Analgesic effect of Facebook: Priming with online social networking may boost felt relatedness that buffers against physical pain.

Social networking sites (SNSs) are extremely popular for providing users with a convenient platform for acquiring social connections and thereby feeling relatedness. Plenty of literature has shown that mental representations of social support can reduce the perception of physical pain. The current study tested whether thinking about SNS would interfere with users' perceptions of experimentally induced pain. Ninety-six undergraduate Facebook users were recruited to participate in a priming-based experiment. They were randomly assigned to one of the three study conditions (SNS prime, neutral prime, or no prime) via rating the aesthetics of logos. The results showed that participants exposed to SNS primes reported less pain of immersion in hot water than did both control groups (neutral- and no-prime). Felt relatedness mediated the link between SNS primes and diminished pain perceptions. This research provides the first demonstration that thinking about SNS can lower experienced physical pain among Facebook users. Online social networking may serve as an analgesic buffer against pain experience than previously thought. The SNS-enabled analgesia has far reaching implications for pain relief applications and the enhancement of well-being in human-interaction techniques.

[1]  J. Kulik,et al.  Social support and recovery from surgery. , 1989, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[2]  M. Leary,et al.  Social Support and Experimental Pain , 2003, Psychosomatic medicine.

[3]  Wen-Bin Chiou,et al.  Keep Logging In! Experimental Evidence Showing the Relation of Affiliation Needs to the Idea of Online Social Networking , 2013, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[4]  Paul Thagard,et al.  The affective meanings of automatic social behaviors: three mechanisms that explain priming. , 2013, Psychological review.

[5]  Cliff Lampe,et al.  The Benefits of Facebook "Friends: " Social Capital and College Students' Use of Online Social Network Sites , 2007, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[6]  Kristopher J Preacher,et al.  Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models , 2008, Behavior research methods.

[7]  C. Zhong,et al.  You Are How You Eat , 2010, Psychological science.

[8]  W. Chiou,et al.  Genuineness matters: Using cheaper, generic products induces detrimental self-evaluations , 2011 .

[9]  Matthew D. Lieberman,et al.  Why rejection hurts: a common neural alarm system for physical and social pain , 2004, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[10]  N. Ellison,et al.  Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis , 2008 .

[11]  Matthew D. Lieberman,et al.  A Picture's Worth , 2009, Psychological science.

[12]  J. McCubbin,et al.  Social influence and pain response in women and men , 2008, Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

[13]  Kenneth G. DeMarree,et al.  Understanding the Role of the Self in Prime-to-Behavior Effects: The Active-Self Account , 2007, Personality and social psychology review : an official journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

[14]  M. Ferguson,et al.  How social perception can automatically influence behavior , 2004, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[15]  C. Zaza,et al.  Cancer pain and psychosocial factors: a critical review of the literature. , 2002, Journal of pain and symptom management.

[16]  J. Bargh.  What have we been priming all these years? On the development, mechanisms, and ecology of nonconscious social behavior. , 2006, European journal of social psychology.

[17]  Kerk F. Kee,et al.  Is There Social Capital in a Social Network Site?: Facebook Use and College Students’ Life Satisfaction, Trust, and Participation 1 , 2009 .

[18]  N. Lin.  Social Capital: Frontmatter , 2001 .

[19]  Cliff Lampe,et al.  Connection strategies: Social capital implications of Facebook-enabled communication practices , 2011, New Media Soc..

[20]  Wen-Bin Chiou,et al.  Does Facebook Promote Self-Interest? Enactment of Indiscriminate One-to-Many Communication on Online Social Networking Sites Decreases Prosocial Behavior , 2014, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[21]  R. Cogan,et al.  Social support during premature labor: effects on labor and the newborn , 1988 .

[22]  T. Wager,et al.  Distraction and Placebo , 2012, Psychological science.

[23]  Danah Boyd,et al.  Social network sites: definition, history, and scholarship , 2007, IEEE Engineering Management Review.

[24]  Caroline Haythornthwaite,et al.  Social networks and Internet connectivity effects , 2005 .

[25]  Chang-Hyun Jin.  Social Capital Index , 2015 .

[26]  Todd Jackson,et al.  Gender, interpersonal transactions, and the perception of pain: an experimental analysis. , 2005, The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society.

[27]  Kennon M. Sheldon,et al.  Psychological needs as basic motives, not just experiential requirements. , 2009, Journal of personality.

[28]  Kathleen D. Vohs,et al.  PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Research Article The Symbolic Power of Money Reminders of Money Alter Social Distress and Physical Pain , 2022 .

[29]  P. Sparks,et al.  Highlighting Relatedness Promotes Prosocial Motives and Behavior , 2011, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[30]  B. Payne,et al.  The Situated Inference Model , 2011, Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

[31]  W. Chiou,et al.  Real men are made, not born! Incidental exposure to energy drinks may promote men's tolerance of physical pain. , 2015, Scandinavian journal of psychology.

[32]  W. Chiou,et al.  Facebook effects on social distress: Priming with online social networking thoughts can alter the perceived distress due to social exclusion , 2015, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[33]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[34]  Katelyn Y. A. McKenna,et al.  The internet and social life. , 2004, Annual review of psychology.