Active and Passive Facebook Use and Associated Costly Off-line Helping Behavior

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Human Behavior

Background:

• Social media platforms facilitate diverse forms of interaction.
• Understanding the drivers of altruistic behavior in online environments is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between active and passive social media use and costly altruistic behavior.
• To explore how social media influences perceived relatedness and genetic relatedness in helping decisions.

Main Methods:

• Examined costly altruistic behavior in relation to active and passive Facebook usage patterns.
• Assessed willingness to help kin, friends, and strangers across varying biological cost scenarios.

Main Results:

• Active social media use enhances perceived relatedness and reduces the impact of genetic relatedness on helping.
• Passive users primarily help kin, showing less willingness to help friends/strangers in high-cost situations.
• Active users demonstrate greater willingness to help friends and strangers in both high and low biological cost scenarios.

Conclusions:

• Active social media engagement fosters broader altruistic tendencies beyond genetic ties.
• Social media use can reshape helping behaviors, emphasizing perceived connection over genetic relatedness.