Les réseaux sociaux (RS) permettent d’exposer toutes sortes de contenus, notamment à propos de soi.

L’objectif de cette étude est d’explorer les liens entre l’usage problématique des réseaux sociaux et certaines caractéristiques comportementales et psychologiques chez des jeunes adultes.

Des questionnaires évaluant l’usage problématique des RS (EARS), l’exposition de soi sur les RS (EES), la personnalité (BFI-Fr, NPI-16) et l’estime de soi sociale (IESS) ont été complétés en ligne par 355 participants âgés de 18 à 30 ans (dont 7,04 % d’usagers problématiques).

Les analyses révèlent que les conduites d’exposition de soi, le névrosisme et le narcissisme sont positivement liés à une utilisation problématique des RS, tandis que la conscience, l’agréabilité et l’estime de soi sociale lui sont négativement associés.

Cette étude contribue à une meilleure compréhension de l’usage problématique des RS en prédisant son association à certaines dimensions du fonctionnement psychologique.

Social networks have been developed extremely fast over the past ten years, allowing people to post all kinds of content, including about themselves (pictures, personal information…).

The phenomenon of problematic use of social networks is poorly documented, which is why the purpose of this research is to better understand the link between social network's problematic use and behavioural (self-exposure on social networks) and psychological characteristics (personality and social self-esteem) in young adults between 18 and 30 years old.

A set of questionnaires assessing addiction to social networks (EARS), self-exposure on social networks (EES), personality (Big five: BFI-Fr and narcissism: NPI-16) and social self-esteem (IESS) were completed online by 355 people from all ranges of the French population; 7.04% has a network's problematic use, 77.46% were women and the average age of individuals was 22.72 years.

Group comparison analysis (problematic users versus common users) revealed that self-exposure behaviours on social networks (EES; number of social media; number of hours), neuroticism and narcissism are associated with social network's problematic use, while conscientiousness agreeability and social self-esteem were negatively associated to problematic use. Correlational analysis revealed a positive association between self-exposure behaviours on social networks and social network's problematic use. Moreover, self-exposure and social self-esteem, as well as some dimensions of personality (agreeableness, extraversion and narcissism) were positively correlated. Regression analysis indicated that self-exposure behaviours on social network (EES; number of social media; number of hours) and neuroticism were the most powerful predictors of the social network's problematic use. Self-exposure on social networks, social self-esteem and some facets of personality then become factors either of protection, or of risk, especially when it becomes pathological, going as far as problematic use.

This study provides a better understanding of this phenomenon and enables better-suited prevention and care. The prospect of a new form of problematic use of self-exposure on social networks and psychological or the environmental factors associated to this behaviour needs to be explored in future research.