The third-person effect on Facebook: The significance of perceived proficiency

This study is based on an online survey of 503 participants who constitute a representative sample of Facebook users in Israel. The survey, based on eight pairs of items concerning potential Facebook risks, was used to explore the third-person effect on Facebook and Facebook users' sense of their own and of other users' vulnerability to these risks. It was found that participants believed that others were more vulnerable than themselves with respect to all eight Facebook risks. Nonetheless, when controlling for Facebook literacy, this main effect was eliminated, and only the interaction effect between the third-party effect and perceived Facebook literacy remained.