The Influence of Friends' Instant Messenger Status on Individuals' Coping and Support-Seeking

Abstract

Although there is an increasing amount of research on social support in cyberspace, little is known about how Internet technologies influence social support among people who share offline personal relationships. The current study examined how friends' instant messenger (IM) status might influence individuals' coping and support-seeking, and what mechanisms could account for those effects. Four hundred and ninety-four college students read and responded to a hypothetical scenario in which they logged onto IM after experiencing a stressful situation. Participants perceived higher levels of self-efficacy, greater stress decrease, and greater likelihood of seeking support from a friend when the friend was said to be online than offline. Perceived social presence mediated the influence of a friend's online status on participants' coping and likelihood of seeking support from the friend.

Keywords:

• Coping
• Instant Messenger
• Online Status
• Social Presence
• Support Seeking

Acknowledgments

The research reported in this article was based, in part, on the second author's master's thesis, which was directed by the first author.

Notes

*p < .05. ***p < .001.

Note. All entries in the table are unstandardized regression coefficients. Percentages (%) refer to percent of the total effect explained by a particular variable or effect.

**p < .01. ***p < .001.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bo Feng

Bo Feng (PhD, Purdue University) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at University of California, Davis.

Min Jung Hyun

Min Jung Hyun (MA, University of California, Davis) is a resident of Jamwondong Seochogu, Seoul, Korea.