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Body Image 13 (2015) 38–45

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Body Image

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / b o d y i m a g e

ocial comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young omen’s body image concerns and mood

asmine Fardouly a,∗, Phillippa C. Diedrichs b, Lenny R. Vartanian a, Emma Halliwell b

School of Psychology, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia Centre for Appearance Research, University of the West of England, Frenchay Campus, Coldhardour Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY, United Kingdom

r t i c l e i n f o

rticle history: eceived 4 July 2014 eceived in revised form 8 November 2014 ccepted 4 December 2014

eywords:

a b s t r a c t

The present study experimentally investigated the effect of Facebook usage on women’s mood and body image, whether these effects differ from an online fashion magazine, and whether appearance compar- ison tendency moderates any of these effects. Female participants (N = 112) were randomly assigned to spend 10 min browsing their Facebook account, a magazine website, or an appearance-neutral control website before completing state measures of mood, body dissatisfaction, and appearance discrepancies (weight-related, and face, hair, and skin-related). Participants also completed a trait measure of appear-

acebook ocial media agazine

ppearance-related social comparison ody image concerns

ance comparison tendency. Participants who spent time on Facebook reported being in a more negative mood than those who spent time on the control website. Furthermore, women high in appearance com- parison tendency reported more facial, hair, and skin-related discrepancies after Facebook exposure than exposure to the control website. Given its popularity, more research is needed to better understand the impact that Facebook has on appearance concerns.

ood

Introduction

The use of social media is pervasive and growing rapidly world- ide. Facebook is the most popular social media platform, currently ith over 1.3 billion regular users (Facebook, 2014). Social media se is particularly popular among young women (Kimbrough, uadagno, Muscanell, & Dill, 2013; Muscanell & Guadagno, 2012),

demographic for which body dissatisfaction (i.e., dissatisfaction ith one’s current physical self) is also particularly problematic

Bearman, Martinez, Stice, & Presnell, 2006; Ricciardelli & McCabe, 001). Existing research has demonstrated a positive correlation etween Facebook usage and body dissatisfaction (Fardouly & artanian, 2015; Tiggemann & Miller, 2010; Tiggemann & Slater, 013, 2014), but there is currently no theoretically-driven experi- ental research examining Facebook’s impact on young women’s

ody image concerns. Social comparison theory proposes that people have a drive

o evaluate their progress and standing on various aspects of heir lives and, in the absence of objective standards, people com- are themselves to others to know where they stand (Festinger,

∗ Corresponding author at: School of Psychology, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 052, Australia. Tel.: +61 2 9385 8758.

E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J. Fardouly), [email protected] (P.C. Diedrichs), [email protected] L.R. Vartanian), [email protected] (E. Halliwell).

ttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.12.002 740-1445/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1954). According to sociocultural models of body image and dis- ordered eating, body dissatisfaction can develop when women repeatedly compare their own appearance to the appearance of others (Keery, van den Berg, & Thompson, 2004; van den Berg, Thompson, Obremski-Brandon, & Coovert, 2002; Vartanian & Dey, 2013). Indeed, research shows that women regularly evaluate their appearance by comparing themselves to others (Leahey, Crowther, & Mickelson, 2007), and that a greater tendency to engage in appearance comparisons is associated with a high level of body dis- satisfaction (Keery et al., 2004; Myers & Crowther, 2009; van den Berg, Thompson, Obremski-Brandon, & Coovert, 2002; Vartanian & Dey, 2013).

Given that 10 million new photographs are uploaded to Face- book every hour (Mayer-Schönberger & Cukier, 2013), Facebook provides women with a medium for frequently engaging in appearance-related social comparisons, and can therefore poten- tially contribute to body image concerns among young women. Thus, the present study experimentally investigated the impact of exposure to Facebook on young adult women’s body image and mood. We also tested whether women’s tendency to make appearance-related social comparisons moderates any effects of exposure.

Facebook Usage

The majority of experimental research in the body image and appearance-related social comparison literature has investigated

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he influence of exposure to idealized bodies in traditional forms f media, such as magazines, television, and music videos on oung women’s body dissatisfaction (Myers & Crowther, 2009). his research has found that exposure to the thin ideal is asso- iated with more negative body image among girls and women Grabe, Ward, & Hyde, 2008; Groesz, Levine, & Murnen, 2002). How- ver, more recent research suggests that the popularity of these edia types is being overtaken by the popularity and availabil-

ty of more interactive media such as the Internet, particularly mong adolescents (Bell & Dittmar, 2011; Tiggemann & Miller, 010). In the Australian 2013 student census, social networking ites, such as Facebook, were the most common use of the Inter- et for female high school students (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 013). In Australia, 87% of Internet users in the 15–24 years age roup report engaging in social networking (Australian Bureau of tatistics, 2011). Similarly, 90% of 16–24 year olds in the United ingdom (Office for National Statistics, 2013), and 90% of 18–29 ear olds in the United States (Pew Research, 2013a), use social etworking websites. Although there has been some suggestion hat Facebook usage is declining among young people, there is o publically available data to support these assertions. Facebook ontinues to be the most popular social media platform with a rowing membership (Pew Research, 2013b), and young women eport spending around two hours per day on Facebook (Fardouly

