Social Networking Site Use and Emotional Eating Behaviors among Chinese Adolescents: The Effects of Negative Social Comparisons and Perspective-Taking

• Published in: Behavioral sciences Vol. 13; no. 9; p. 768
• Main Authors: Sun, Shan, Chen, Siying, Wang, Zian, Xiong, Yan, Xie, Shixuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-09-2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Analysis; Behavior; Eating behavior; Eating disorders; emotional eating; Emotions; Junior high school students; Mediation; negative social comparisons; Online social networks; perspective taking; Self esteem; Self image; Social aspects; social networking site; Social networks; Students; Teenagers; Youth; China
• ISSN: 2076-328X; 2076-328X
• DOI: 10.3390/bs13090768

Emotional eating has emerged as a significant disordered eating and public health concern among adolescents. Despite the widespread prevalence of social networking site (SNS) use among this population, research investigating the influence of SNS use on adolescent eating behaviors remains limited. This study is to examine the impact of SNS use on emotional eating among Chinese adolescents, with a specific focus on exploring the mediating role of negative social comparisons and the moderating effect of perspective-taking. Data were obtained through an online survey involving 778 middle school students in China. The findings indicate that SNS use exerts a positive influence on adolescents’ engagement in emotional eating, with this association being mediated by the presence of negative social comparisons. Perspective-taking demonstrated a protective role in the context of adolescents’ utilization of social media platforms. For individuals characterized by high levels of perspective-taking, the effects of SNS use on negative social comparisons are mitigated, subsequently reducing its impact on emotional eating.