Running head: DETERMINING SNAPCHAT’S EFFECT ON THE SELF-IMAGE OF MILLENNIALS

Determining Snapchat’s Effect on the Self-Image of Millennials

Sequoyah Rodgers, Erica Salowe, Elise Bingaman and Hannah Sommerville

The Pennsylvania State University

December 12, 2017

COMM 420, Section 008L

Andrew Gambino

Abstract
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This quantitative survey aimed to determine the effect that using Snapchat has

on the perceived self-image of millennial users between the ages of 18 and 34. Our

theory was based on three different peer-reviewed scales: status consciousness, self

perceived attractiveness, and brand loyalty. By using a convenience sample, we were

able to distribute an online survey through Qualtrics and received approximately 143

valid responses to our survey. Our research found that there was a significant

relationship between users who frequently used Snapchat and their awareness of status

consciousness in regards to other people.

Introduction
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When researching the relationship of social media’s impact on self-image, it was

difficult to find peer-reviewed published works that pertain specifically to Snapchat. This

could be due to the fact that Snapchat is a relatively new emerging platform, but it has

been making some large ripple effects in the social media industry. According to Forbes

magazine, Snap, Inc., the parent company of Snapchat and the Spectacles brand of

glasses with video capability, has a private valuation of approximately $18 billion dollars

(Vinton 2017). Snapchat is a unique platform in the sense that the images and videos

being sent and posted tend to be exchanged between close friends, family members, or

significant others and can be set to only last for 24 hours. The ephemeral nature of this

disappearing content allows users to worry less about the public persona that is being

reflected in their online profile and allow for more authentic interactions. The recent

introduction of Snapchat filters, however, allows users to digitally manipulate their

appearance, which can lead to unrealistic expectations of how attractive someone feels

they need to be.

The audience segment of millennials ages 18-34 are particularly valuable to the

client considering 53% of Snapchat users in the U.S. are under the age of 34, which

comprises over half of their overall market. With 173 million daily users worldwide, Snap

Inc. has the valuable ability to reach this portion of consumers who are most

impressionable, gain their information and social cues largely from social media, and

also have disposable income to spend (Dogtiev 2017). By understanding the mindset of

this audience, Snapchat can make educated business decisions that will be desirable to

potential advertisers. More importantly, Snap Inc. will better understand the positive or

negative effects that it may be having on users in order to increase brand loyalty and
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take measures to protect and encourage interactions that will improve their users own

perception of self-image.

Methodology

This research was conducted through an online survey via Qualtrics. A

convenience sample was the chosen sampling method because it was the most

convenient for what the time allowed, despite it being an ungeneralizable method of

sampling. Each of the researchers posted an anonymous link to the survey in personal

GroupMe messaging groups and various private Facebook groups. Clicking this link

would take respondents to the survey. Thus, many of those who participated in this

survey were likely to be 18- to 22-year-old college students attending Penn State. In

total, when accounting for partial completions and automated responses, the survey

ended up with a sample size of 143 respondents.

The purpose of the research was to examine how different areas of Snapchat

usage could ultimately affect self-image. This research was designed to measure

several independent variables to help answer the designated research question. To do

this, many of the different commonly used aspects of Snapchat were examined, such as

Snapchat Stories, direct Snapchats sent between friends, and the types friends on

one’s Snapchat list. When testing Snapchat stories, the survey sought to measure how

often a user posted and viewed Snapchat stories. To operationalize this variable,

respondents were given a scale to indicate how often they view and post Snapchat

Stories in general. The scale ranged from 1, indicating “not at all,” to 7, indicating “very

frequently.” Additionally, the survey examined the frequency of sending and receiving
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direct Snapchats for each respondent. It asked respondents to estimate an average

number of sent and received direct Snapchats per day, and respondents entered these

numbers into designated text entry boxes with a maximum entry number of 150.

