00 of 00

Facebook may provide opportunities for improved social interaction for people with high social anxiety, who often struggle in face-to-face social interactions. The social compensation hypothesis predicts that individuals with high social anxiety may perceive Facebook as a less anxiety-provoking avenue to social interaction and compensate for poor face-to-face interactions online. Previous researchers testing this hypothesis have often predicted that socially anxious Facebook users will spend more time on the site than users with low social anxiety. This line of thinking is based on the observation that Facebook allows for social interaction without many of the physical aspects of face-to-face social interaction that those with social anxiety may particularly fear (e.g., eye contact, blushing, trembling).