This study sought to examine whether interpersonal goals can help us understand who engages in social-capital-building responsive behaviors and envy-eliciting passive behaviors on Facebook. One hundred eighty-eight adults completed measures of interpersonal goals (compassionate and self-image), Facebook use (posting, responding, and searching), social capital sources and benefits, social comparison, and envy, along with various control measures. Serial mediation analyses revealed that compassionate goals significantly predicted four distinct social capital benefits (offline participation, emotional support, horizon broadening, and networking value) through greater Facebook responding and sources of social capital. Furthermore, self-image goals significantly predicted envy through greater Facebook searching and social comparison. These effects were significant with and without controlling for age, gender, Facebook friends, Facebook frequency, Facebook hours, self-esteem, attachment style, social desirability, and the other interpersonal goal and Facebook behaviors. Consistent with research on interpersonal goals in offline interactions, compassionate goals predicted more responsive behaviors and better social outcomes, while self-image goals predicted a competitive mindset and negative emotion. These findings extend the social networking site (SNS) literature by identifying a relevant new individual difference associated with SNS use and key outcomes related to well-being.
Keywords: Facebook; compassion; envy; goals; self-image; social capital.