The survey also measured the content that was being shared between users

directly and through Snapchat Stories. Respondents chose the category that described

the content they posted, viewed, sent, or received most frequently from a predetermined

list. Options included selfie, social, non-social, other, and none of the above. For other,

respondents were given a text entry box and instructed to specify what other categories

they had experienced that were not represented. Next, the survey measured the types

of Snapchat friends each respondent had. Respondents were given a list of groups of

people and told to check the boxes that corresponded to the kinds of people they were

friends with on Snapchat. Choices included close friends, acquaintances, members of

on-campus groups, members of off-campus groups, celebrities, family, strangers, and

other. For other, respondents were instructed to specify their answer and were provided

a text entry box to do so. In order to make sure that those who filled out the survey had

a Snapchat account they actually use, the survey asked respondents to indicate

whether or not they have a Snapchat account, and whether or not they actively use it.

Respondents were given a choice of “yes” or “no” for these questions. In order to look at

frequency of Snapchat use overall, the survey asked the question, “How frequently do

you use Snapchat?” Respondents had to indicate their answer on a 7-point scale. For

this scale, 1 indicated “not at all” and 7 indicated “very frequently.”

The survey also investigated aspects of brand loyalty, and asked a number of

questions about respondents’ social media choices and how those choices related to
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Snapchat. These questions asked respondents to indicate if they would choose

Snapchat over other social media to post a photo or video and if they would be willing to

pay to use Snapchat. Respondents were also asked to indicate if they felt Snapchat

connected them to friends, helped them stay up-to-date on current events, and whether

or not they intended to continue using the social media platform. For this variable, a 7-

point Likert-type scale was used, with 1 indicating “strongly disagree” and 7 indicating

“strongly agree.” Finally, the last two independent variables to measure were age and

gender. Age was measured with a text entry box that only allowed values from 18 to 34

in order to ensure that respondents were millennials. Gender was measured with a

multiple choice question, with choices being male, female, prefer not to say, and other,

with a text entry box for specification.

Next, the survey sought to measure the dependent variables that would

represent self-image. To measure self-image, two separate scales were used: the

Status Consciousness Scale and the Self-Perceived Attractiveness Scale. The Status

Consciousness scale asks respondents to indicate how much they agree or disagree

with statements such as, “When I succeed at something, I like to tell people about it,”

and, “I am not interested in trying to impress other people.” Respondents were able to

choose their answer based on a 7-point Likert-like scale, 1 indicating “strongly disagree”

and 7 indicating “strongly agree.” Many of these questions were reverse coded for

consistency. This survey used this scale to represent the aspects of self-image that are

more related to perceived social status. Seven questions were selected from the Status

Consciousness Scale that specifically pertained to self-image to measure this variable

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in our survey respondents. In addition to the questions listed above, the survey also

gave the following statements for respondents to agree or disagree with:

I don’t need to go telling everyone when something good happens to me.

It feels good when other people are in awe of me.

I get a rush out of feeling other people’s admiration.

I don’t spend much time thinking about whether I am good enough compared to

others.

When I compare my life to other people’s lives, I sometimes feel like a loser

(Alba, McIlwain, Wheeler, & Jones, 2014).

The second scale used was the Self-Perceived Attractiveness scale, which

measures how physically attractive a respondent believes they are. The scale asks

respondents to indicate levels of agreement or disagreement with three statements

about attractiveness. Respondents answered based on a 7-point Likert-like scale, 1

indicating “strongly disagree” and 7 indicating “strongly agree.” Three statements were

given to respondents of this survey:

I think I am physically attractive.

I think I have a lot of physically attractive qualities.

In general, I see myself as a physically attractive individual (Belmi & Neale,

2014).

One statement was hidden in the Status Consciousness Scale table in order to

ensure that respondents were paying active attention to the survey and were not

submitting automated responses. The statement instructed respondents to choose “6”

for that row. The responses which had a number other than “6” selected for this
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statement were considered invalid, and their data was not included in the final analysis.

All responses that were partial or incomplete were not included in the final analysis.

