
Design/methodology/approach –The study used a mixed methods approach: first, questionnaire
involving a validated MWB scale and questions regarding online friendship to 14-15 year old males (n ¼521);
and second, focus group interviews (n ¼8) of between six and eight members three months later.
Findings –Positive and negative associations were recorded between online friends and well-being.
A positive relationship (po0.05) was found between the number of online friends and well-being scores.
However, higher numbers of online friends were also associated with increases in negative online experiences
namely, receiving embarrassing posts online or risky activities such as, chatting frequently with strangers.
Online friends may influence perceptions of social support, status and belonging, each of which may
contribute positively or negatively to well-being. However, by increasing these perceptions, online friends
may cause additional distress when their presence does not provide tangible support during a crisis period.
Originality/value –Online friends provide the context to which young malesexplore and negotiate the online
world. To date, little mixed methods research has focused exclusively on the MWB of online friends. Policy
makers could do well to consider the growing prominence of online social networking and produce targeted
programmes to educate young people on the benefits and pitfalls of building large online “friend”networks.
Keywords Social networking, Social media, Adolescence, Males, Mental well-being, Online friends
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
In 2008 the Prime Minister called for a review into child safety online, known as the Byron (2008)
Review. One of the key outcomes from this report was the establishment of a UK Council on
Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS). Part of UKCCIS’s remit was to increase regulation by establishing
a voluntary code of practice for web sites (including social networking sites and search engine
providers) as well as to provide access to educational and training resources. Yet despite these
efforts there remains a wealth of contradictory evidence regarding the actual impact of online
technologies on the mental well-being (MWB) of young people (Best et al., 2014a). Much of
the current work focuses on the activities young people perform online and the associated risks.
In this paper the authors argue that more attention should be given to the social networks that
young people are creating online and thus the context in which positive/negative experiences
may occur.
Online Social Networking (OSN) is one of the most popular online activities among young
people (O’Neill et al., 2011) and at its simplest involves the collection and maintenance of social
Received 13 May 2014
Revised 29 October 2014
Accepted 22 January 2015
DOI 10.1108/JPMH-05-2014-0022 VOL. 14 NO. 3 2015, pp. 135-148, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1746-5729
j
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC MENTALHEALTH
j
PAG E 13 5
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