Intentions to hide and unfriend Facebook connections based on perceptions of sender attractiveness and status updates

We investigated how intentions to hide and unfriend Facebook contacts were linked to perceived sender attractiveness and face-threating messages (FTAs). Intention to hide was higher than intention to unfriend contacts, implying that unfriending is harsher. Low social attractiveness predicted hiding and unfriending intentions, but low physical attractiveness was only linked to hiding. Disrespectful messages were linked to hiding contacts, while updates that made the receiver look bad were linked to unfriending. FTAs also mediated the influence of social and physical attractiveness on hiding and unfriending contacts. Overall, managing online relationships relied on independent and interdependent perceptual and behavioral processes.

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