Selective Self-Presentation and Social Comparison Through Photographs on Social Networking Sites

Abstract

Through social media and camera phones, users enact selective self-presentation as they choose, edit, and post photographs of themselves (such as selfies) to social networking sites for an imagined audience. Photos typically focus on users' physical appearance, which may compound existing sociocultural pressures about body image. We identified users of social networking sites among a nationally representative U.S. sample (N = 1,686) and examined women's and men's photo-related behavior, including posting photos, editing photos, and feelings after engaging in upward and downward social comparison with others' photos on social networking sites. We identified some sex differences: women edited photos more frequently and felt worse after upward social comparison than men. Body image and body comparison tendency mediated these effects.

Exploring the relationships between self-presentation and self-esteem of mothers in social media in Russia

“…Baker and Algotra (2016) analyse the links between social networking and depression. Fox and Vendemia (2016) identify that women edit their online images more often than men and feel worse about their body image on social media. Better coherence between the true self and the Facebook self was associated with better psychological health (Grieve & Watkinson, 2016).…”

“…Understanding online self-presentation is of importance as previous research argues that users positively enhance their self-image online to receive more positive feedback from other users (Chua and Chang, 2016;Fox & Vendemia, 2016). It is also the case with online representation of mothers as they feel under pressure to maintain an ideal image (Bartholomew et al, 2012;Jang & Dworkin, 2014.).…”

“…Previous research findings highlight both positive and negative effects of social media use on individuals. Several recent studies explore its negative influence (Thomholt, 2016;Baker & Algotra, 2016;Fox & Vendemia, 2016). According to Thomholt (2016), Facebook users are more likely to be less happy than their friends are and after a week without Facebook, respondents felt more satisfied with their social life.…”

Consumption of Health-Related Content on Social Media Among Adolescent Girls: Mixed-Methods Pilot Study (Preprint)

“…The majority of studies investigating adolescent use of social media focus on the impact of psychological well-being. The results from these studies have found unfavorable effects, especially related to posting and viewing photos, of social media use on mental health, including: negative mood self-objectification, body dissatisfaction, social comparison, eating behaviors, decreased self-esteem, weight dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and peer competition [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Even "fitspiration" images and posts that aim to inspire people to live healthy and fit lifestyles reinforce the over-valuation of physical appearance, eating concerns, and excessive exercise that could have serious negative implications on adolescents psychological and emotional health [20].…”

Socialinių medijų pozicija individų socializacijos procesų kontekste

“…Vartotojai taip pat raginami patalpinti savo nuotraukas. Jos laikomos svarbia įvaizdžio kūrimo dalimi (Fox, Vendemia, 2016;RuedaOrtiz, Giraldo, 2016).…”