Psychology

Personality and Individual Differences 86 (2015) 217–221

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Personality and Individual Differences

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid

Facebook and self-perception: Individual susceptibility to negative social comparison on Facebook

Dian A. de Vries ⁎, Rinaldo Kühne 1

Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 15791, 1001 NG Amsterdam, The Netherlands

⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +31 20 525 2171; fax: + E-mail addresses: [email protected] (D.A. de Vries), r

1 Tel.: +31 20 525 3505; fax: +31 20 525 3681.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.05.029 0191-8869/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

a b s t r a c t

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history: Received 25 February 2015 Received in revised form 19 May 2015 Accepted 21 May 2015 Available online 25 June 2015

Keywords: Well-being Social media Social network sites Self-views Individual differences Social comparison Happiness Self-esteem

Social network sites such as Facebook give off the impression that others are doing better than we are. As a result, the use of these sites may lead to negative social comparison (i.e., feeling like others are doing better than one- self). According to social comparison theory, such negative social comparisons are detrimental to perceptions about the self. The current study therefore investigated the indirect relationship between Facebook use and self-perceptions through negative social comparison. Because happier people process social information differ- ently than unhappier people, we also investigated whether the relationship between Facebook use and social comparison and, as a result, self-perception, differs depending on the degree of happiness of the emerging adult. A survey among 231 emerging adults (age 18–25) showed that Facebook use was related to a greater degree of negative social comparison, which was in turn related negatively to self-perceived social competence and physical attractiveness. The indirect relationship between Facebook use and self-perception through nega- tive social comparison was attenuated among happier individuals, as the relationship between Facebook use and negative social comparison was weaker among happier individuals. SNS use was thus negatively related to self-perception through negative social comparison, especially among unhappy individuals.

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Social network sites (SNSs), such as Facebook, are notorious for giving off the impression that other people are living better lives than we are (Chou & Edge, 2012). People generally present themselves and their lives positively on SNSs (Dorethy, Fiebert, & Warren, 2014) for example by posting pictures in which they look their best (Manago, Graham, Greenfield, & Salimkhan, 2008) and are having a good time with their friends (Zhao, Grasmuck, & Martin, 2008). The vast majority of time spent on SNSs consists of viewing these idealized SNS profiles, pictures, and status updates of others (Pempek, Yermolayeva, & Calvert, 2009). Such information about how others are doing may impact how people see themselves, that is, their self-perceptions because people base their self-perceptions at least partly on how they are doing in comparison to others (Festinger, 1954). These potential effects of SNS use on self- perceptions through social comparison are the focus of the current study.

Previous research on the effects of SNSs on self-perceptions has focused predominantly on the implications of social interactions on these websites (e.g., feedback from others) (Valkenburg, Peter, & Schouten, 2006) or due to editing and viewing content about the self on SNS (Gonzales & Hancock, 2011). However, the potential impact of SNS use on self-perception resulting from passively browsing others'

31 20 525 3681. [email protected] (R. Kühne).

profiles has received less attention. This is surprising, given that viewing others' profiles is the most prevalent SNS activity (Pempek et al., 2009) and the social information encountered in this way may impact self- perceptions through social comparison (Festinger, 1954). The current study therefore investigates the potential effects of SNS use on self- perception through social comparison. In addition, we test whether and how these indirect effects of SNS use on self-perception are subject to individual differences. More specifically, we investigate if the degree of happiness of the individual moderates the indirect effect of SNS use on self-perception. We focus on individual differences in happiness because social information affects the self-perceptions of happier people differently than the self-perceptions of unhappier people (Cummins & Nistico, 2002).

