scholarly journals The Effects of Instagram Use, Social Comparison, and Self-Esteem on Social Anxiety: A Survey Study in Singapore

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 205630512091248
Author(s):  
Shaohai Jiang ◽  
Annabel Ngien

Social media have been growing rapidly during the past decade. However, it remains unclear whether social media make people more emotionally healthy or less. This study aims to explore the effect of Instagram use on individuals’ social anxiety. With a general basis of the three-stage model of interactive media use for health promotion, we conducted a cross-sectional online survey study ( N = 388) in the context of Singapore and empirically tested a mediation pathway linking Instagram use to social anxiety. The results indicated that Instagram use did not directly increase social anxiety. Instead, social comparison, a proximal outcome, and self-esteem, an intermediate outcome played mediating roles, supporting the complete mediation effects. This finding provides important theoretical and practical implications for the design of health campaigns and education in this digital era to enhance the positive effect of social media on health and emotional well-being.

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-19
Author(s):  
Delia Cristina Balaban ◽  
Dorin Francisc Spoaller

"During the Spring of 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, several countries ordered lockdowns. The limitations of movement contributed to the rise of social media activity. The present research focused on how the active use of Instagram had an impact on well-being during the first lockdown in Romania. Aiming to explore how active Instagram use contributes to users' self-esteem, satisfaction with life, and loneliness during an unprecedented situation of a lockdown, we conducted an online survey in April 2020 on young adults (N=411) in Romania. Findings showed that actively using Instagram during the lockdown did not have a significant direct impact on self-esteem and satisfaction with life, but significantly decreased loneliness. Upward comparison of Instagram active users contributed to the increase in self-esteem but decreased the values of satisfaction with life and increased loneliness. The downward comparison had no significant impact on self-esteem, satisfaction with life, and loneliness. Keywords: social media, well-being, Instagram, social comparison, COVID-19 pandemic. "


Author(s):  
Adrianos Golemis ◽  
Panteleimon Voitsidis ◽  
Eleni Parlapani ◽  
Vasiliki A Nikopoulou ◽  
Virginia Tsipropoulou ◽  
...  

Summary COVID-19 and the related quarantine disrupted young adults’ academic and professional life, daily routine and socio-emotional well-being. This cross-sectional study focused on the emotional and behavioural responses of a young adult population during the COVID-19-related quarantine in April 2020, in Greece. The study was conducted through an online survey. A total of 1559 young adults, aged 18−30 years, completed Steele’s Social Responsibility Motivation Scale and the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, and answered questions about compliance with instructions, quarantine-related behaviours and coping strategies. According to the results, participants displayed a relatively high sense of social responsibility (M = 16.09, SD = 2.13) and a trend towards moderate feeling of loneliness (M = 2.65, SD = 1.62); young women reported significantly higher levels of loneliness than men. The majority complied with instructions often (46.4%) or always (44.8%). Significantly more women created a new social media account and used the social media longer than 5 h/day, compared with men. Resorting to religion, practicing sports and sharing thoughts and feelings about COVID-19 with others predicted higher levels of social responsibility; humour, practicing sports and sharing thoughts and feelings about COVID-19 with others predicted lower levels of loneliness. Conclusively, COVID-19 is expected to have a significant psychological impact on young adults. Currently, Greece is going through the second quarantine period. This study raises awareness about loneliness in young adults during the COVID-19-related quarantine and highlights the importance of developing online programmes, attractive to younger people, to nurture adaptive coping strategies against loneliness.


BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. e017856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Bourne ◽  
Bavo De Cock ◽  
Laure Wynants ◽  
Mike Peters ◽  
Chantal Van Audenhove ◽  
...  