Results

The data analysis for this research was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics

software. There were a number of results that were predicted based on the relationship

between various independent and dependent variables. The research found six of the

twelve chosen independent variables to have significant results: frequency of using

Snapchat, frequency of posting Snapchat Stories, Snapchat friends’ Story content,

content of directly sent Snapchats, content of directly received Snapchats, and gender.

There was a significant difference found between only three independent variables and

the dependent variable perceived status consciousness. Similarly, the research found a

significant difference between only three other independent variables and the

dependent variable self-perceived attractiveness.

To test all interval- and ratio-level variables, linear regression tests were

performed against our data set. It was predicted that more frequent Snapchat use would

be related to negative self-image because millennials often subconsciously make social

comparisons based on perceptions of their followers’ lives to their own, which may not

be as socially active at the time of viewing. Based on our findings, there is a significant

relationship between frequency of Snapchat use and status consciousness. The

percentage of variation in status consciousness explained by this independent variable

is 2.2%.
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The data was also tested for the relationship between the independent variable

“frequency of posting Snapchat stories” and the dependent variable status

consciousness and found a significant p-value of .003. These results indicated that

frequency of posting Snapchat stories explains 5.4% of the variation in status

consciousness. It was found that only one other independent variable had a significant

relationship with status consciousness: content of Snapchats sent directly by the

respondent. An ANOVA test was performed between this independent variable and both

status consciousness and self-perceived attractiveness since it is a nominal-level

variable. The respondents chose from five content categories: selfie, social, non-social,

other, and none of the above. A significant difference of .024 was found between

content of directly sent Snapchats and status consciousness; however, these results do

not indicate the mean differences within the given content categories. No significant

relationship exists between the independent variable and self-perceived attractiveness.

The remaining three independent variables that were found to have significance

are nominal-level variables. ANOVA tests were conducted to determine if significant

relationships exist between these variables and both status consciousness and self-

perceived attractiveness. The independent variables included were Snapchat friends’

Story content, content of directly received Snapchats, and gender. The research found

each of the three independent variables to have a significant relationship with only self-

perceived attractiveness. It was predicted that there would be no significant relationship

between gender and self-image. Surprisingly, gender (p-value = .021) and content of

directly received Snapchats (p-value = 0.020) were the variables most indicative of self-
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perceived attractiveness. Before conducting this research, it had been suspected that

certain content categories, especially selfie and social, would correlate with a higher

level of self-perceived attractiveness. Unfortunately, the results do not explain which

content categories directly affect self-perceived attractiveness; however, it was found

that there is a significant relationship between the dependent variable and Snapchat

friends’ story content (p-value .036).

Independent Variables
Frequency of using Snapchat (interval)
Frequency of posting Snap Stories (interval)
Frequency of viewing Snap Stories (interval)
Individual Snap Story content (nominal)
Snapchat friends’ Snap Story content (nominal)
Snapchat friends (nominal)
Frequency of sending direct Snapchats (ratio)
Frequency of receiving direct Snapchats (ratio)
Content of sent direct Snapchats (nominal)
Content of received direct Snapchats (nominal)
Age (ratio)
Gender (nominal)
Dependent Variables
Perceived status consciousness (interval)
Perceived self attractiveness (interval)
Brand Loyalty (interval)

Summary of Linear Regression Tests

Frequency of Use vs Status Consciousness (Significant)
Age vs Status Consciousness (Not significant)
Frequency of Viewing Snapchat Stories vs Status Consciousness (Not Significant)
Frequency of Posting Snapchat Stories vs Status Consciousness (Significant)
Frequency of Receiving Direct Snapchats vs Status Consciousness (Not Significant)
Frequency of Sending Direct Snapchats vs Status Consciousness (Not Significant)

Frequency of Use vs Attractiveness (Not Significant)

Age vs Attractiveness (Not Significant)
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Frequency of Viewing Snapchat Stories vs Attractiveness (Not Significant)

Frequency of Posting Snapchat Stories vs Attractiveness (Not Significant)
Frequency of Receiving Direct Snapchats vs Attractiveness (Not Significant)
Frequency of Sending Direct Snapchats vs Attractiveness (Not Significant)

****https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/19/
-Andrew said in office hours that the final paper should not include any
screenshots of the statistical tests. He referenced creating an ANOVA and Regression
Table in the APA format instead and gave us this link to use as an example!