The current study focuses on individual differences in the effects of the use of “Facebook” on self-perceptions among emerging adults for several reasons. Facebook is currently the most popular SNS worldwide (Statista, 2014) among emerging adults. Emerging adulthood is of special interest because this age group uses social media intensively (Coyne, Padilla-Walker, & Howard, 2013) and because the formation of self-perceptions is a central task in this developmental period (Arnett, 2000). Furthermore, self-perceptions are related to well-being (Diener & Diener, 1995; Orth, Robins, & Roberts, 2008; Swann, Chang-Schneider, & Larsen McClarty, 2007). Negative self-perceptions predict depressive symptoms (Orth et al., 2008) whereas more positive self-perceptions are strongly and positively related to subjective well- being (Diener & Diener, 1995). Therefore, uncovering the effects of

218 D.A. de Vries, R. Kühne / Personality and Individual Differences 86 (2015) 217–221

SNS use on self-perception, understanding which processes underlie this relationship, and identifying which emerging adults are especially vulnerable to negative effects is crucial for the prevention of negative ef- fects of SNS use on well-being. At the same time, the study answers the call for a stronger focus on psychological mechanisms and individual differences in media effects research (Valkenburg & Peter, 2013) and hence contributes to the development of our theoretical understanding of (social) media effects.

1.1. Social network sites, social comparison, and self-perception

According to social comparison theory, we base our self-perceptions at least partly on how we think we are doing in comparison to others (Festinger, 1954). Perceiving the self as doing worse than others leads to less favorable self-perceptions (Festinger, 1954). Importantly, evi- dence has emerged that among emerging adults more intense Facebook use is related to more frequent social comparison (Lee, 2014). This social comparison is predominantly negative, that is, it is associated with the feeling that other Facebook users are better off (Lee, 2014). Further- more, people who use Facebook more intensely are more inclined to be- lieve that others are having better lives than they are (Chou & Edge, 2012). These findings are not surprising given the idealized self- presentation that occurs on Facebook (Manago et al., 2008).

According to social comparison theory, negative social comparison, that is, the feeling that others are better off, will specifically impact self-perceptions in the domains in which the individual sees other peo- ple doing better than he or she is doing (Festinger, 1954). In line with this notion, experimental research has shown that viewing the Facebook profile of a peer who is physically attractive or has a successful career can have a negative impact on self-perceived attractiveness and self-perceived career success (Haferkamp & Krämer, 2011). Because emerging adults' Facebook posts and pictures frequently display the user as popular (Zhao et al., 2008) and physically attractive (Manago et al., 2008), negative social comparison on Facebook likely influences self-perceptions in the domains of social competence and physical ap- pearance. We therefore hypothesized:

H1. Among emerging adults a) more intense Facebook use is related to a greater degree of negative social comparison on Facebook (i.e., more frequently thinking that others are better off when looking at Facebook posts of others), which b) is in turn related to lower self-perceived social competence and physical attractiveness. Therefore, c) Facebook use is negatively related to self-perceptions of social competence and physical attractiveness through negative social comparison.

1.2. The protective role of happiness

The hypothesized threat that Facebook use poses to self-perceptions (H1) may be attenuated among people who select and interpret the so- cial information on Facebook in ways that are less detrimental to self- perceptions. First, individuals who select comparison targets who are not doing better than they are avoid negative effects on their self- perceptions (Cummins & Nistico, 2002). On Facebook, users may thus protect their self-perceptions by selectively diverting their attention from updates about others' accomplishments and positive experiences. Second, people can interpret social information in ways that evoke more positive self-perceptions (Suls, Martin, & Wheeler, 2002). Facebook posts about others' positive experiences and accomplishments can for instance be interpreted as “I will experience/achieve similar things” in- stead of “other people are doing better than I am” (i.e., negative social comparison). As a result, individuals can process social information on Facebook in ways that do not give rise to negative social comparison and therefore do not result in more negative self-perceptions.