ObjectiveHow adverse outcomes and complaints are managed may significantly impact on physician well-being and practice. We aimed to investigate how depression, anxiety and defensive medical practice are associated with doctors actual and perceived support, behaviour of colleagues and process issues regarding how complaints investigations are carried out.DesignA survey study. Respondents were classified into three groups: no complaint, recent/current complaint (within 6 months) or past complaint. Each group completed specific surveys.SettingBritish Medical Association (BMA) members were invited to complete an online survey.Participants95 636 members of the BMA were asked to participate. 7926 (8.3%) completed the survey, of whom 1780 (22.5%) had no complaint, 3889 (49.1%) had a past complaint and 2257 (28.5%) had a recent/current complaint. We excluded those with no complaints leaving 6144 in the final sample.Primary outcomes measuresWe measured anxiety and depression using the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale 7 and Physical Health Questionnaire 9. Defensive practice was assessed using a new measure for avoidance and hedging.ResultsMost felt supported by colleagues (61%), only 31% felt supported by management. Not following process (56%), protracted timescales (78%), vexatious complaints (49%), feeling bullied (39%) or victimised for whistleblowing (20%), and using complaints to undermine (31%) were reported. Perceived support by management (relative risk (RR) depression: 0.77, 95% CI 0.71 to 0.83; RR anxiety: 0.80, 95% CI 0.74 to 0.87), speaking to colleagues (RR depression: 0.64, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.84 and RR anxiety: 0.69, 95% CI 0.51 to 0.94, respectively), fair/accurate documentation (RR depression: 0.80, 95% CI 0.75 to 0.86; RR anxiety: 0.81, 95% CI 0.75 to 0.87), and being informed about rights (RR depression 0.96 (0.89 to 1.03) and anxiety 0.94 (0.87 to 1.02), correlated positively with well-being and reduced defensive practice. Doctors worried most about professional humiliation following a complaint investigation (80%).ConclusionPoor process, prolonged timescales and vexatious use of complaints systems are associated with decreased psychological welfare and increased defensive practice. In contrast, perceived support from colleagues and management is associated with a reduction in these effects.


Author(s):  
Yang Yang ◽  
Keqiao Liu ◽  
Siqi Li ◽  
Man Shu

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the general population’s life worldwide. People may spend more time on social media because of policies like “work at home”. Using a cross-sectional dataset collected through an online survey in February 2020, in China, we examined (1) the relationships between social media activities and people’s mental health status and (2) the moderation effect of emotional-regulation strategies. The sample included people aged ≥18 years from 32 provinces and regions in China (N = 3159). The inferential analyses included a set of multiple linear regressions with interactions. Our results showed that sharing timely, accurate, and positive COVID-19 information, reducing excessive discussions on COVID-19, and promoting caring online interactions rather than being judgmental, might positively associate with the general public’s psychological well-being. Additionally, the relationships between social media activities and psychological well-being varied at different emotion-regulation strategy levels. Adopting the cognitive reappraisal strategy might allay the adverse relationships between certain social media activities and mental health indicators. Our findings expanded the theory of how social media activities can be associated with a human being’s mental health and how it can interact with emotion-regulation strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iffat Elbarazi ◽  
Basema Saddik ◽  
Michal Grivna ◽  
Faisal Aziz ◽  
Deena Al Souri ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic created a crisis in the world of information and digital literacy. The amount of misinformation surrounding COVID-19 that has circulated through social media (SM) since January 2020 is notably significant and it has been linked to rising levels of anxiety and fear amongst SM users. The COVID-19 'infodemic' was singled out by the World Health Organization (WHO) and several newly published studies as one of the causes of anxiety, depression, and fear amongst the global population OBJECTIVE This study aimed to assess SM practices during COVID-19 and investigates their impact on well-being. METHODS An online infodemic cross-sectional survey was distributed via different SM platforms in the United Arab Emirates and other countries. Adults above 18 years of age were invited to complete an online survey that covered multiple domains, including the WHO-5 Well-being Index. RESULTS The study sheds light on the use of SM during the pandemic and its impact on well-being throughout the novel coronavirus pandemic. Out of 993 participants, 73% were females, 76% were non-Emirati, 91% university graduates, and 50% were employed in various occupations, of which 20% were health care professionals. Participants indicated that they acquired COVID-19 related information primarily from social media, of which WhatsApp was the most accessed. Most participants reported sharing the information after the verification. The mean well-being score was 12.6 ±5.6 with 49% of participants had poor well-being (WHO-5 score <12.5). The adjusted linear regression showed that Facebook usage was negatively associated with well-being score. Also, high time-usage was associated with poorer well-being. When adjusting for other factors, including low confidence in information around COVID-19 and poor knowledge overall, SM usage was significantly associated with poorer well-being CONCLUSIONS Social media practices during emergencies and disasters may impact public well-being. Authorities are advised to step in to minimize the spread of misinformation and more frequent use of social media, as it may influence well-being leading to increased levels of anxiety, stress, and depression. Public health specialists, information technology and communication experts should collaborate to limit the infodemic effect on communities.


