3-155 - Social Media Use and Adolescent Adjustment: Considering Quality Over Quantity

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Adolescents are heavily engaged with social media, with 45% reporting being online almost constantly (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). Research examining how adolescent social media use relates to adjustment yields mixed results (Best et al., 2014), suggesting the importance of examining quality as well as quantity of social media engagement (Marino, 2018). This symposium explores how specific social media behaviors are differentially related to adjustment, with a focus on social comparison. Social comparison is rampant on these platforms (Appel et al., 2016), especially appearance comparison (Fardouly & Vartanian, 2016).

The first study found that for high school students, social media self-objectification is associated with depressive symptoms and maladaptive body-related outcomes for both girls and boys, including body comparison. The second study distinguished between social media ability social comparison and opinion social comparison, and found that for late adolescents, ability social comparison is associated with rumination whereas opinion social comparison is associated with reflection. The third study experimentally examined Instagram browsing, and found that for late adolescents, viewing one’s own content has positive outcomes whereas viewing the content of an attractive stranger has negative outcomes, with these effects contingent on social comparison orientation.

These findings suggest that using social media in some ways may be beneficial, whereas using social media in other ways may be detrimental. Thus, nuanced assessments of social media use should be utilized to understand the effects of users’ personal online experiences. A discussant will highlight the clinical implications of these findings.

Sub Unit

• Technology, Media & Child Development

Chair

• Kaitlyn Burnell, The University of Texas at Dallas

Discussant

• Sarah Domoff, Central Michigan University

Individual Presentations

• Social Media and Self-Objectification: Examining the Implications for Adolescents' Body Image and Mental Health - Presenting Author: Sophie Choukas-Bradley, University of Pittsburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Jacqueline Nesi, Brown University; Non-Presenting Author: Laura Widman, North Carolina State University

• Social Media Social Comparison, Introspection, and Identity Distress at the College Transition: A Dual-Path Model - Presenting Author: Chia-Chen Yang, University of Memphis; Non-Presenting Author: Jessica J Webb, The University of Memphis; Non-Presenting Author: Sean M Holden, The University of Memphis; Non-Presenting Author: Mollie D. K. Carter, The University of Memphis

• Instagram or Insta-great? Social Media Browsing and Immediate Well-being and Self-Perceptions - Presenting Author: Kaitlyn Burnell, The University of Texas at Dallas; Non-Presenting Author: Madeleine George, University of Texas at Dallas; Non-Presenting Author: Allycen R Kurup, Purdue University; Non-Presenting Author: Marion K Underwood, Purdue University