Selfie culture and self-esteem: Study unravels the impact of social media on adolescent girls

by Stacey Coleen Lubag
February 25, 2024



Researchers have uncovered a complex interplay between social comparison, body surveillance, and selfie behaviors among Chinese female adolescents, highlighting the significant role of self-esteem as a moderating factor. This research, published in the journal Psychological Reports, provides insight into how the pressures of social media and societal beauty standards influence young women’s self-image and online behavior.

The digital age has caused a surge of social media platforms — namely platforms in which posting selfies is a main practice, especially among adolescents. Prior studies have indicated a connection between social media use and various psychological issues, such as body dissatisfaction and negative mood. The act of taking and sharing selfies in particular has been criticized for its potential to exacerbate these issues.

At the heart of this phenomenon are two critical concepts: body surveillance, or the ongoing monitoring of one’s appearance against perceived beauty standards — and social comparison, the tendency to assess oneself against others. These behaviors have been linked to how individuals, particularly women, perceive their physical selves in relation to others.

The motivation behind this study stems from a growing concern over the impact of social media on mental health and self-perception among adolescents. With selfie culture, researchers aimed to delve deeper into the psychological mechanisms that drive selfie-taking and sharing behaviors, particularly among female adolescents. The study sought to explore how these behaviors are influenced by social comparisons on social networking sites (SNS) and whether the process is affected by individuals’ levels of self-esteem and body surveillance practices.

To investigate these relationships, the study utilized a survey method, collecting data from 339 female adolescents averaging 17 years of age, recruited across two high schools in central China. Participants were asked to complete self-report questionnaires that assessed their selfie behaviors, instances of upward and downward physical appearance comparisons, levels of body surveillance, and self-esteem. This allowed the researchers to analyze the relationship between these variables equally.

The findings revealed that body surveillance serves as a mediator between the act of comparing oneself to more attractive peers (upward comparison) and the frequency of selfie posting. In simpler terms, girls who often compared themselves to peers they perceived as more attractive were more likely to engage in behaviors that involved monitoring and scrutinizing their appearance — which in turn led to more frequent selfie posting on social media.

Moreover, the impact of body surveillance on selfie behaviors was found to be significantly stronger among adolescents with lower self-esteem. This suggests that for those with a less positive view of themselves, the cycle of comparison, surveillance, and posting is particularly pronounced.

It is important to consider that the studyʼs design and focus may have certain limitations. These include itʼs cross-sectional nature that only shows associations between variables at a single point in time — not total causality. Additionally, since the research only included female adolescents from China, the findings might not directly apply to other demographic groups or cultural contexts.

Despite these limitations, the research sheds light on the complex dynamics of social comparison, body surveillance, and selfie behavior in the digital age, emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of social media’s impact on adolescent well-being.

The study, “Social Comparison and Female Adolescentsʼ Selfie Behaviors: Body Surveillance as the Mediator and Self-Esteem as the Moderator,ˮ was authored by Zhenyong Lyu, Panpan Zheng, and Dongquan Kou at Yangzhou University.