EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY-PSYCH 3015

How Does Social Media Usage Impact Adolescents’ Self-esteem and Body Image?

Abstract

The prevalence of social media as well as existing body image and the self-esteem issue among adolescents are an alarming public healthcare problem today. The objective of this study was to identify whether passively using social media leads to a rise of social comparing that ultimately damages self-concept. Seventy teens aged 13-18 were evenly divided to passive or active use conditions of social network sites for 30 minutes and then evaluated using the social comparison tendency, self-esteem, and body satisfaction measures. Survey findings showed social comparison behaviors to be at a higher level in the passive use group that was linked to lower self-esteem and body satisfaction scores, regardless of the condition. The findings revealed that the use of social media for mere observation can aggravate social comparison and fuel negative perceptions about their own self-image and self-esteem in youth. It is advisable to promote a more mindful social media usage to lessen the influences.

Impacts of Social Media Use on Adolescents’ Self-esteem and Body Image?

The focus of the study is the impact of the use of passive versus active social media on the propensity of adolescents to engage in social comparison and the subsequent repercussions on their body satisfaction and self-esteem. The youth participants were randomly assigned to either the passive or the active social media use conditions. After 30 minutes, each participant responded to the questionnaire regarding social media usage, social comparison, self-esteem, and body satisfaction. Given the high prevalence of these problems during adolescence it is critical to research the relationality between different social media engagement forms and body image.    Adolescents who care a lot about their appearance are often the ones who are dealing with problems regarding body image. At the age 13, they undergo a decrease in their self-esteem, which further goes on until their middle adolescence. During the age of 14 a considerable number of girls (74%) and boys (50%) are expressed to wish to change something about their appearance (Vuong et al., 2021). The high prevalence of body dissatisfaction during teenage years is problematic because it is linked to negative physical and emotional health impacts, including bad eating habits, low self-esteem and depression. Those that are not pleased with their bodies are at a higher risk of being involved in dangerous body-transforming behaviors, such as using supplements, excessive exercising, working focus to muscle-building, and relying on a strict diet. Hence, a study of the social media effects would have a deeper or more detailed insight of these relationships. This means that being subjected to greater amounts of social comparison could in turn be linked with increased dissatisfaction, lower self-esteem and affects the way we feel about our body.

This study aims at investigating the effects of adolescent social media use on body image and self-esteem. Valkenburg et al. (2021) provide important context for understanding these relationships. The authors examined eighteen earlier research studies looking into the relationship between adolescents’ self-esteem and how using social media affects their social lives. The authors found out how social media impacts their self-esteem, with some indicating beneficial effects, others negative effects, and no effect at all. The authors argue that individual differences in vulnerability to the impact of the social network could be the reason for the conflicting results. Participants of their experience sampling study showed that social media has different consequences on everyone having some social media users going through negative impacts of the notoriety ideals and other experiencing a positive influence in themselves. This study could contribute to our theoretical understanding of the mechanisms and individual variations influencing the impact of social media on the wellbeing of adolescents.

Shankleman (2020) also assesses adolescents’ use of social media. It is a systematic review aimed to synthesize qualitative research capturing adolescents’ views and experiences regarding social media and its relevance to their well-being. The authors found 19 studies with participants ages 11 to 18 that were published between 2006 and 2020. Overall, the studies’ quality was judged to be high. Moreover, a close analysis of this idea suggests that social media helps teenagers to get rid of negative emotions such as sadness or depression and, at the same time, can lead to anxiety and stress. The review in the view of the authors suggested the involvement of complex interactions of some variables like social media and teenage wellbeing. It provides a qualitative summary of adolescents’ views on social media and stresses the multifaceted aspects and ambiguity often associated with online communication and mental health. The authors do recommend further research into the matter of longitudinal outcomes, context specific usage, and age disparity concerns. This review furthers our understanding on how intricate the interaction pattern between adolescents and their media use affects their wellbeing.

