Running head: PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Psychological Effect of Social Media:

Investigating the Influence of Exposure to Idealistic Images on Instagram on

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Psychological Well-being
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Ivanka Mocic B.S., M.A.Candidate

Supervised by Dr. Marc Mehu

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Webster Vienna Private University

23.11.2019

Master’s thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
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Master of Arts in Psychology

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PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA 2

Acknowledgments

I would first like to thank my thesis supervisor Dr. Marc Mehu of the Psychology

Department at Webster Vienna Private University. The door to Prof. Mehu office was

always open whenever I ran into a trouble spot or had a question about my research or

writing. He consistently allowed this paper to be my own work but steered me in the

right the direction whenever he thought I needed it.

I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Gernot Gerger of the Psychology Department at

Webster Vienna Private University as the second reader of this thesis, and I am

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gratefully indebted to him for his very valuable comments on this thesis.
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Finally, I must express my very profound gratitude to my parents, friends and to my

boyfriend for providing me with unfailing support and continuous encouragement

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throughout my years of study and through the process of researching and writing this

thesis. This accomplishment would not have been possible without them. Thank you.
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Konačno, moram izraziti duboku zahvalnost mojim roditeljima,obitelj I prijateljima I

momku što su mi pružali neiscrpnu podršku i kontinuirano ohrabrenje tijekom mojih

godina studija i kroz process istraživanja i pisanja ovog diplomskog rada. To

ostvarenje ne bi bilomoguće bez njih. Hvala vam od srca.

PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA 3
Table of Contents

Acknowledgments..........................................................................................................2
Table of Contents...........................................................................................................3
List of tables...................................................................................................................5
List of figures.................................................................................................................6
List of outputs................................................................................................................7
Abstract .........................................................................................................................8
1.Social Media……………………………………………………………………..…10
1.1 Social Networks and their Significance………………………………………….11
1.2 Concept, Functionality, and Social Network Classification……………………..12
1.3 Psychological Impact of Social Networks.............................................................14
1.4 Social Network Instagram......................................................................................17
1.5.Psychological well being…………………………………………………………19

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1.6 Idealistic
Images………………………………………………………………….21
1.7 Self
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Esteem……………………………………………………………………….21
1.8 Social
Comparison……………………………………………………………….23
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1.9 Physical Activity and How it Benefits

Girls……………………………………..24
1.10 Body Image, Self- Esteem, and Physical Activity……………………………...27
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1.11 Histoy of Body Image..........................................................................................29

1.12 Body Image and Self Esteem...............................................................................31
1.13 The connection between Physical Activity, Self Esteem and Body Image........33
1.14 Present Study , Research Questions and Hypotheses…………………………..34
2.Methods……………………………………………………………………………36
2.1 Participants………………………………………………………………………36
2.2 Meterials …………………………………………………………………………37
2.3 Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire…………………………..39
2.4 Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale……………………………………………………41
2.5 Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure……………………………41
2.6 Part 2 (Experimental part)......................................................................................42
2.7 Procedure…………………………………………………………………………42
2.8 Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………….44
3.Results……………………………………………………………………………...45
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4.Discussion………………………………………………………………………… 67
4.1Conclusion………………………………………………………………………...74
4.2 Limitations……………………………………………………………………….74
5.List of References…………………………………………………………………..77
6.Appendices…………………………………………………………………………88

List of Tables

Table 1. Correlations between scales…p.46

Table 2. Descriptive Statistics for the Age…p.48

Table 3. Descriptive Statistics for the Hours spent on Social Media…p.48

Table 4. Descriptive Statistics for the Hours spent on Instagram…p.49

Table 5. Descriptive Statistics for the Number of Followers…p.49

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Table 6. Descriptive Statistics for the Number of Accounts being Followed…p.50

List of Figures
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Figure 1. Distribution of the mostly looked Hashtags …p.51
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Figure 2. Distribution of the answers for Demographic question number eight…p.51

Figure 3. Distribution of the answers for Demographic question number nine…p.52

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Figure 4. Distribution of the answers for Demographic question number ten…p.52

Figure 5. Distribution of the answers for Demographic question number eleven…p.53

Figure 6. Distribution of the answers for Demographic question number twelve…p.54

