When every day is a high school reunion: Social media comparisons and self-esteem.

Abstract

We thank Laksmiina Balasubramaniam and Ariana Youm for their assistance with data collection. We also thank Joanne Wood, Brett Q. Ford, Geoff MacDonald, and Emily Impett for their helpful comments and suggestions on an earlier version of this manuscript.

Comparing you, me, and us: Social comparisons in the context of close relationships

“…Although these strategies may be effective for restoring one's self-worth, they may have negative consequences for close relationships by decreasing relationship quality and increasing conflict. Further, comparisons to close others are a common occurrence: Individuals compare themselves to their spouse at least once a day (Pinkus et al, 2008), and young adults compare themselves to their friends most often in daily life (Midgley et al, 2021;Wheeler & Miyake, 1992). How then do individuals maintain their positive self-evaluations while maintaining their relationships?…”

Adolescent Health on Social Media and the Mentorship of Youth Investigators: Five Content Analysis Studies Conducted by Youth Investigators

“…Self-esteem is defined by how one positively or negatively views oneself, and low self-esteem is associated with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation [50][51][52][53]. In adolescence, self-esteem is especially vulnerable to protective or harmful influences [54]. Therefore, it is important to understand influences on adolescent self-esteem, and social media may present one such influence.…”

“…Social media influencers are content creators with a large social media following. Individuals with low self-esteem are more likely to make upward comparisons between themselves and influencers [ 54 , 57 ]. Beauty-related YouTube content creators are influencers that share aspects of their personality, esthetics, and preferences, allowing viewers to relate to them [ 57 ].…”

Spread of Negative Affect via Social Media: The Affective Consequences of Viewing Others’ Fortunate and Unfortunate Social Media Posts

“…Similarly, Nesi and Prinstein (2015) suggested a link between technology-based social comparison and feedback-seeking and depressive symptoms in undergraduates. Finally, Midgley, Thai, Lockwood, Kovacheff, and Page-Gould (2020) found that, compared with other online contexts (e.g., "surfing the web"), social media (i.e., Facebook) use resulted in more frequent and more extreme comparisons, which in turn led to decreased self-esteem, life satisfaction, and overall mood.…”