Vartanian, 2015; Tiggemann & Slater, 2013). Facebook allows users to create public or semi-public personal

rofiles, and to customize their pages with photos and informa- ion about themselves. Like magazine images which are edited nd often “enhanced” before publication, Facebook users are also ble to edit images before uploading them to Facebook and are ble to closely monitor their self-presentation in order to present n idealized or “hoped for possible” version of the self (Manago, raham, Greenfield, & Salimkhan, 2008; Zhao, Grasmuck, & Martin, 008). Importantly, just as with exposure to idealized images in the edia, viewing one’s own or other people’s idealized images and

rofiles on Facebook could have a negative impact on women’s elf-evaluations and overall well-being. Further contributing to his concern is the fact that women have reported viewing other eople’s Facebook profiles in order to make comparisons to those

ndividuals (Haferkamp, Eimler, Papadakis, & Kruck, 2012). Indeed, ne study found that participants who spend more time on Face- ook believe that others are happier and have better lives than hemselves, especially when the participants had a greater num- er of Facebook “friends” that they do not know personally (Chou

Edge, 2012). Finally, Facebook contains additional elements that ould impact people’s body image concerns, such as comments osted by other people.

mpact of Media Exposure

Several correlational studies have investigated the association etween Facebook usage and young women’s body image con- erns. Pre-teenage girls (Tiggemann & Slater, 2014) and female high chool students (Meier & Gray, 2014; Tiggemann & Slater, 2013) ho were Facebook users reported more body image concerns

han did non-users. In addition, more time spent on Facebook was ssociated with greater body image concerns among pre-teenage irls (Tiggemann & Slater, 2014), female high school students Tiggemann & Miller, 2010; Tiggemann & Slater, 2013), and female niversity students (Fardouly & Vartanian, 2015). Furthermore, in a

ongitudinal study of female university students, maladaptive Face- ook usage (which included seeking negative social evaluations and

aking general social comparisons) was associated with increased

ody dissatisfaction four weeks later, and body dissatisfaction as found to mediate the relationship between maladaptive Face-

ook usage and increases in overeating (Smith, Hames, & Joiner,

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2013). These studies provide some initial evidence linking Face- book usage with body dissatisfaction in young women. However, because these studies are all correlational, the causal association between Facebook and body dissatisfaction is still unknown. Exper- imental research is therefore needed to determine the direction of the relationship between Facebook usage and body image concerns.

Only one previous study has experimentally investigated the impact of Facebook on one aspect of women’s body image (Mabe, Forney, & Keel, 2014). In this study, weight and shape preoccu- pation decreased among women who were exposed to Facebook; however, it also decreased among those who were exposed to a neutral website. Because the decrease in weight and shape preoc- cupation was greater for participants exposed to a control website than for participants exposed to Facebook, the authors concluded that Facebook usage maintains women’s preoccupation with their weight and shape compared to other Internet activity (Mabe et al., 2014). Further theoretically-driven experimental research is still needed to establish the causal impact of exposure to Facebook on evaluative aspects of body image, including body dissatisfaction and dissatisfaction with particular aspects of appearance.

Previous experimental research has found that exposure to more traditional types of media, such as magazines, can increase body image concerns in young women (Groesz et al., 2002; Halliwell, Malson, & Tischner, 2011; Knobloch-Westerwick & Crane, 2012; Tiggemann & McGill, 2004; Tiggemann & Polivy, 2010). Most previous research on magazine exposure has presented participants with a static image or advertisement of a thin-ideal model or celebrity before asking them to rate their state body dis- satisfaction (Myers & Crowther, 2009). Given that young women are now turning to Internet sources rather than print media (Bell & Dittmar, 2011; Tiggemann & Miller, 2010), and given that people are able to be more selective with the content viewed online, it is also important to examine the effect that this medium is having on women’s body image.

In addition to its impact on body dissatisfaction, exposure to thin-ideal media (e.g., magazines) also leads to more negative mood (Harper & Tiggemann, 2008; Tiggemann & McGill, 2004). Simi- larly, one study found that spending 20 min on Facebook lead to more negative mood than did browsing the Internet in general (not including social networking sites) or spending no time online (Sagioglou & Greitemeyer, 2014). Facebook itself, quite contro- versially, manipulated users’ newsfeeds and found that reducing the percentage of positive content posted by others resulted in users themselves posting less positive content (Kramer, Guillory, & Hancock, 2014), perhaps because they were also in a more nega- tive mood. Taken together, these studies suggest that exposure to Facebook can potentially influence people’s mood as well as their body image concerns.

