No Social Issues, Sex or Politics on Facebook: Young Adults’ Views of Inappropriate Facebook Posts

Abstract

A sample of 406 college students from a private liberal arts college in Northeastern Pennsylvania completed an on-line survey about their witnessed and perceived inappropriate Facebook posts. Qualitative analysis of open-ended responses identified eighteen themes of inappropriateness. The three most common themes identified involved commentary on social issues, sex / nudity, and political discourse, none of which are addressed in the existing research. More traditionally studied topics such as meanness and too much personal information were also deemed inappropriate; however, they were mentioned less frequently. Alcohol and drug use were generally viewed as acceptable posts. Demographic factors were relatively unrelated to perceptions of inappropriate Facebook communication. Implications for college students’ presentation of self from a social exchange perspective are discussed