Author(s):  
Mara Moujaes ◽  
Diarmuid Verrier

Abstract. The emergence of social media has revolutionized communication and has had a profound effect on many aspects of motherhood. Image-centric social media, despite its overwhelming popularity, has faced much criticism for over-idealistic portrayals and the pressures it may place on women throughout pregnancy and the early years of their child’s life. This research aimed to determine whether a significant relationship exists between postnatal anxiety and Instagram usage in mothers with young children. The associational, cross-sectional design uses a sample of 210 mothers, aged 22–45, who have one or more children aged under 5 years. An online questionnaire measured anxiety, Instagram usage, and several potentially moderating traits. We found that the relationship between anxiety and online engagement with InstaMums – mothers made famous by Instagram – was moderated by both social comparison orientation and self-esteem. Engagement with InstaMums was associated with greater anxiety in those with higher social comparison orientation; it was also associated with greater anxiety in those with lower self-esteem. These findings are discussed in connection with social comparison theory, implications for healthy social media use, as well as avenues for future research.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lien Faelens ◽  
Kristof Hoorelbeke ◽  
Eiko I Fried ◽  
Rudi de Raedt ◽  
Ernst H. W. Koster

Various recent studies suggest a negative association between Facebook use and mental health. Yet, empirical evidence for this association is mixed, raising the question under which conditions Facebook use is related to negative outcomes, such as decreased well-being. Our study addresses this question by investigating the relationship between Facebook use, rumination, depressive, anxiety-, and stress-related symptoms, taking into account potential key variables such as social comparison, contingent self-esteem, and global self-esteem. In a first study, we explored the unique relations between these constructs using state-of-the-art network analysis. Subsequently, we conducted a preregistered replication study. In both studies, social comparison and self-esteem held a central position in the network, connecting social media use with indicators of psychopathology. These findings highlight the prominent role of social comparison and self-esteem in the context of social media use and well-being. Longitudinal and experimental studies will be required to further investigate these relationships.


Author(s):  
José-María Romero-Rodríguez ◽  
Inmaculada Aznar-Díaz ◽  
José-Antonio Marín-Marín ◽  
Rebeca Soler-Costa ◽  
Carmen Rodríguez-Jiménez

Mobile devices are a revolutionary element that offer many possibilities, although they can also cause problems for users. This is the case with the development of addictive behaviors that can affect personal well-being. The purpose of this paper has been to analyze the influence of smartphone addiction and Instagram use intensity on the self-esteem of Physical Education students. A cross-sectional research design was adopted by applying an online survey to a sample of undergraduate students (n = 385). The results showed that gender and age were factors that influenced the problematic use of the smartphone. In turn, there was a significant positive correlation between smartphone addiction and Instagram use intensity. The influence of smartphone addiction on students’ self-esteem was also highlighted. In contrast, Instagram use intensity did not affect self-esteem. Finally, the findings are discussed, and the main implications of the study are established, where physical education students take on a special role in order to avoid the improper use of smartphones and Instagram through sport.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Schivinski ◽  
Magdalena Brzozowska-Woś ◽  
Ellena Stansbury ◽  
Jason Satel ◽  
Christian Montag ◽  
...  

Given recent advances in technology, connectivity, and the popularity of social media platforms, recent literature has devoted great attention to problematic Facebook use. However, exploring the potential predictors of problematic social media use beyond Facebook use has become paramount given the increasing popularity of multiple alternative platforms. In this study, a sample of 584 social media users (Mage = 32.28 years; 67.81% female) was recruited to complete an online survey assessing sociodemographic characteristics, patterns, and preferences of social media use, problematic social media use (PSMU), social media use motives, psychological well-being, self-esteem, and positive and negative affect. Results indicated that 6.68% (n = 39) of all respondents could be potentially classed as problematic users. Moreover, further analysis indicated that intrapersonal motive (β = 0.38), negative affect (β = 0.22), daily social media use (β = 0.18), surveillance motive (β = 0.12), and positive affect (β = −0.09) each predicted PSMU. These variables accounted for about 37% of the total variance in PSMU, with intrapersonal motive driving the greatest predictive contribution, over and above the effects of patterns of social media use and sociodemographic variables. These findings contribute to the increasing literature on PSMU. The results of this study are discussed in light of the existing literature on PSMU.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document