Comparison Targets

One difference between images on Facebook and images in mag- azines is the type of comparison targets they contain. Magazines generally feature images of models and celebrities whereas Face- book mainly features images of one’s peers (Hew, 2011). Similar to the effect of exposure to images of thin-ideal models and celebri- ties (Halliwell & Dittmar, 2004; Halliwell et al., 2011; Hargreaves & Tiggemann, 2004), exposure to peers who closely match the thin ideal has been found to increase women’s body dissatisfaction (Krones, Stice, Batres, & Orjada, 2005). Some research examining the impact of appearance comparisons to these different target groups has shown that comparisons to peers and models can lead

to different outcomes in regard to women’s body image concerns, perhaps because the appearance of peers is seen to be more per- sonally attainable than the appearance of models or celebrities due to the similar resources and lifestyle that peers often have

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o oneself. However, the findings in the area are mixed (Carey, onaghue, & Broderick, 2013; Leahey & Crowther, 2008; Ridolfi, yers, Crowther, & Ciesla, 2011; Schutz, Paxton, & Wertheim,

002), and a meta-analysis of research on appearance comparisons nd body dissatisfaction found no significant difference between he effects of comparisons to peers or thin-ideal media images on omen’s body dissatisfaction (Myers & Crowther, 2009).

ace, Hair, and Skin Comparisons

The increasing use of social networking sites may also be hanging what components of appearance are salient during the ppearance comparison process. Whereas traditional media forms ave focused primarily on the body, women have been found to pload more portrait pictures than full-bodied pictures to their acebook profiles (Haferkamp et al., 2012), which would in turn rovide women with more opportunities to make face, skin, and air-related comparisons than body comparisons. Because more

requent facial comparisons may lead to more dissatisfaction with ne’s facial features, it is important to consider the potential impact f Facebook on broader appearance constructs beyond just weight- elated body dissatisfaction. Indeed, research suggests that facial eatures, skin, and hair are also important aspects of attractive- ess for women (Adams, 1977; Confer, Perilloux, & Buss, 2010; assebrauck, 1998; Jones, 2001; Tucker, 1985) and can be a basis for

ocial comparison (Jones, 2001; Newton & Minhas, 2005; Richins, 991).

oderation by Appearance Comparison Tendency

Another important consideration from previous research is that xposure effects of traditional media on women’s body image seem o be influenced by certain individual difference factors; that is, ot everyone is equally affected by exposure to media images. The endency to engage in appearance-related social comparisons has een found to influence the relationship between exposure to tradi- ional media and women’s body dissatisfaction (Keery et al., 2004; an den Berg et al., 2002; Vartanian & Dey, 2013). Specifically, omen who more frequently compare their appearance to others

re also more negatively affected by exposure to the media, rela- ive to women who do not make as many appearance comparisons Dittmar & Howard, 2004). Therefore, it is important to also con- ider how women’s appearance comparison tendency moderates heir reactions to Facebook.

he Present Study

The overall aims of the present study are to: (a) investigate he immediate effect of Facebook usage on women’s state mood, ody dissatisfaction, weight and shape discrepancy (i.e., the extent o which participants want to change specific aspects of their eight and shape), and face, hair, and skin-related discrepancy

i.e., the extent to which participants want to change specific spects of their facial features, hair, or skin); (b) investigate whether his effect differs from the use of an online fashion magazine r an appearance-neutral website; and (c) investigate whether rait appearance comparison tendency moderates these effects. We ypothesized that brief exposure to Facebook would lead to more egative mood, body dissatisfaction, weight and shape discrepancy, nd face, hair, and skin-related discrepancy than would exposure o an appearance-neutral control website. Similarly, we hypothe- ized that exposure to an online fashion magazine would lead to

ore negative mood, body dissatisfaction, weight and shape dis-

repancy, and face, hair, and skin-related discrepancy than would xposure to an appearance-neutral control website. Given that no revious research has examined the difference between exposure

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to Facebook vs. a magazine (online or in print), and given that pre- vious research on comparisons to peers and models is mixed (Carey et al., 2013; Leahey & Crowther, 2008; Ridolfi et al., 2011; Schutz et al., 2002), no specific hypotheses were made regarding Facebook vs. the online fashion magazine. Finally, appearance comparison tendency was predicted to moderate the relationship between exposure to an assigned website (Facebook, online fashion mag- azine, control) and state negative mood, body dissatisfaction, and appearance discrepancies.

Method

Design

This was a two-part study with a between-participants experi- mental design. At Time 1, participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions in which they were asked to browse one of the following websites for 10 min: their own Facebook account (n = 38; all participants had their own Facebook account), a fashion magazine website (n = 36), or an appearance-neutral control web- site (n = 38). Participants completed pre- and post-exposure state measures of negative mood and body dissatisfaction and a post- exposure state measure of appearance-discrepancy. One week later (Time 2), participants completed an online survey containing a trait measure of appearance comparison tendency.