The way social information is processed is subject to individual differences. One trait that predicts how individuals process social

information is their degree of happiness, also referred to as subjective well-being (Cummins & Nistico, 2002; Lyubomirsky & Ross, 1997). For example, being outperformed by a peer leads to decreased self-rated abilities among unhappy people, but does not influence happy people (Lyubomirsky & Ross, 1997). In a similar vein, the vast amounts of social information encountered on Facebook may be processed in less nega- tive ways by happier people. Happier people may engage in less nega- tive social comparison on Facebook, and, as a result, be less vulnerable to negative effects on self-perception.

Happiness consists of affective/emotional and cognitive-judgmental components and can be domain specific or global (Pavot & Diener, 2004). How persons process social information on Facebook may be as- sociated in particular with a global cognitive-judgmental component of happiness: life satisfaction. Life satisfaction is one's general satisfaction with life (Pavot & Diener, 2004) and is a relatively stable trait (Schimmack, Diener, & Oishi, 2002). Individuals who report greater satisfaction with life are characterized by more positive processing of self-relevant information including social comparison information (Cummins & Nistico, 2002). Life satisfaction may therefore also moder- ate the way social comparison information is processed on Facebook. We hypothesized:

H2. a) The relationship between more intense Facebook use and more negative social comparison on Facebook is weaker among emerging adults who are happier (H1a). Therefore, b) the hypothesized indirect negative relationship between Facebook use and self-perceived social competence and self-perceived physical attractiveness through nega- tive social comparison (H1c) is attenuated among emerging adults who report greater satisfaction with life. All hypotheses are summarized in Fig. 1.

2. Method

2.1. Sample and procedure

An online survey was conducted in April and May 2014. Two stu- dents from the University of Amsterdam recruited participants through their (online) social networks. Recruitment yielded 340 respondents, 257 of whom completed the survey (76%). Twenty participants were excluded because they did not meet inclusion criteria for age (18–25). Another six participants were excluded because they did not use Facebook and could thus not complete measures regarding Facebook use and social comparison on Facebook. The total sample thus consisted of 231 participants (69% female) age 18–25 (M = 22.3, SD = 2.2). The participants differed in their countries of residence and nationalities. The most common nationalities were Bulgarian (78%) and Dutch (16%). The remaining 6% was mostly European, but also Indian, Mexi- can, and Chinese. Ethical approval was obtained from the University where the study was conducted. Participants were first provided with written information about the study and asked for their consent. After this they completed the measures reported below and some additional questions regarding social media use.

2.2. Measures

2.2.1. Facebook use We assessed intensity of Facebook use with the six closed-ended

items of the Facebook Intensity Scale (Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe, 2007). The scale goes beyond frequency and duration of use, as it incor- porates emotional attachment to the site (e.g., “I would be sorry if Facebook shut down”) and the role Facebook plays in users' daily lives (e.g., “Facebook has become part of my everyday activity”) (Ellison et al., 2007). Participants rated the degree to which they agreed with statements on a scale ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree). The six items were summed to create a total score with higher

Table 1 Zero-order correlations among key variables.

FB Use NegSC SPSC SPPA LS

FB Use – NegSC .389*** – SPSC −.017 −.233*** – SPPA −.082 −.329*** .283*** – LS −.156** −.366*** .283*** .366*** –

Note. N = 231. FB Use represents the intensity with which emerging adults use the social network site Facebook. NegSC represents the degree of negative social comparison the emerging adult engages in on Facebook. SPSC indicates the degree of self-perceived social competence. SPPA represents self-perceived physical attractiveness. LS indicates the respondent's satisfaction with life. *p b .05 **p b .01. ***p b .001 (two-tailed).

––

Facebook Use Negative Social

Comparison

Life Satisfaction

Self-perceived Social

Competence

Self-perceived Physical

Appearance

+ –

Fig. 1. Hypothesized moderated mediation model.

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scores reflecting more intense Facebook use. Scores ranged between 6 and 30 (M = 18.4, SD = 5.6). A factor analysis revealed that the items loaded on one factor that explained 54.5% of the variance. Cronbach's alpha was .83.