There is also thought to be a complex correlation between teenage social media use and social connectedness. Winstone et al. (2021) conducted a qualitative study that supports this claim. Their findings showed that social networks can have either a strengthening or a weakening effect on the social bond. So, the authors sought to establish the connection between social media use (SMU) and social connectedness among teenagers aged 13-14 from the UK by conducting semi-structured interviews with 24 participants. They discovered some evidence supporting social media usage effects on social connectedness, both in terms of stimulation and displacement. For instance, it not only stimulated relationships when in-person interactions were not possible, but it also occasionally took the place of family social time. When there was a lack of family ties. The authors concluded that there is a complex relationship between social media usage and social connectedness that is dependent on context and preexisting social resources.

Mann & Blumberg (2022) also did a study to determine whether teenage use of social media, self-presentation, social comparison, and self-esteem predict balanced potential selves. One hundred fifty-two teenagers between the ages of 11-18 filled out surveys about their use of social media, how they present themselves, how they compare to others, how much they value themselves, and their potential selves. Even though females expressed greater relationship fear, no variable significantly predicted balanced possible selves. More research needs to be done on how gender differs in potential identities on social media.

Raymer (2015) examined the claim that Facebook use has a detrimental effect on body image and self-esteem, particularly in women. Facebook use, self-esteem, body image, and disordered eating attitudes were measured by a sample of 40 undergraduate students taking online surveys. The findings revealed that women were more driven to be thin than men, spent more time on Facebook, and had lower body satisfaction. Facebook exposure, however, was not directly linked to either body image or self-esteem. While females generally displayed lower self-esteem, further research is required to understand the impact of social media on self-perceptions fully. The reasons behind gender disparities and the potential influence of personality traits on the effects of social media on one’s self-perception remain unanswered.

Audrey et al. (2020) conducted research to investigate the potential relationship between body image and self-esteem in teenage female Instagram users. 150 female teenagers, ages 12 to 18, who had recently started using Instagram participated in the study. Self-esteem and body image were found to be significantly positively correlated, with appearance evaluation showing the strongest correlation. A small sample size that might not accurately reflect the population, an unequal distribution of ages, and a lack of explanation for questionnaire options were among the limitations. This study leaves us with the question of how do these correlations change depending on the frequency or duration of Instagram usage and how are the correlations different between age groups in adolescence?

Yang et al. (2020) investigated whether internalization of thin ideals, social comparison, and appearance anxiety could have a negative impact on adolescent girls’ body esteem when using social media and smartphones. Surveys on media consumption, body image, and related concepts were filled out by 100 Singaporean girls between the ages of 13 and 18. Through the proposed serial mediators, excessive social media use (>3 hours per day) and screen time for appearance-focused smartphone activities indirectly impacted body esteem. Overall, the results show how excessive use of appearance-focused digital media negatively affects vulnerable adolescent girls’ body esteem. There are still unanswered concerns about mitigating these impacts and putting related media literacy programs into action.

Franchina & Lo Coco’s (2018) review investigated the ways in which body image concerns, particularly in adolescents, are influenced by social media use. From their studies, negatively impacted body image results from being exposed to social media’s idealized imagery. Adolescents are particularly vulnerable because of their heightened propensity for social comparison, according to this paper. According to research, engagement in appearance-focused social media feedback and the sharing of selfies have a harmful effect on one’s body image. In general, young people’s body dissatisfaction is exacerbated by idealized pictures of their peers on social media. Concerns about gender disparities and whether certain young people are more vulnerable to these effects still exist.

These studies’ findings indicate mixed findings on how social media impacts adolescent self-esteem and wellbeing. Some studies have found negative impacts, while others suggest it depends on individual differences. My proposed study variables suggest testing a model where time spent on social media predicts social comparison tendencies, which then mediates effects on self-esteem and body dissatisfaction. This leads to the hypothesis that regular passive social media use will be associated with greater degrees of social comparison, which will have a detrimental effect on adolescents’ self-esteem and body satisfaction.

Therefore, experimental manipulations of social media usage, could thus establish causality regarding the effects of different forms of social media usage on self-esteem and body image. One could deduce, for instance, that increased passive social media browsing leads to a rise in social comparison and a fall in self-esteem. The investigation of these activities may also reveal the most problematic social media usage patterns. Overall, using empirical measurement and statistical analysis, this plan enables the investigation of the proposed relationships among social media usage, social comparison tendencies, and adolescent self-concepts.