Participants

Participants (N = 112) were female students and staff members aged between 17 and 25 years (M = 20.46, SD = 1.71) from a univer- sity in the United Kingdom. Participants’ mean body mass index (BMI: kg/m2) was 23.40 (SD = 4.18). The majority of the partici- pants identified as White (n = 84; 75%), 11 as Asian (9.8%), eight as Black (7.1%), four as mixed race (3.6%), and four as “other” (3.6%); ethnicity information was missing for two women. Partici- pants were recruited for a study on “Media Use and Memory.” They were recruited through the university psychology student partic- ipant pool and given course credit for their participation (n = 45), or were recruited through flyers posted around the university and paid 10 GBP for their participation (n = 67). There was no difference in age (p = .461) or BMI (p = .753) for participants assigned to each condition.

Materials

Pilot study. A pilot study was conducted to ensure that the websites used in each condition were equally engaging and to ensure that there were the same opportunities to make appear- ance comparisons on the magazine website as on Facebook. Eleven female volunteers made ratings of their Facebook accounts (in gen- eral, not just their own profile page) and four popular websites (candidate websites to be used in the magazine and control con- ditions) on measures of website engagement (including ratings of website interest and enjoyment) and image percentage (e.g., per- centage of images on each website as opposed to text). (Although demographic details were not collected from the volunteers, they were drawn from the same population as the sample for the main study, and would therefore be similar in age and ethnicity.) Of the piloted websites, the UK Cosmopolitan magazine website (www.cosmopolitan.co.uk) was chosen for the fashion magazine condition, and a home craft website (www.hearthandmade.co.uk) was chosen for the appearance-neutral control condition.

There were no pairwise comparison differences between Face- book (M = 3.42, SD = 0.52), the Cosmopolitan website (M = 2.97, SD = 0.66), or the home craft website (M = 2.52, SD = 1.04), on a combined rating of engagement, interest, and enjoyment (1 = not

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t all, 4 = very much; ps > .05). Similarly, there were no pairwise omparison differences between Facebook (M = 67.27, SD = 11.91), he Cosmopolitan website (M = 60.00, SD = 17.32), or the home raft website (M = 75.45, SD = 11.28), on a rating of website image ercentage (as opposed to text; ps > .05). Furthermore, Facebook 83%) and the Cosmopolitan website (84%) did not differ in the ercentage of images containing people (p = .858), but both had ignificantly more images containing people than did the control ebsite (7%, ps < .001). Therefore, both Facebook and the fashion agazine website provided equal opportunities to make appear-

nce comparisons, whereas participants in the control condition ad little opportunity to make appearance comparisons. Partici- ants were also asked “What sort of women do you think featured

n the images on the website?” For the magazine website, all of the ilot participants (100%) indicated that it featured images of mod- ls or celebrities; for Facebook, all of the pilot participants (100%) ndicated that it featured images of their peers. (Note that, although articipants reported that Facebook mainly featured images of their eers, Facebook can also contain images of other potential tar- ets of appearance-based comparisons, such as celebrities or family embers; Fardouly & Vartanian, 2015.) Finally, participants were asked “How long do you think you

ould spend on the website whilst staying entertained?” for which articipants were provided with an open-ended response. On aver- ge, participants reported that they could spend around 30 min on acebook (M = 30.45, SD = 14.74), around 30 min on the magazine ebsite (M = 30.91, SD = 21.42), and around 15 min on the control ebsite (M = 15.00, SD = 13.37). In order to maintain consistency

cross conditions and to minimize the likelihood that participants ould lose interest in the task, we selected 10 min as the amount of

ime that participants would spend browsing their assigned web- ite.

State mood and body dissatisfaction. Following previous edia exposure studies (Heinberg & Thompson, 1995; Prichard

Tiggemann, 2012; Tiggemann & Slater, 2003), computer based isual analog scales (VAS) were used to measure state negative ood and body dissatisfaction both before and immediately after

rowsing the assigned website. Participants were asked to rate how hey feel “right now” by moving a vertical marker to the appropriate lace on a horizontal line with endpoints labeled “not at all” (0) and very much” (100). Participants rated the items depressed, anxious, ngry, confident (reverse coded), and happy (reverse coded), which ere combined to form an overall measure of negative mood (Cron-

ach’s ̨ = .71), and the items physically attractive (reverse coded), at, and satisfied with your body size and shape (reverse coded), which

ere combined to form a measure of state body dissatisfaction Cronbach’s ̨ = .74). Previous research has shown VAS to be a reli- ble measure of changes in mood and body dissatisfaction among ollege women (Heinberg & Thompson, 1995). To further disguise he purpose of the study and reduce the salience of the body related uestions, participants also reported on their satisfaction with their omantic relationship, satisfaction with their financial status, satis- action with their housing situation, and satisfaction with their social ife.

