Measuring Up: Social Comparisons on Facebook and Contributions to Self-Esteem and Mental Health

These two exploratory studies examined how making social comparisons on social networking sites can impact an individual’s self-esteem and mental health outcomes. To examine the link between social comparison, Facebook use, self-esteem and mental health, a survey research study was conducted among 417 college undergraduates. The study found that the amount of time users spent on Facebook, Facebook investment, and both active and passive use were correlated with greater amounts of social comparison. In turn, high levels of social comparison predicted lower self-esteem and poor mental health. Using an experimental paradigm, the second study assessed 127 participants before and after a Facebook profile evaluation task and found some ties between Facebook use, social comparison, self-esteem and mental health, which partially confirmed the results of the first study. SOCIAL COMPARISONS ON FACEBOOK 2 Measuring Up: Social Comparisons on Facebook and Contributions to Self-Esteem and Mental Health Since Myspace pioneered its way into cyberspace in 2003, social media have revolutionized the way people interact. Facebook, with more than one billion members, is the world’s largest social network and has become an important part of many people’s daily routines. Facebook is now ten years old and is still considered the dominant social networking platform, although other social networking sites are becoming formidable competitors. Fifty seven percent of American adults have Facebook accounts, and 73% of adolescents (ages 12-17) have Facebook accounts (Smith, 2014). The majority of users who have active accounts are millennials (15-34 year olds). Social media have not only transformed the way people communicate, but they have also changed the kind and amount of information that is accessible. However, not all of this information is necessarily desired: Facebook users are often exposed to details about their peers’ lives that were not actively sought out. This exposure to other people’s social activities can lead to users’ comparing their own social lives with that of their peers, and subsequently, may have harmful effects. For example, a college student might scroll through her Instagram feed and see pictures her friends have posted of the delicious foods they ate, fun trips they went on, and new shoes they bought – without her. These pictures may lead her to socially compare herself to others and ask questions such as: “Is my life as exciting as my friends’ lives? Am I happy with the way my life is? Why didn’t they invite me? ” Although researchers have expressed concern about the potential effects of these types of questions on an individual’s self-esteem and mental health, little empirical evidence has tested this issue directly. Accordingly, in this study, I address several issues relating to social media use: motivation for use, positive and negative effects, social comparison, self-esteem, and mental health outcomes. SOCIAL COMPARISONS ON FACEBOOK 3 Facebook use and effects In order to understand how social media use affects us, we must first understand the motivations for using it. Nadkarni and Hofmann (2012) reviewed the literature and propose that people are motivated to use Facebook for two primary reasons: 1) a need to belong and 2) a need for self-presentation. In their analysis, Toma and Hancock (2013) found that Facebook profiles help satisfy individuals’ need for self-worth and self-integrity. Participants gravitated towards their Facebook profiles after receiving a blow to their egos. This evidence seems to support Nadkarni and Hofmann’s model. Other research also seems to support this premise. Generally, people seem to be using Facebook to maintain existing social connections and acquire information about others. Individuals may also use Facebook to organize and plan events for groups (Ross et al., 2009; Spiliotopoulos & Oakley, 2013; Yang & Brown, 2013). Research also suggests that Facebook use has become so integrated in people’s lives that it is somewhat a continuation of offline activities (Yang & Brown, 2013). Unsurprisingly, the use of Facebook comes with many consequences, as does any form of media use, and has been linked with a number of negative effects. For instance, Kittinger and colleagues (2013) found that overuse and strong attachment to Facebook may be related to Internet addiction. Individuals who used Facebook excessively and had a strong attachment to Facebook were more likely to report that using Facebook had caused them to be late or had caused them to be in trouble, and that it would be difficult for them to stop using Facebook (Kittinger et al., 2013). Another study assessed participants’ frequency of Facebook use and subjective well-being over time and found that Facebook use predicted a decline in subjective well-being (Kross et al., 2013). Finally, Smith et al., (2013) discovered that maladaptive Facebook use was related to increases