2.2.2. Negative social comparison on Facebook To measure the degree of negative social comparison on Facebook

we adapted previous measures of social comparison on Facebook that have been used in emerging adult samples (Lee, 2014). We were inter- ested specifically in negative social comparison, that is, the degree to which people experienced thinking that others are better off when viewing others' updates on Facebook. We measured this construct by asking participants to what extent they agreed with the following two statements: “When I read news feeds (or see photos of others) I often think that 1) others have better lives than I do; 2) others are doing bet- ter than I am.” Answer options ranged from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree). The two items were summed to create a total score reflecting negative social comparison. Scores ranged between 2 and 10 (M = 4.7, SD = 2.4). Pearson correlation between the two items was .87 (p = .000).

2.2.3. Self-perception Self-perceived social competence and physical appearance were

assessed using an adapted version (Valkenburg et al., 2006) of Harter's Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents (Harter, 1988). Items of both subscales consisted of statements about the self (“in general I have the feeling that…”) to which participants responded on a scale from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree). Items reflecting negative self- perceptions of social competence and physical appearance were recoded and then items were summed to create a score per subscale. Higher scores thus reflect more positive self-perception in that domain.

Self-perceived social competence was measured using five items (e.g., “I have a lot of friends”). Scores ranged from 8 to 24 (M = 17.9, SD = 3.7). Cronbach's alpha was .71. Factor analysis revealed that the items loaded on one factor that explained 46.9% of the variance. Self- perceived physical attractiveness was measured using four items (e.g., “I am satisfied with the way I look”). Scores ranged from 5 to 20 (M = 13.5, SD = 3.5). Cronbach's alpha was .75. Factor analysis revealed that the items loaded on one factor that explained 58.1% of the variance.

2.2.4. Life satisfaction Life satisfaction was measured using the five-item Satisfaction with

Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). This scale measures global cognitive judgements of satisfaction with the own life, also re- ferred to as happiness or subjective well-being, in a reliable and valid way (Pavot & Diener, 2008). Participants are asked to indicate the de- gree to which they agree with statements such as: “in general I have the feeling that in most ways my life is close to my ideal” on a scale of 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree). The five items were summed to create a total score. Higher scores indicate greater life satisfaction. Scores

ranged between 5 and 25 (M = 16.8, SD = 4.0). Cronbach's alpha was .77. Items loaded on one factor that explained 53.3% of variance.

2.2.5. Control variables Because self-perception, Facebook use, and life satisfaction may de-

pend on development, culture, and gender, we controlled for age (in years), nationality, and gender in all analyses. Age and nationality were reported using open ended-questions. Nationality was later recoded into two dummy variables that assessed whether participants were Bulgarian or Dutch or had another nationality.

3. Results

We first calculated zero-order correlations among the key variables (Table 1). All correlations were in the hypothesized directions. None of the correlations between the variables were higher than .4, which in- dicates the measurement of different constructs. The hypothesized moderated mediation model (Fig. 1) was subsequently tested using Mplus 6 and maximum likelihood estimation. In the model, Facebook use was included as the independent variable, negative social compari- son was included as mediator, and self-perceived social competence and self-perceived physical attractiveness were included as dependent variables (with correlated error terms). Life satisfaction was incorporat- ed as a moderator of the path from Facebook use to negative social comparison. Note that Facebook use and life satisfaction were mean- centered before they were entered into the model to facilitate the interpretation of the results. Finally, negative social comparison, and self-perceived social competence and self-perceived physical attractive- ness were regressed on age, gender, life satisfaction, and the two nation- ality dummies to control for the effects of these covariates. Tests of the indirect effects, which are reported below, are based on bootstrapped and bias-corrected confidence intervals (5000 bootstrap samples). The model has a good fit to the data: χ2(4) = 4.237, p = .375; CFI = .998; RMSEA = .016; SRMR = .015.