State appearance-discrepancy. The state version of the Self- iscrepancy Index (SDI; Dittmar, Beattie, & Friese, 1996; Halliwell

Dittmar, 2006) was used to measure weight and shape-related ppearance discrepancy as well as face, hair, and skin-related ppearance discrepancy. The SDI is an unobtrusive measure used o reduce demand characteristics previously found to be associ-

ted with experimental research examining exposure effects (Mills, olivy, Herman, & Tiggemann, 2002). Participants were asked to escribe three aspects of themselves that they would ideally like o change right now. For each aspect reported, on 5-point scales

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participants were asked to rate how different they would like to be from what they actually are (magnitude; 1 = a little differ- ent, 5 = extremely different), and to indicate how important this difference is to them (psychological salience; 1 = not important, 5 = extremely important). The reported aspects were coded as weight and shape-related appearance if they explicitly referred to weight, body size or shape (e.g., “flatter stomach,” “thinner arms,” and “bigger breasts”), and were coded as face, hair, and skin-related appearance if they explicitly referred to aspects of the face, hair, or skin (e.g., “better complexion,” “longer and thicker hair,” and “level of tan”). Two independent raters (the first author and a research assistant) coded the responses for weight and shape- related and face, hair, and skin-related appearance discrepancies with a high level of inter-rater agreement (Kappa = .98). Any incon- gruities between raters were agreed upon after a discussion. For any weight and shape-related statement and face, hair and skin- related appearance statement, the magnitude and salience ratings were multiplied and then summed for each individual, giving a sin- gle score for each measure that ranged from 0 to 75, with higher scores indicating greater state weight and shape-related discrep- ancy or face, hair, and skin-related appearance discrepancy. The SDI has been validated in previous research with college women (e.g., Halliwell & Dittmar, 2006).

Trait appearance comparison tendency. The Upward and Downward Appearance Comparison Scale (UPACS/DACS; O’Brien et al., 2009) was used to measure participants’ tendency to compare their overall appearance with that of others. Participants indicated their level of agreement on a 5-point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) with 18 statements on comparisons to people who look better (upward comparison) or worse (downward com- parison) than themselves, such as “when I see good-looking people I wonder how I compare to them” and “I compare myself to peo- ple less good looking than me.” The UPACS/DACS has good internal consistency and construct validity among college women (O’Brien et al., 2009). Previous research has found that the upward appear- ance comparison and downward appearance comparison subscales of the UPACS/DACS are strongly and positively correlated with each other and with measures of body image concerns among college women (O’Brien et al., 2009; Vartanian & Dey, 2013). In addition, in the present study, the pattern of moderation was identical for upward and downward comparisons when analyzed separately. Given these findings, the UPACS and DACS were combined to form an overall appearance comparison tendency measure in the present study. Reliability of the combined measure in the present study was high (Cronbach’s ̨ = .92).

Procedure

Participants were told that the study was an investigation into the influence of media use on memory. For Part 1 of the study, par- ticipants came into the laboratory and were tested in individual rooms. To add to the cover story and to reduce suspicion about pre- and post-exposure measures, participants were informed that they would be asked to report on their mood throughout the experiment because mood had previously been found to influence memory. After providing informed consent, participants completed the pre-exposure state VAS measure of negative mood and body dissatisfaction on the computer. They were then asked to browse their assigned website for 10 min. Participants were told they could view whatever they like on their assigned website but that they should not visit any other websites. Note that in order to

capture naturalistic viewing and maintain ecological validity, par- ticipants in the Facebook condition were asked to log into their Facebook account and browse Facebook in general, but they were not instructed to only view their own or certain people’s Facebook

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Weight and Shape Discrepancy

Main effects of condition. Condition contrasts accounted for a significant 6% of variance in weight and shape discrepancy ratings

Table 1 Mean (SD) ratings for post-exposure measures by condition.

Facebook Magazine Control

Negative Mood 31.24 (18.57) 27.48 (14.37) 20.38 (12.28) Body Dissatisfaction 45.53 (16.93) 50.05 (19.84) 45.04 (21.58)

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rofiles. Therefore, just like the magazine and control conditions, articipants in the Facebook condition could view whatever con- ent they wanted as long as they stayed on their assigned website. fter browsing their assigned website for 10 min, participants com- leted the post-exposure state VAS measures of negative mood and ody dissatisfaction, as well as the state appearance-discrepancy easure. In keeping with our cover story, participants were then

sked to complete a brief memory task on the computer in which hey were shown a list of 30 words (which were not appearance- elated) for 30 s and then asked to write down as many words as hey could remember from the list. After completing the memory est, participants again completed the state VAS measure to bol- ter the cover story. The Internet search history was viewed on the omputer after each participant to ensure that they spent the 10- in exposure time on their assigned website only (all participants

omplied with the instructions). For Part 2 of the study, participants were sent an email message

ne week after completion of Part 1 with a link to an online survey ontaining the trait measure of appearance comparison tendency, ome filler questionnaires, and a demographics questionnaire ask- ng them to report their age, ethnicity, and height and weight (used o calculate their BMI). In keeping with the cover story, participants ere also asked to report on what they remember the study being

bout, were once again asked to write down as many words they ould remember from the word list that they studied in Part 1 of the tudy, and completed memory-related questionnaires. Participants ere debriefed on completion of the study.