in body dissatisfaction and bulimic symptoms in SOCIAL COMPARISONS ON FACEBOOK 4 participants. However, this is not to give the impression that using Facebook can only be detrimental. Studies have found that Facebook may be beneficial for individuals with low selfesteem by helping these individuals bridge social capital, gain acceptance and adapt to a new culture (especially within a university setting), and in some cases, even enhance subjective wellbeing (Ellison et al., 2007; Kim & Lee, 2011; Yu et al., 2010). Individuals who use Facebook may experience a sense of belonging and social support from others (Kim & Lee, 2011; Liu & Yu, 2013). Comparing ourselves to others One domain in which Facebook use may have negative or positive consequences is in the realm of social comparison. Most people compare themselves to others every day, whether they mean to do so or not. In fact, it seems that social comparison is a natural and expected part of the human experience. Leon Festinger proposed that individuals are naturally driven to evaluate their own opinions and abilities, and that these evaluations affect how we behave (Festinger, 1954). Festinger also postulated that individuals have an innate, perpetual desire to improve their own abilities and may become motivated to do so through comparisons with more superior individuals, which he termed upward comparisons (Festinger, 1954). In addition, individuals can be motivated by downward comparisons, where comparisons are made with less competent individuals (Wills, 1981). However, true downward comparison is not always plausible, depending on the situation at hand. For example, if a student receives the lowest grade on a test, there is no one worse off with which to compare. Pomery (2012) suggests that downward comparisons are motivated by one’s desire to improve self-esteem, and that downward shifts are motivated by a desire to protect self-esteem that is threatened. Downward shifts occur when SOCIAL COMPARISONS ON FACEBOOK 5 individuals lower the comparison target level, which might mean comparing with someone who is doing reasonably well in class instead of the student who has the best grades. Yet, these comparisons are not free of other influences. It has been found that similarity has bearing on whether or not an individual may compare him or herself with another person. People prefer to compare with others that they perceive to be similar to themselves (Pomery, 2012). The more that an individual identifies with his/her upward comparison target, the greater the negative effect of the comparison; vice versa, the more that an individual identifies with his/her downward comparison target, the greater the positive effect of the comparison (Pomery, 2012). In addition, individuals may also make contrasting comparisons with those they do not identify with, such as “I can never be as good as she is” (upward) or “That will never happen to me” (downward). The literature suggests that the effects of social comparisons are dependent on whether an individual perceives that they are similar or dissimilar to their comparison target. Interestingly, it seems that a target’s perceived future similarity also affects the comparison being made. If an individual believes that he or she may become like the comparison target eventually, this might change the type of comparison being made. For example, an individual with a chronic illness may not want to engage in downward comparison with an individual who has the same illness (but is worse off) because there is a chance that his or her condition may worsen and match that state (Pomery, 2012). This is not to suggest that individual differences do not impact the amount or effects of social comparisons. Gibbons and Buunk (1999) constructed a scale to gauge whether people varied in the amounts of comparisons they typically made and found that some people are more likely to compare than others. It was found that women are more likely to compare than men, and that there were differences in how tendencies to compare affected cognitions and emotions. SOCIAL COMPARISONS ON FACEBOOK 6 Gibbons and Buunk (1999) found that people who are more self-conscious and who are highly self-reflective tend to make more social comparisons. Higher comparers may have more empathy for others because they are better at visualizing situations from another person’s perspective. Furthermore, high comparers are more likely to experience more mood swings, have lower self-esteem, and be more depressed than low comparers. How social comparison relates to self-esteem One individual difference factor that is often raised as a potential predictor of level of social comparison is self-esteem. However, the relation between self-esteem and social comparison appears to be rather complex. Is self-esteem a predictor or an outcome? Prior research seems to give evidence for both. Wheeler and Miyake (1992) had 94 college students record the social comparisons they made for two weeks. They found that whether one makes upward o