Frequency of Snapchat use vs. status consciousness

Age vs. Status Consciousness

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Frequency of viewing Snapchat Stories vs. Status Consciousness

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Frequency of posting Snapchat Stories vs. Status Consciousness

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Number of Snapchats received per day vs. Status Consciousness

Frequency of sent Snapchats per day vs. Status Consciousness

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Frequency of Snapchat use vs. SPA

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Age vs. SPA

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Frequency of viewing Snapchat stories vs. Attractiveness

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Frequency of posting Snapchat stories vs. Attractiveness

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Frequency of receiving direct Snapchats vs. Attractiveness

Frequency of sending direct Snapchats vs. Attractiveness

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ANOVAS
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Summary of ANOVA Tests

-Individual Snap Story Content vs SAP & StatCon (Not Significant)
-Snapchat Friends Story Content vs SAP & StatCon (Significant for SAP)
-Content of direct Snapchats vs SAP & StatCon (Significant for StatCon)
-Content of received direct Snapchats vs SAP & StatCon (Significant for SAP)
-Gender vs SAP & StatCon (Significant for SAP)

Individual Snap Story Content vs SAP & StatCon

Snapchat Friends Story Content vs SPA & StatCon

Content of Sent Direct Snapchats vs SPA & Stat Con

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Content of Received Direct Snapchats vs SPA & StatCon

Gender vs SPA & StatCon

Discussion
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After running ANOVA and linear regression tests on the data from survey

responses, there were six significant results that had implications related to our original

research question. The first significant linear regression tested frequency of Snapchat

use versus status consciousness, revealing that the more one uses Snapchat, the

higher one perceives his or her status to be compared to others. Significance was also

found when testing frequency of posting Snapchat Stories versus status consciousness.

This implies that the more Snapchats one posts, the higher one perceives his or her

status to be compared to others. When an ANOVA test was run to compare Snapchat

Friends’ Story content versus self-perceived attractiveness and status consciousness,

significance was found for self-perceived attractiveness, but not status consciousness.

These results indicate that the content of the stories of one’s friends on Snapchat

impacts personal perception of attractiveness, but it does not make one compare one’s

status to that of the Snapchat friend posting the stories. Results for an ANOVA test

performed to compare content of received direct Snapchats versus self-perceived

attractiveness and status consciousness showed significance for self-perceived

attractiveness, but not status consciousness. Similar to the previous result, this means

that the content one receives in a direct Snapchat from another user has an effect on

how one perceives their own level of attractiveness, but does not affect how one

compares his or her status to others. Conversely, looking at the content of direct

Snapchats versus self-perceived attractiveness and status consciousness had opposite

results, where status consciousness was significant, but self-perceived attractiveness

was not. This suggests that the content one sends has a direct effect on how one

perceives oneself compared to others, but not how one perceives their self-
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attractiveness. Finally when comparing gender, self-perceived attractiveness, and

status consciousness, the research procured significant results for self-perceived

attractiveness, but not status consciousness. In layman's terms, this means that

whether one is male or female effects how attractive one feels they are, but not how one

would compare his or her status to others.

In some ways, these results elucidated our original research question of whether

Snapchat has an effect on the self-image of millenials. A major takeaway from these

responses is that the content a user sends affects how they compare themselves to

others, but not how attractive they sense themselves to be. The content users receive,

however, does affect how attractive they sense themselves to be, and does not impact

how they compare themselves to others. This could mean that when people send a

Snapchat, they subconsciously think about how the content they are sending will impact

their social standing. The more they post Snapchat stories or send Snapchats, the

greater the impact will be on their social standing. When people receive a Snapchat,

they subconsciously search for affirmation in the content being delivered that the user

on the other side of the “conversation” finds them attractive. The content that a

Snapchat user’s friend posts affects how attractive the Snapchat user perceives

themselves to be, perhaps due to the humanistic tendency of comparing one’s own

looks to the appearance of others.

