The College of Education, Health and
Human Sciences
Announces the Final Examination of
Robin Jay Brooksby
for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
May 2, 2014 at 2:30 pm
103 Ball Hall, University of Memphis
Memphis, TN
Biographical Sketch
Bachelor of Science, Psychology, Brigham Young University – Idaho
Master of Arts, Community Counseling, Gonzaga University
Advisory Committee
Sara Bridges, PhD, Associate Professor, Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research, committee chair
Douglas Strohmer, PhD, Professor and Chair, Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research
Lisbeth A. Berbary, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo
Elin Ovrebo, PhD, Assistant Professor, Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research
Major Field of Study
Counseling Psychology
Period of Preparation: 2009-2014
Comprehensive Examination Passed: September 2011
Social Media: A Case of Publicness
Abstract
Brooksby, Robin J. Ph.D. The University of Memphis. August 2014. Social Media: A Case of Publicness. Major Professor: Sara K. Bridges, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Counseling Psychology
Social Media has become one of the most popular ways to communicate and use the Internet. Previous research has shown that Internet use can have both positive and negative effects on users’ wellbeing, network quality, and life satisfaction. Further, self-disclosure is greatly increased and facilitated online, resulting in a loss of privacy. The aim of this case study was to provide an understanding of online publicness through an in-depth investigation of three social media users who maintained public profiles with minimal or no privacy settings. Participants included three individuals with publicly accessible blogs, Facebook and Twitter accounts. Results showed they were either naturally public people that found sharing online easy and an outgrowth of their personalities, or they had encountered circumstances that required their publicness, like being visible to past friends on Facebook, participating in public discourse through their blog, or talking with celebrities on Twitter. My findings also showed that my participants maintained their publicness online due to a variety of benefits, including making friends, convenient communication, conversation, their network, and celebrity connections. These benefits were also juxtaposed with several negative effects that publicness caused online and off. My participants negotiated these effects by being vulnerable, filtering harmful or hurtful content, maintaining their identity, accepting little privacy, and coping with the negative reactions of others.