tatistical Analyses

Univariate analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted to est whether participants randomly assigned to each website expo- ure condition (Facebook, online magazine, control) varied on any re-exposure VAS state measure or trait comparison tendency easure. Participants in each condition did not differ on the trait easure of comparison tendency, F(2, 99) = 1.61, p = .205, on the

re-exposure VAS state measures of negative mood, F(2, 71) = 1.27, = .206, or on state body dissatisfaction, F(2, 71) = 0.02, p = .766. ecause pre-exposure VAS measures did not differ between con- itions, all further analyses were conducted on post-exposure easures only. Hierarchical moderated multiple regression analyses were con-

ucted to investigate the impact of website exposure (Facebook, nline magazine, control) on state negative mood, body dissatisfac- ion, weight and shape discrepancy, and face, hair, and skin-related ppearance discrepancy, and to investigate the potential modera- ion of trait comparison tendency. Website conditions were dummy oded into orthogonal contrasts and entered at Step 1, followed y mean-centered scores for comparison tendency (potential mod- rator) entered at Step 2. Finally, interaction terms between each f the website condition contrasts and comparison tendency were ntered at Step 3. Each of the regression analyses was structured n the same way, but differed at Steps 1 and 3, with different

ebsite contrasts (either Facebook as the comparison condition or he control website as the comparison condition) and correspond- ng interaction terms entered to allow for comparisons between ll of the website conditions. Specifically, in the first regression nalysis, the control condition was nominated as the comparison roup for the contrasts, to allow for the examination of differences etween exposure to Facebook and exposure to the control website, nd exposure to the online fashion magazine and exposure to the ontrol condition on women’s state negative mood, body dissat-

sfaction and appearance discrepancies. In the second regression nalysis, the contrasts were restructured with the Facebook con- ition as the comparison condition, to allow for the examination f differences between exposure to Facebook and exposure to the

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online fashion magazine. Because the direct effect of conditions and potential moderation of comparison tendency are of interest to the present study, only main effects of condition contrasts and interac- tion terms are reported. In all cases, the pattern of results did not change when controlling for participants’ BMI, therefore BMI was not included in the regressions. Missing data were handled with pairwise deletion. The only variable with a substantial amount of missing data was post-exposure negative mood (the results for this measure should be interpreted with caution).

Results

Negative Mood

Main effects of condition. At Step 1 of the hierarchical MRA, the overall model was significant, F(2, 67) = 3.18, p = .048, and the condition contrasts explained 9% of the variance in negative mood. Consistent with our hypothesis, the contrast between the Facebook and control conditions was a significant predictor of negative mood,

̌ = .34, t(67) = 2.51, p = .013. Specifically, after exposure to their assigned website, participants in the Facebook condition reported being in a more negative mood than did participants in the con- trol condition (see Table 1). No other condition contrast predicted negative mood ratings.

Moderation by comparison tendency. Trait appearance com- parison tendency did not moderate the relationship between website conditions and negative mood. At Step 3, interaction terms between comparison tendency and condition contrasts accounted for less than 1% of further variance in negative mood, �F(2, 62) = 0.02, p = .976. Therefore, we did not find support for our hypothesis that trait appearance comparison tendency would moderate the relationship between exposure condition and state negative mood.

Body Dissatisfaction

Main effects of condition. Contrary to our hypotheses that Facebook usage and magazine usage would lead to greater body dis- satisfaction, there was no main effect of condition on post-exposure body dissatisfaction ratings. The overall regression model at Step 1 was not significant, F(2, 90) = 0.68, p = .512, with condition contrasts accounting for only 1% of variance in body dissatisfaction.

Moderation by comparison tendency. Inconsistent with our hypothesis, comparison tendency did not moderate the rela- tionship between website conditions and post-exposure body dissatisfaction. Interaction terms at Step 3 between comparison tendency and condition contrasts accounted for less than 1% of further variance in body dissatisfaction, �F(2, 87) = 0.08, p = .924.

