Social network sites are an important part of our daily lives (SNS). Currently, Facebook is the most popular SNS with 1.86 billion visitors per month (Facebook, 2017; eBizMBA, 2017). More precisely, data suggests that 90% of the undergraduates use Facebook with a majority (58%) using it multiple times a day (Dahlstrom, de Boor, Grunwald, & Vockley, 2011). Given the high amount of time people spend on Facebook, it seems important to gain insight into the psychological consequences of its use. Hence, the relationship between Facebook use and self-esteem has generated academic interest, since self-esteem is associated with depression and vulnerability for depression (Franck & De Raedt, 2007; Orth, Robins, Trzesniewski, Maes, & Schmitt, 2009). Understanding these vulnerability mechanisms is of key importance since depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and an important contributor to the overall global burden of disease (WHO, 2015).
To test the relationship between Facebook use, self-esteem and depressive symptomatology we will research these variables in a sample of Facebook users