It was expected that the procured results would affirm the theory that Snapchat

has a negative effect on the self-image of millenials. However, it was not expected that

in most cases, either self-perceived attractiveness or status consciousness would be a

stand-alone significant dependent variable. Both dependent variables were expected to

 DETERMINING SNAPCHAT’S EFFECT ON THE SELF-IMAGE OF MILLENNIALS 25

be significant, which leads us to believe that perhaps the effect Snapchat use has on

self-image is not as strong as we originally thought. Reflecting on the flaws of our

methods, we realize that using a convenience sample means our data is not

generalizable. Most of our survey respondents are close in age, have the same level of

education, and the majority reside in the same geographic region of the country.

The most prominent concern beneath this research was that millennials were

forming a dependency on Snapchat to feel socially accepted and attractive. With all of

the Snapchat filters available that morph facial features to appear more “photogenic,”

and with the trend of millennials sharing mostly social content on stories, it is a plausible

assumption that Snapchat has become the vehicle for social comparison and negative

self-perception. Our research implicates that there is a correlation between the self-

image of millennials and frequency of Snapchat use; however, it is difficult to determine

the magnitude of that correlation. Therefore, if there were extensions on this project, we

would use more conducive tests to determine the level of correlation between self-

image of millennials and frequency of Snapchat use.

There are two ways this study can be improved for future research. First, more

quantitative tests can be conducted to determine significance between specific features

of Snapchat and the impact those features have on self-image (for example, the effect

filters have on self-perceived attractiveness). Second, qualitative research on this topic

can be coordinated to gain further insights into the psychology of Snapchat’s effects on

self-image. Qualitative research can determine whether this effect is negative or

positive; although it may be assumed that Snapchat has a negative effect because

millennials appear to form a dependency on the app, in actuality the effects are
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subjective to user experience and require further investigation into the perspective of

individual Snapchat users.

Recommendations

From a business standpoint, Snapchat can easily capitalize on the dependency

their users have on the app. This has already been proven through the sophistication of

filters, geotags, and animated Bitmoji characters. To build further brand loyalty, it is

recommended that Snapchat continues to advance their interactive features and filters

to stay ahead of competitors like Facebook and Instagram, who have copied aspects of

Snapchat into their own apps. The business model is simple: the more Snapchat can

make users feel attractive through augmented reality, the higher user dependency will

rise.

From a moral standpoint, it may be construed as an ethical dilemma if Snapchat

exploits the insecurities of users for company gain. Therefore, it is recommended that

Snapchat runs a media campaign focused on body positivity. The slogan can be

“Everyone is Beautiful,” and it can be featured in a special geotag with a filter that does

not modify one’s face. This campaign can be implemented on the next World Kindness

Day on November 3, 2018. Running this campaign would be a great image-building

opportunity for the company, and have the added plus of improving the self-image of

Snapchat users. This, in turn, would increase brand loyalty through trust and positive

perception of the Snapchat product.

References

Dogtiev, A. (2017, December 5). Snapchat Revenue and Usage Statistics 2017. Retrieved
December 10, 2017, from http://www.businessofapps.com/data/snapchat-statistics/
 DETERMINING SNAPCHAT’S EFFECT ON THE SELF-IMAGE OF MILLENNIALS 27

Vinton, K. (2017, February 02). The Guys Who Founded Snapchat - Now Snap - Are Worth $4
Billion Each. Retrieved December 10, 2017, from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2017/02/02/snap-ipo-filing-shows-the-founders-
each-own-stakes-worth-4-billion/#22c86a302cc4

Alba, B., McIlwain, D., Wheeler, L., & Jones, M. P. (2014). Status consciousness scale.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1037/t35672-000

Belmi, P., & Neale, M. (2014). Self-perceived attractiveness measure.

doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1037/t33577-000