Social Media Usage for Social Comparison and Its Relationship to Identity Development
Year: 2022
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Yang and colleagues (2018) found that social media comparison was related to identity distress. The purpose of the current study was to expand on their design, by examining multiple comparison factors (i.e., Ability, Opinion, Popularity, Likeness, Physical Appearance, Academic Status/Achievements, Work Status/Achievements, Relationship Status, Family Status, and Socioeconomic Status) and multiple identity development factors (i.e., Ruminative Exploration, Exploration in Breadth, Exploration in Depth, Commitment Making, and Identification with Commitment) on their ability to predict Identity Distress. College students (N= 407) in psychology courses participated in an anonymous online survey for course credit. The results were consistent with the findings of Yang and colleagues (2018) but expands upon their model and thereby adds to the literature on the effects of social media on identity, which raises some important concerns regarding identity development among today’s youth.
Author: del Real, Lillie C
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7052614809