Going public on social media: The effects of thousands of Instagram followers on users with a high need for social approval

Why should people opt for a public profile on a new social media? Across two studies, we tested the hypothesis that receiving tangible positive feedback on a famous social media site causes people with a high need for approval to be more willing to create a public profile on a new social media. In Study 1 (N = 200), we hypothesized and found (a) a positive association between young adults’ need for social approval and their general tendency to...