Weight and Shape Discrepancy

8.58 (7.53) 10.97 (11.78) 6.16 (7.43)

Face, Hair, and Skin Discrepancy

5.37 (8.39) 5.19 (7.07) 2.63 (5.50)

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t Step 1, F(2, 99) = 3.23, p = .044. Consistent with our hypothesis, he contrast between the magazine and control conditions signif- cantly predicted ratings of weight and shape discrepancy, ̌ = .28, (99) = 2.54, p = .013. Specifically, participants in the online fashion

agazine condition reported more weight and shape discrepancy fter exposure to their assigned website than did participants in he control condition (see Table 1). Contrary to our hypothesis, the ontrast between the Facebook and control conditions was not a ignificant predictor of weight and shape discrepancy. There was lso no significant difference between the magazine and Facebook onditions.

Moderation by comparison tendency. Comparison tendency id not moderate the relationship between website conditions and eight and shape discrepancy. At Step 3, interaction terms between

omparison tendency and condition contrasts accounted for a non- ignificant 2% of further variance in weight and shape discrepancy, F(2, 96) = 1.20, p = .306. Therefore, we did not find support for our

ypothesis that appearance comparison tendency would moderate he relationship between exposure condition and state weight and hape discrepancy.

ace, Hair, and Skin Discrepancy

Main effects of condition. There was no main effect of condi- ion on face, hair, and skin-related discrepancy. At Step 1, the overall egression model was not significant, F(2, 99) = 1.67, p = .194, with ondition contrasts accounting for only 3% of variance in face, hair, nd skin-related discrepancy ratings. Therefore, contrary to our ypotheses, brief exposure to Facebook or the fashion magazine ebsite did not impact women’s face, hair, and skin discrepancy

verall.

Moderation by comparison tendency. At Step 3, interaction erms between comparison tendency and condition contrasts sig- ificantly account for 6% of further variance in face, hair, and kin-related discrepancy, �F(2, 96) = 3.25, p = .043. In support of ur hypothesis, the interaction between comparison tendency and he contrast between the Facebook and control conditions was

significant predictor of face, hair, and skin-related discrepan- ies, ̌ = .36, t(96) = 2.53, p = .013. Simple slopes for the association etween exposure to Facebook and the control website and face, air, and skin-related discrepancy were tested for low (−1 SD below

ean) and high (+1 SD above mean) comparison tendency. The

imple slope was significant for high comparison tendency, ̌ = .47, = .007, but not for low comparison tendency, ̌ = −.12, p = .419 (see ig. 1). Thus, for women who are high in comparison tendency,

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Control Facebook

Fa ce

, H ai

r, a

nd S

ki n

D is

cr ep

an cy

Condition

Low Com parison High Comparison

ig. 1. Simple slopes for face, hair, and skin-related discrepancy when exposed to acebook or the control website at low and high comparison tendency.

ge 13 (2015) 38–45 43

spending time on Facebook led to more face, hair, and skin-related discrepancy than did spending time on the control website. No other interaction terms were significant predictors of face, hair, and skin-related discrepancy.

Discussion

The aims of this study were to: (a) investigate the effect of Face- book on young women’s mood, body dissatisfaction, weight and shape discrepancies and face, hair, and skin-related discrepancies; (b) investigate if the effect of Facebook differed from the influence of an online fashion magazine; and (c) investigate if appearance comparison tendency moderated this effect. We found that women reported being in a more negative mood after brief exposure to Facebook than after exposure to an appearance-neutral website, and that for women who are high in appearance comparison ten- dency, spending time on Facebook lead to greater face, hair and skin-related discrepancies. The finding that exposure to Facebook induced a more negative mood in young women is consistent with previous research showing that brief exposure to Facebook led to more negative mood for both men and women (Sagioglou & Greitemeyer, 2014). One possible reason for these findings is that Facebook provides women with a means for comparing themselves on a broad range of dimensions (beyond just appearance), such as social status and life experiences. For example, similar to the find- ings of Chou and Edge (2012), women may be judging others on Facebook to be happier or have better lives than them, which in turn could induce a more negative mood.

Contrary to the suggestions of previous correlational research (Fardouly & Vartanian, 2015; Smith et al., 2013; Tiggemann & Miller, 2010; Tiggemann & Slater, 2013, 2014), exposure to Face- book in an experimental setting did not have a direct effect on young women’s satisfaction with their body, or on their desire to change their weight and shape. However, for women who tend to make more appearance comparisons, Facebook usage was related to a greater desire to change their face, hair, and skin-related features. These results show that, when it comes to their appear- ance concerns, not all women are equally affected by exposure to Facebook. Consistent with previous studies using more traditional media types (Keery et al., 2004; van den Berg et al., 2002; Vartanian & Dey, 2013), it is specifically women who have a greater ten- dency to make appearance comparisons to others who desires to change their face, hair, and skin-related appearance after viewing Facebook.