H1a predicted that more intense Facebook use would be related to a greater degree of negative social comparison on Facebook. In line with H1a, more intense Facebook use was positively related to negative social

220 D.A. de Vries, R. Kühne / Personality and Individual Differences 86 (2015) 217–221

comparison, B = .144, SE = .024, p = .000. H1b predicted that negative social comparison would be related to more negative self-perceptions. In line with H1b, negative social comparison predicted lower self- perceived social competence, B = −.244, SE = .107, p = .023, and lower self-perceived physical attractiveness, B = −.341, SE = .095, p = .000. Furthermore, we found that self-perceived social competence and self-perceived physical attractiveness are positively associated, r = .184, p = .007.

H1c predicted a negative indirect relationship between Facebook use and self-perception through negative social comparison. The indi- rect relationships between Facebook use and self-perceived social com- petence, B = −.035, SE = .017 (Bt bca 95% CI: −.073/−.005), and physical attractiveness, B = −.049, SE = .015 (Bt bca 95% CI: −.084/−.024), were indeed negative and statistically significant. Importantly, adding two paths between Facebook use and the depen- dent variables to the model showed that there were no residual direct effects of Facebook use on self-perceived social competence, B = .073, SE = .042, p = .084, or on physical attractiveness, B = .038, SE = .043, p = .380. This indicates that the relationship between Facebook use and self-perception was fully mediated by negative social compari- son. These findings support H1c.

H2a predicted that the relationship between Facebook use and neg- ative social comparison would be attenuated among emerging adults who reported higher life satisfaction. In line with H2a, the interaction term between life satisfaction and Facebook use significantly and nega- tively predicted negative social comparison, B = −.016, SE = .006, p = .004. As hypothesized, Facebook use was less strongly related to nega- tive social comparison at higher levels of life satisfaction (i.e., at one standard deviation above the mean, B = .081, SE = .032, p = .012) than at lower levels of life satisfaction (i.e., at one standard deviation below the mean, B = .208, SE = .032, p = .000) and at average levels of life satisfaction (i.e., at the mean, B = .144, SE = .024, p = .000). This interaction pattern is visually depicted in Fig. 2.

H2b predicted that the negative indirect relationship between Facebook use and self-perception would be attenuated among happier individuals. In line with H2b, the negative indirect relationship between Facebook use and self-perceived social competence was weaker at high levels of life satisfaction (i.e., one standard deviation above the mean, B = −.020, SE = .013; Bt bca 95% CI: −.053/−.002) than at low (i.e., at one standard deviation below the mean, B = −.051, SE = .024; Bt bca 95% CI: −.101/−.008) and at average levels (i.e., at the mean, B = −.035, SE = .017; Bt bca 95% CI: −.073/−.005) of life satisfaction. In a similar vein, the negative indirect relationship between Facebook use and self-perceived physical attractiveness was weaker at higher levels of life satisfaction (B = −.028, SE = .013; Bt bca 95% CI: −.061/−.008) than at lower levels (B = −.071, SE = .022; Bt bca 95% CI: −.121/−.035) and at average levels (B = −.049, SE = .015; Bt bca 95% CI: −.084/−.024) of life satisfaction.

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

5.5

6

6.5

7

12.8 18.4 24

N e g

a ti

v e S

o c ia

l C

o m

p a ri

s o

n

Facebook Use

Low LS (Mean -1SD)

Mean LS

High LS (Mean +1 SD)

Fig. 2. Relationships between Facebook use and negative social comparison at different levels of life satisfaction (LS).

