Date of Conferral
5-9-2024
Date of Award
May 2024
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Psychology
Advisor
Hedy Dexter
Abstract
Excessive social media use is linked to psychological and emotional issues such as depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Social media may expose its users to idealized representations of others’ material success that, by comparison, makes individuals feel wanting. In the United States, where material possessions are often a measure of one’s value, the comparative lack of material possessions takes a toll on social media users’ self-worth. While researchers have investigated the potential for individual differences in social status seeking, malicious envy, and social media use to influence self-esteem/worth, none have examined the relative strength of social media use, social comparison orientation, and materialistic values on self-worth. In the current study that gap was addressed. Social comparison theory was used as the theoretical framework for this study and was used to explore the relationship between social media exposure to idealized lifestyles and individual self-worth. Online surveys were administered via SurveyMonkey to 114 participants. A hierarchical multiple regression found that, contrary to predictions, neither social media use nor materialistic values were related to self-worth. Surprisingly, social comparison orientation was significantly positive, rather than negatively as predicted, related to self-worth explained as the tendency for social media users to compare downward for a reliable ego boost. Insights from this study have implications for positive social change, are useful for media literacy programs made available for distribution to parents, middle and high schools, and social networking sites.
Recommended Citation
Frost, Jeanine, "The Relative Strength of Social Media Use, Social Comparison Orientation, and Materialistic Values on Self-Worth" (2024). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 15768.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/15768
