Consistent with Hypothesis 6, people who were lower in selfesteem
more frequently updated about their current romantic
partner, but they were more likely to use Facebook for self-expression
rather than for validation. That the frequency of updating
about one’s romantic partner was predicted not by the use of
Facebook for self-expression but rather by communication
(b = .24, p = .01) suggests that people with low self-esteem may
have other motives for posting updates about their romantic partner.
Considering that people with low self-esteem tend to be more
chronically fearful of losing their romantic partner (Murray,
Gomillian, Holmes, & Harris, 2015), and that people are more likely
to post relationship-relevant information on Facebook on days
when they feel insecure (Emery et al., 2014), it is reasonable to surmise
that people with low self-esteem update about their partner
as a way of laying claim to their relationship when it feels
threatened.