Mixed emotions in active social media use - fun and convenient or shameful and embarrassing?

This paper discusses self-perceived observations of social media use among undergraduate students. 132 media diaries are analyzed in order to identify media usage patterns and profiles. The purpose was to go beyond a typical snapshot acquired from a cross-sectional survey design. The students were asked to report in detail of their media use and to reflect on their behavior. The diaries have been analyzed using NVivo with the focus on the explication of the students’ own reflections on their media and social media consumption. Results show four different media consumption profiles. Most of the students were active social media users. An interesting finding is that 17 % of the students experience their social media behavior as problematic and their reflections revealed strong negative emotions. The perception of negative behavior is expressed as a feeling of shame, guilt, and embarrassment.