Mirror, mirror on my screen: Focus on self-presentation on social media is associated with perfectionism and disordered eating among adolescents. Results from the "LifeOnSoMe"-study

Social media use, perfectionism, and disordered eating have all increased over the last decades. Some studies indicate that there is a relationship between self-presentation behaviors and being exposed to others' self-presentation on social media, and disordered eating. Studies also show that t...

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Published in:	BMC public health Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 2466 - 14
Main Authors:	Danielsen, Hilde Einarsdatter, Finserås, Turi Reiten, Andersen, Amanda Iselin Olesen, Hjetland, Gunnhild Johnsen, Woodfin, Vivian, Skogen, Jens Christoffer
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England BioMed Central Ltd 10-09-2024 BioMed Central BMC
Subjects:	Adolescent Adolescents Age Age groups Body image Child & adolescent mental health Child development Cross-Sectional Studies Demographic aspects Dependent variables Digital media Disordered eating Eating Eating behavior Eating disorders Feedback Feeding and Eating Disorders - psychology Female Food Gender Girls Humans Independent variables Influence Longitudinal studies Male Mental depression Mental disorders Mental health Multiple regression analysis Norway Perfectionism Perfectionism (Personality trait) Psychological aspects Regression models Risk factors Self Concept Self image Self-presentation Social behavior Social media Social Media - statistics & numerical data Social networks Socioeconomics Surveys and Questionnaires Teenagers Upward social comparison User behavior User generated content Young adults Norway Upward social comparison Self-presentation Adolescents Disordered eating Social media Perfectionism
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Summary:	Social media use, perfectionism, and disordered eating have all increased over the last decades. Some studies indicate that there is a relationship between self-presentation behaviors and being exposed to others' self-presentation on social media, and disordered eating. Studies also show that the relationship between focus on self-presentation and highly visual social media is stronger than for non-visual social media, hence facilitating upward social comparison. Nevertheless, no previous studies have investigated the link between adolescents' focus on self-presentation and upward social comparison on social media, and perfectionism and disordered eating, which is the aim of the present study. The present study is based on a cross-sectional survey from the "LifeOnSoMe"-study (N = 3424), conducted in 2020 and 2021. Respondents were high school students (mean age 17.3 years, 56% females) in Bergen, Norway. Multiple regression analysis was performed, where SPAUSCIS, a measure of self-presentation and upward social comparison, was the independent variable. Perfectionism and disordered eating were dependent variables. Self-reported age, gender, and subjective socioeconomic status were used as covariates, as well as frequency and duration of social media use. Regression models were performed to compare proportions across the median split of SPAUSCIS. The multiple regression analysis showed that increased focus on self-presentation and upward social comparison on social media were positively associated with both perfectionism (standardized coefficient 0.28) and disordered eating. A stronger association for girls than boys was found for disordered eating (standardized coefficient 0.39 for girls and 0.29 for boys). There was no gender moderation for perfectionism. Findings suggest that focus on self-presentation and upward social comparison on social media is associated with perfectionism and disordered eating. We recommend promoting a healthy use of social media. This could be established by increasing adolescents' ability to reflect on and think critically about self-presentation and upward social comparison on social media.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1471-2458 1471-2458
DOI:	10.1186/s12889-024-19317-9