The Buckingham

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A new study by Penn State and Misericordia University has revealed that those who are ignored online feel just bad as if they were excluded in person.

The study was conducted by Joshua Smyth, professor of biobehavioral health and medicine, of Penn State, and Kelly Filipkowski, assistant professor of psychology at Misericordia University.

Two studies were held.  The first was with over 275 college students who were asked how they would feel in a hypothetical scenario where they were excluded in a conversation. Participants said that their self-esteem would drop regardless of if the rejection was online or in person.  However, most participants said the in-person exclusion would be worse.

The second study involved 77 college students, who were ignored during a “get to know each other” conversation.  In this study, half of the participants were excluded in person, and the other half were ignored online.  The students believed they each were being involved in an investigation for something else.  The study revealed that all participants in both of the situations felt excluded.

The study has shown that exclusion is felt regardless of whether it’s online or not.