Role of Self-Monitoring and Social Appearance Anxiety in the Relationship Between Photo Editing and Social Withdrawal

Abstract

Nowadays, with the widespread use of social media, the use of Photoshop is also increasing. This creates a space for people to present their best selves. Individuals applying too much Photoshop to their photos on social media are seen as an indicator of their desire to be approved by others. People monitor and regulate themselves in line with the social selves they want to show. The purpose of this study is to investigate how self-monitoring and photo editing behaviors reflect people's evaluations of their appearance and how this relationship will be reflected in social withdrawal. The participants of the study consisted of 420 female participants. The hypotheses of the study were tested using the moderated mediation model and the mediation model for indirect effect. According to the results of the study, it was observed that the predicted indirect effect of social appearance anxiety on the relationship between photo editing behavior and social withdrawal did not have a significant effect under the moderating role of self-monitoring (moderated mediation) (b = .02, SE = .01, z = 1.22, p = .222; 95% CI [−.01,.04]). However, in the mediating role of social appearance anxiety, the indirect effect of photo editing behavior on social withdrawal was found to be significant (b =.03, SE = .01, z = 5.11, p < .001; 95% CI [.02,.03]). Therefore, it has been observed that people who resort to high rates of photo editing behavior experience social appearance anxiety and, as a result, exhibit high rates of social withdrawal behavior. Considering that negative body image causes negative health-related consequences, the study is expected to contribute to the consequences of excessive Photoshop use. Considering the prevalence of social media today, we expect the results of the study to provide new information to understand the effects of social media.