This literature gives a picture of a sophisticated and many-sided link between the use of social media and the self-esteem and body image of today’s youth. Although subsequent articles of these studies found mixed results, there are potential mediating factors mentioned like social connectedness, self-presentation and social comparison. It could be said that the significant point is that the tendency to social comparison has increased in this period and that is the common point. Several studies point to social comparison as the leading link of negative body image and poor self-image, thus among adolescent women who are more susceptible than others due to female thin ideal’s internalization. Although gender inequalities do exist, the overall study’s findings suggest that passive, appearance self-focused social media usage can negatively impact self-esteem and body satisfaction during these vulnerable developmental years.

Hypotheses:

1. Regular passive social media use is associated with greater degrees of social comparison tendencies.
2. Higher social comparison tendencies will have a detrimental effect on adolescents’ self-esteem and body satisfaction.

Methods

 Participants

The study sample comprised 70 adolescents: 40 of them girls and 30 of them were boys, aged 13 – 18. Sampling was conducted using snowball/ convenient sampling methods. Firstly, the researcher’s siblings were invited, then they were asked to recommend their friends. Afterwards, online recruitment was undertaken through discussion forums.

Measures

To measure social media use, we used the Social Media Use Integration Scale (SMUIS; Jenkins-Guarnieri, Wright, & Johnson, 2013) used to measure every participant’s level of social media involvement. This scale is a 10-item assessment that measures the degree of an individual’s incorporation of social media in their everyday practices. Participants were asked to rate how much they agreed or disagreed with each item’s statement using a Likert-type response scale, which had values ranging from 1 for strong disagreement and 6 for strong agreement. Those with higher total scores had more social media in their day-to-day routines.

The social comparison was measured using the Adolescent Social Comparison Scale (ASCS; Irons & Gilbert, 2005) to measure the youngsters’ extent of using social media to compare themselves to others. The ASCS consists of items, each of which is rated on a Likert scale of one representing ‘never’ to five representing ‘always.’ The individuals with higher scores tended to have a higher level of social comparison.

Their self-esteem was assessed by using the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSE; Rosenburg, 2006), in which participants use self-reporting levels of self-esteem and body self-satisfaction, measured by figure rating scales where the participants selected their current and ideal body images and the difference indicating their body dissatisfaction. These scales and self-report ratings provided the best quantitative metrics for statistical analysis. They responded to questions of whether they were satisfied with their body or not, with responses ranging from 1 for ‘strong disagreement’ to 4 for ‘strong agreement’. Higher scores indicated higher self-esteem.

To measure their Body Satisfaction, participants completed the Body Areas Satisfaction Scale (BSS; Slade et al., 1990) to measure their level of satisfaction with their bodies in various areas. The BASS inventory contains eight items that represent different areas (like “Face” and “Weight”), and participants answered questions of dissatisfaction and high satisfaction. The higher scores represented an increase in how good someone felt about their body.

Procedure

Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: passive or active use of social media platforms. In respect to the condition of the “passive,” the subjects were instructed that they could stay on their social media feeds for up to 30 minutes without commenting or posting anything. The participants in the active situation were told to spend 30 minutes engaging with social media in an active way by posting updates, making comments and keeping a direct contact with their circle. The post-social media interaction, the assessments of both the groups were done using SMUIS, ASCS, RSES, and BASS scales. Social desirability bias was maintained through randomizing the order of the questionnaires to the subjects. Participants’ compliance was monitored during the study process, so they would strictly follow the instructions of the intervention they were assigned. At the end of the intervention, debriefing and references to the body image and self-esteem resources as well were explained for every participant.

Discussion

The main results highlighted that social comparison is higher among adolescents of the passive social media use group than among those of the young active users. Besides, we can state that those who got high marks on social comparisons in any of these conditions were those that showed lower levels of self-esteem, and body satisfaction.

