The Association Between Social Media and Self-Esteem among Adolescents

Authors

  • Leran Wang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54097/jk420h93

Keywords:

Social media, self-esteem, adolescents, social comparison.

Abstract

This article examines how social media impacts adolescents' self-esteem. Critical factors such as social comparison, feedback from others, and introspection play a key role in shaping users' self-esteem during their time on these digital platforms. These factors include social comparison, feedback from others, and introspection, all of which greatly affect the self-esteem of users as they engage with diverse social media settings. Additionally, the article considers how cultural variations affect the link between social media and self-esteem. It points out that people from Eastern cultures, which tend to stress collectivism and social harmony, might be more vulnerable to the impacts of social media interactions on their self-esteem. The article offers a thorough examination of the complex relationship between social media and teenagers' self-esteem, taking into account various psychological factors and cultural differences. In doing so, it emphasizes the importance of self-esteem as a predictor of life satisfaction and highlights the necessity for more research in this field to better comprehend and tackle the challenges that teenagers encounter in the digital era.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

[1] American Psychological Association. Teens are spending nearly 5 hours daily on social media. Here are the mental health outcomes. Monitor on Psychology, 2024, 55 (3). Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2024/04/teen-social-use-mental-health on 30 October, 2024.

[2] Patti Valkenburg, Ine Beyens, J Loes Pouwels, Irene I van Driel, Loes Keijsers, Social Media Use and Adolescents’ Self-Esteem: Heading for a Person-Specific Media Effects Paradigm, Journal of Communication, 2021, 71 (1): 56–78.

[3] Beyens, I., Pouwels, J.L., van Driel, I.I. et al. The effect of social media on well-being differs from adolescent to adolescent. Sci Rep, 2020, 10: 10763.

[4] Krause, H. V., Baum, K., Baumann, A., & Krasnova, H. Unifying the detrimental and beneficial effects of social network site use on self-esteem: a systematic literature review. Media Psychology, 2019, 24 (1): 10–47.

[5] Charmaraman, L., Hojman, H., Auqui, J. Q., & Bilyalova, Z. Understanding Adolescent Self-esteem and Self-image Through Social Media Behaviors. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 2024.

[6] Valkenburg, P. M., Pouwels, J. L., Beyens, I., Driel, I. I. van, & Keijsers, L. Adolescents’ Social Media Experiences and Their Self-Esteem: A Person-Specific Susceptibility Perspective. Technology, Mind, and Behavior, 2021, 2 (2).

[7] Steinsbekk, S., Wichstrøm, L., Stenseng, F., Nesi, J., Hygen, B. W., & Skalická, V. The impact of social media use on appearance self-esteem from childhood to adolescence—A 3-wave community study. Computers in Human Behavior, 2021, 114: 106528.

[8] Livingstone, S., Mascheroni, G., Dreier, M., Chaudron, S., & Lagae, K. How parents of young children manage digital devices at home: the role of income, education and parental style. 2015.

[9] Yau, J. C., & Reich, S. M. "It's Just a Lot of Work": Adolescents' Self-Presentation Norms and Practices on Facebook and Instagram. Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence, 2019, 29 (1).

[10] Jarman, H. K., Marques, M. D., McLean, S. A., Slater, A., & Paxton, S. J. Social media, body satisfaction and well-being among adolescents: A mediation model of appearance-ideal internalization and comparison. Body image, 2021, 36: 139–148.

[11] Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, P. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Halliwell, E. Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women's body image concerns and mood. Body Image, 2015, 13: 38–45.

[12] Myers, T. A., & Crowther, J. H. Social comparison as a predictor of body dissatisfaction: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 2009, 118 (4): 683–698.

[13] Festinger, L. A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 1954, 7: 117–140.

[14] Moretti, M. M., & Higgins, E. T. Relating self-discrepancy to self-esteem: The contribution of discrepancy beyond acutal-self ratings. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1990, 26 (2): 108–123.

[15] Snyder, C. R., Cheavens, J., & Sympson, S. C. Hope: An individual motive for social commerce. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 1997, 1 (2), 107–118.

[16] Higgins, E. T. Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review, 1987, 94 (3): 319–340.

[17] Burrow, A. L., & Rainone, N. How many likes did I get?: Purpose moderates links between positive social media feedback and self-esteem. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2017, 69: 232–236.

[18] Greitemeyer, T., & Mügge, D. O. Video games do affect social outcomes: a meta-analytic review of the effects of violent and prosocial video game play. Personality & social psychology bulletin, 2014, 40 (5): 578–589.

[19] Yang, C. C., & Brown, B. B. Online Self-Presentation on Facebook and Self Development During the College Transition. Journal of youth and adolescence, 2016, 45 (2): 402–416.

[20] Metzler, A., & Scheithauer, H. The long-term benefits of positive self-presentation via profile pictures, number of friends and the initiation of relationships on Facebook for adolescents’ self-esteem and the initiation of offline relationships. Frontiers in Psychology, 2017, 8: Article 1981.

[21] Clerkin, E. M., Smith, A. R., & Hames, J. L. The interpersonal effects of Facebook reassurance seeking. Journal of affective disorders, 2013, 151 (2): 525–530.

[22] Cingel, D. P., Carter, M. C., & Krause, H. V. Social media and self-esteem. Current opinion in psychology, 2022, 45: 101304.

[23] Hawi, N. S., & Samaha, M. The relations among social media addiction, self-esteem, and life satisfaction in university students. Social Science Computer Review, 2017, 35 (5): 576–586.

[24] de Bono, J., Mateo, J., Fizazi, K., Saad, F., Shore, N., Sandhu, S., Chi, K. N., Sartor, O., Agarwal, N., Olmos, D., Thiery-Vuillemin, A., Twardowski, P., Mehra, N., Goessl, C., Kang, J., Burgents, J., Wu, W., Kohlmann, A., Adelman, C. A., & Hussain, M. (2020). Olaparib for Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer. The New England journal of medicine, 2017, 382 (22): 2091–2102.

Downloads

Published

24-04-2025

How to Cite

Wang, L. (2025). The Association Between Social Media and Self-Esteem among Adolescents. Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, 50, 22-26. https://doi.org/10.54097/jk420h93