Finally, we inspected the effects of the covariates (i.e., age, gender, life satisfaction, and the two dummy variables for nationality). We found a significant effect of age on self-perceived social competence, B = .287, SE = .113, p = .011. Furthermore, life satisfaction was signif- icantly associated with self-perceived social competence, B = .213, SE = .069, p = .002, and self-perceived physical attractiveness, B = .251, SE = .055, p = .000. Because our sample includes participants with different nationalities, it was particularly important to assess whether nationality affected the results. However, participants' nation- ality did not influence any of the variables in the model. Including the nationality dummies as additional moderators in the models did not yield any significant findings either. Thus, the processes identified above were not affected by nationality.2

4. Discussion and conclusions

Previous research has shown that SNS use is positively related to well-being through social interactions (Valkenburg et al., 2006). With regard to social interaction on Facebook, a poor-get-richer effect is seen in which emerging adults who are less satisfied with their lives benefit most from Facebook use in terms of increased social capital (Ellison et al., 2007). The results of the current study, however, shed light on an additional but contrasting route through which SNS use can harm well-being in a poor-get-poorer manner. Namely, the current study shows that SNS use is related to more negative self-perception through negative social comparison. These negative relationships were strongest among those emerging adults who were unhappier. Negative self-perceptions are negatively related to well-being (Diener & Diener, 1995; Orth et al., 2008; Swann et al., 2007). Therefore, Facebook use may negatively impact youth's well-being by stimulating negative social comparison and fostering negative self-perception, es- pecially among those emerging adults who are already unhappy.

Together, previous research and the current study thus suggest that SNS use can impact self-perceptions and well-being in positive and neg- ative ways through different routes. Which route is stronger likely de- pends on the individual user and the activities engaged in on the website. When engaging in social interaction, the positive effects through social capital and positive feedback are more likely. In contrast, looking at the posts of others may have negative effects on well-being through social comparison. The current study did not distinguish be- tween these active and passive SNS activities, as it investigated general Facebook use. Furthermore, we do not know how the two contrasting routes weigh up against each other, as the current study did not mea- sure social interaction. Future research should identify which SNS activ- ities are related to which of these (and potential additional) processes in order to understand the net effect of SNS use on well-being resulting from different combinations of SNS activities.

Our analyses showed that nationality of the participants did not have any effect on negative social comparison or on self-perception. Nei- ther did nationality function as a moderator and influence the size or di- rection of any effect. Still, the moderate sample size, especially of the subsamples that were not Bulgarian, and the heterogeneous nature of our sample are limitations. We thus suggest replications of this study in different cultural contexts and with larger samples. This would not only help to address these limitations, but also offer an opportunity to check whether our findings generalize to other countries and age groups.

Due to the cross-sectional nature of this study, we cannot be sure whether SNS use impacts self-perception through social comparison, whether the effect is in the opposite direction, or if it is explained by a

2 Because the majority of the participants were from Bulgaria, we also estimated a mod- el with only the Bulgarian cases (n = 179). Because all cases are from the same country, the two nationality variables were not included in this model. This alternative model has a good fit to the data: χ2(4) = 3.589, p = .465; CFI = 1.000; RMSEA = .000; SRMR = .019. More important, we found exactly the same results with regard to the hypotheses.

221D.A. de Vries, R. Kühne / Personality and Individual Differences 86 (2015) 217–221

third factor. However, the current explanation of the relationships is in line with social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954). Furthermore, ex- perimental evidence has shown that looking at people who are doing well on Facebook can indeed cause negative effects on self-perception (Haferkamp & Krämer, 2011). The current correlational study builds on this work by showing that Facebook use indeed goes hand in hand with such negative social comparisons in real life; that SNS use is nega- tively related to self-perceptions through this negative social compari- son; and that these negative relationships are strongest among people who are unhappy.

In summary, the current study advances our knowledge firstly about the different manners in which SNS use can impact self-perception and secondly about what groups of young people are particularly affected by SNS use. In this way, the current study is another step in the develop- ment of a comprehensive model that predicts and explains whose self-perception and well-being is influenced by which social media ac- tivities in what way. This knowledge is vital if we want to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of social media for the well-being of young people.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Eva Ahmedova and Marije Mulders for their roles in data collection.

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