Dramaturgical Capitalization of Positive Emotions: The Answer for Facebook Success?

Although user behavior in the popular Facebook social network site has been intensely investigated since the site came live in 2004, we know little about users’ emotions and values weaved in the fabric of their interactions. We report on a diary study for collecting daily accounts of users’ most memorable Facebook experiences. Outcomes emphasize the distinction between public and private presentation together with user motivation for engaging in these roles. Findings outline the role of impression management in the capitalization of positive emotions: a process through which people derive associated benefits from sharing them. Outcomes also suggest that at their heart, people’s most memorable experiences with Facebook are all about positive emotions, in particular those concerned with connectedness and entertainment. Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings for experience design and propose design tactics and guidelines integrated into a framework for designing for connectedness and entertainment.