The finding that Facebook exposure was associated with face, hair, and skin-related concerns but not weight-related body dis- satisfaction may be due to the fact that there are more portrait images available on Facebook (Haferkamp et al., 2012), thus mak- ing comparisons of facial features, skin, and hair more common than body-related comparisons. Another possible reason for the null effects on weight-related body dissatisfaction in the Facebook condition is that there may be images of a wider range of body types available for comparison on Facebook than in fashion magazines. Further research is needed to determine why face, hair, and skin- related features are salient aspects of appearance on Facebook and to test whether women who are higher in trait appearance compar- ison pay attention to different aspects of appearance on Facebook compared to women lower in trait appearance comparison.

Consistent with previous research on magazine exposure (Halliwell et al., 2011; Knobloch-Westerwick & Crane, 2012; Tiggemann & McGill, 2004; Tiggemann & Polivy, 2010), in the

present study exposure to the online fashion magazine website led to more weight and shape discrepancy in women. Most pre- vious research on magazine exposure has presented women with a static image or advertisement of a model or celebrity extracted

4 dy Ima

f r m N d t d t b b i s

b t c e s 1 s o e e o p o l a b f t c e I c t

i p a i a i i e i m

t d g t t p r ( b s b

t m

+

4 J. Fardouly et al. / Bo

rom a magazine, and the present study therefore extends this past esearch by demonstrating similar effects in an online magazine edium that did not restrict the content viewed by participants. ote that there was a significant main effect for the magazine con- ition on the weight and shape discrepancy measure but not on he VAS body dissatisfaction measure. This may be because the iscrepancy measure allowed women to specify the exact part of heir body that they wanted to change (e.g., thinner legs, bigger reasts), whereas the VAS body dissatisfaction measure contained roader more global categories of body dissatisfaction (e.g., phys-

cally attractive, fat), which may not have captured participants’ pecific concerns.

There are some limitations to the present study that should e noted. First, because there is limited experimental research on he impact of Facebook usage on young women’s body image con- erns, as a first step we wanted to maintain naturalistic viewing and cological validity, and therefore did not constrain or monitor the pecific elements of Facebook that participants viewed during their 0 min browsing time (e.g., pictures of friends, status updates). If ome participants were viewing images of themselves or peers and thers were reading status updates, this may have muddied our ffects. In addition, because people can “follow” a variety of differ- nt organizations, news sites, or fan pages on Facebook, the content f participants’ newsfeeds and the percentage of posts from their eers on their newsfeeds may vary widely. Similarly, the content n a person’s newsfeed also varies from day-to-day, which could ead to inspirational effects (i.e., women feeling better about their ppearance) on some days (cf. Mabe et al., 2014), and could lead to ody dissatisfaction on other days. Future research could control or the images and content presented during Facebook exposure o test the effects of comparisons to various target groups (e.g., lose friends vs. people they do not know personally). In addition, xposure to more image-based social networking websites (e.g., nstagram) may have stronger effects on women’s appearance con- erns due to their exclusive focus on imagery and thus should be ested in future research.

Second, in order to reduce demand characteristics, participants n the present study were not directly asked if they had com- ared themselves to others on their assigned website, thus we re unable to determine if appearance comparisons are driving the nfluence of Facebook on mood and appearance concerns, or mag- zines on weight and shape discrepancies. Future research could nstruct women to make comparisons on Facebook or ask partic- pants if they compared their appearance to certain targets after xposure to Facebook to determine if actual appearance compar- sons account for the relationship between Facebook exposure and

ood or appearance concerns. Third, some of the effect sizes in the present study were rela-

ively small, and it is possible that the study was underpowered to etect particular effects. Furthermore, our study was fairly homo- eneous with respect to demographic variables, and it is possible hat the effects of exposure to Facebook would vary according to he sample characteristics. For example, facial, skin, and hair com- arisons may be particularity pertinent for women of color, given esearch on the importance of skin tone and hair to their self-worth Thompson & Keith, 2001). Therefore, future experimental Face- ook research should be conducted on a larger and more diverse ample in order to provide a clearer picture of the effect that Face- ook has on users’ appearance concerns.

Conclusions

Facebook is used regularly by over a billion people around he world (Facebook, 2014) and is the most popular use of the

edia amongst young women (Bell & Dittmar, 2011; Tiggemann

ge 13 (2015) 38–45

& Miller, 2010). Our findings indicate that Facebook usage can put women in a more negative mood. In addition, for women who make more appearance comparisons, spending time on Facebook led to greater desire to change their face, hair, and skin-related fea- tures. Given the popularity of social media among young women and the opportunity this medium creates to make a broad range of appearance-related social comparisons, future research is needed to explore the potential for body image and media literacy inter- ventions to address the impact of social media usage. For example, in addition to addressing traditional media, intervention programs could highlight the idealized nature of the images and content uploaded to social media and educate girls and young women about the impact that comparisons to such content can have on their appearance concerns and mood.

Author Disclosure Statement

No competing financial interests exist.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Associate Professor Winnifred Louis for her advice on using Moderated Multiple Regression.

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