This study examined the influence of passive and active utilization of social media on teenagers’ self-esteem, body appreciation, and tendency to engage in social comparisons. The data yielded some significant results. The results revealed that the subjects exposed to passive social media use, such as just scrolling through feeds without participating actively, had a higher tendency to compare themselves with others than those exposed to active social media usage. Therefore, it can be argued that watching social media content alone might create a more positive view of oneself, which is related to greater exposure to edited and more attractive depictions.

The research also revealed that teenagers who engaged in more social comparison demonstrated lower self-esteem and unsatisfactory body image. This result aligns with previous studies showing the adverse effects of social comparison on self-concept and body image. Those who engage in comparisons with others, especially in appearance and social status, can develop a negative self-evaluation, which may consequently diminish their self-esteem and cause increased dissatisfaction with their body.

Our findings, in harmony with Valkenburg et al. (2021), point out that differences in susceptibility to online social interaction could make results of the study unstable. Along the same lines, Shankleman (2020) pointed out the relationship between social media and teenagers’ well-being, which is dependent on social media activity. Some were found to experience negative effects, while others reported positive outcomes. The current study contributes to this understanding by showing that passive social media usage can amplify social comparison tendencies that, in the long run, would result in low self-esteem and body satisfaction.

The present study reaffirms and further elaborates on the results of previous research on ties between social media use, social comparison, self-esteem, and body satisfaction among adolescents. In support of Franchina and Lo Coco’s (2018) statement, the findings illustrated that the consumption of social media content through passive means reinforced the behavior of social comparison, which in sequence led to lowers self-esteem and body dissatisfaction. In addition, this also suggests the mechanism by which the images of idealized social media stars can make adolescents’ self-evaluation more negative by seeding the comparison of their appearance that is often unrealistic. It is further strengthened by the revelation that unlike active and engaging social media usage, only passive active and engaging social media usage, the similar deleterious effects were not observed on one’s self-concept. This study, therefore, corroborates Winstone et al. (2021) observations about how psychosocial outcomes, such as social connectedness, are dependent on the context of social media Additionally, the lack of bigger gender differences mirrors mixed results in their studies by Raymer and others (2015) with regards the perception of gender and social media. All in all, these results support the hypothesis of the previous research that teenagers can be especially vulnerable to internalizing social media-related appearance ideals when they apply social comparison upward, which can, conversely, point to individual differences in this susceptibility.

Limitations

While this study has provided exciting data, several points that may limit its internal and external validity must be considered. Although the initial findings can be drawn from an initial sample size of 70 teens, the findings’ external validity is limited in terms of how broadly the results may be applied to a larger population size of adolescents. Furthermore, the internal validity of the results could be threatened by biases such as social desirability or flawed memory introduced using self-report measures whereby the respondents can only record what they desire or may forget some required information. Further limiting the internal validity of our results is the fact that the study did not control for potential pre-existing variations in people’s self-esteem, body satisfaction, or social comparison inclinations.

Future Research

Future studies should concentrate on data gathered from larger population sizes to overcome these limitations and improve the accuracy of the results. To reduce potential biases, employing objective metrics other than self-reports, like observational or psychophysiological data, could improve the internal validity of our data. Increased internal validity would also result from considering individual differences and vulnerabilities related to body image, self-esteem, and social comparison tendencies, as well as pre-existing factors. Combining both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs could provide insight into the directionality and longer-term consequences of social media use for body image and self-perception. Gaining deeper insight into the underlying mechanisms could be facilitated by studying the impact of selected social media platforms or content (e.g., fitness influencers and beauty content) that may be particularly relevant. Such research directions would advance theoretical understanding and inform tailored interventions.

 Application and Conclusion

In conclusion, this study has enhanced our understanding of the complex links among teenage body satisfaction, social comparison, and social media use. Research shows that idle use of social media may intensify social comparisons, causing a decrease in one’s personality and body perception. The above findings underscore the significance of active engagement and evaluation of online information and, overall, suggest strategies to promote media literacy and safe social media behavior among teenagers. We can enhance the lives of teens in a world that is becoming progressively technologically connected by looking into the potential problems of passive social media use and encouraging good self-esteem and body image.

References

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