Figure 7. Distribution of the answers for Demographic question number

thirteen…p.54

Figure 8. Distribution of the answers for Demographic question number

fourteen…p.55

Figure 9. Distribution of the answers for Demographic question number fifteen…p.55

Figure 10. Appearance Evaluation…p.57

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Figure 11. Fitness Evaluation…p.58

Figure 12. Health Evaluation…p.59

Figure 13. Appearance Orientation…p.60

Figure 14. Fitness Orientation…p.61

Figure 15. Health Orientation…p.62

Figure 16. Self-Classified Weight…p.63

Figure 17. Overweight Preoccupation…p.63

Figure 18. Body Area Self Satisfaction…p.65

Abstract

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There are relatively few studies that have examined the effect of Instagram use on an
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individual’s mental health, and the purpose of this research was to find out if

Instagram use influences the psychological well-being of its users. The

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Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (Cash, 2000) was used to assess

self-attitudinal aspects of body image, the Self-Esteem Scale(Rosenberg, 1965) was

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used to assess self-esteem, and Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure

(Gibbons, & Buunk,19999) was used to assess social comparison behaviors. Consent

and demographics forms were used for data collection; however, they were asked to

view, rate, and comment fitness/beauty and travel photos on Instagram.Results of this

study showeda positive correlation between time spent on Instagram and Appearance

Orientation,and a negative correlation with time spent on Instagram and age.The

results also showed that there is a significant interaction effect between the image

type and the time of the ratings for the Appearance Evaluation and orientation, Fitness

Orientationand Overweight Preoccupation ratings. These effects mean that the effect

of using fitness/beauty and travel images were different on the ratings in the pretest

compared to the ratings on the posttest in these subscales. There was a significant
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main effect of image type on Fitness Evaluation and Body Area Satisfaction ratings.

This means that overall when we ignore whether participants were rating in the pretest

or the posttest, the image type significantly affected their Fitness Evaluation and Body

Area Satisfaction ratings.Lastly, we found a significant main effect of timeon Self

Classified weight ratings, which means that when we ignore whether participants

were exposed to fitness/beauty or travel images, the time influences their

ratings.Overall, our findings partially accepted our hypotheses, stating that

participants as expected scored lower results in the post test on the MBRSQ.

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PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA 7
1. Social Media

Internet usage is increasing year by year among individuals from around the

world, and social networking platforms such as Instagram have become part of daily

life for young people no matter where in the world they are from. The appearance of

social media platforms means that the progress of communication is not limited to

either time or space.The recent understanding of media influences extends to the

internet social networks, which become an increasingly important source of media

content, as well as a means of communication, of self-promotion, and a source of

feedback on individuals own appearance and activities.

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Individuals view the body as multi-dimensional concept that marks the

evaluation of its own appearance and reflects attitudes, perceptions, thought and
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feelings of a person towards their own body, and the appearance of specific parts of

the body (ErcegJugović, 2015, p.466). The perception of one's own body is inherently
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a subjective experience, which does not have to reflect the objective appearance of the

body (Ambrosi-Randic, 2004). In the process of developing a picture of their own

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body, young people rely on socio-cultural standards of desirable looks which, in the

formative sense, are most strongly mediated by the family, peers, and media content

(Keery et al., 2004; Dohnt&Tiggemann, 2006, ErcegJugović, 2015). Thediscrepancy

between the ideal image of the body and the image of one’s own appearance is

becoming the basis of dissatisfaction with the physical appearance. This perception of

one’s body is becoming more common at an early age, as early as five years old in

girls, and is more common among female than male populations, so much that some

researchers refer to it as "normative dissatisfaction" (Rodin et al., 1985; Lumb, 2006;

ErcegJugović, 2015; ErcegJugović&KuterovacJagodić, 2016). Consequently, it often

has emotional and psychological stress and behaviors that can significantly undermine

the health and quality of life (Durkin & Paxton, 2002).

PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA 8
The standards of reference groups such as the family and peers are important

for the self-evaluation and formation of attitudes, values, and goals related to the

physical appearance (McCabe &Ricciardelli, 2001; Rheanna et al., 2007;

ErcegJugović, 2015). Along with the analysis of the influence of these micro-region

interactions, which are often based on the assumptions of Festinger's social

comparison theory (Ambrosi-Randić, 2004), more attention is devoted to the study of

macro-mediated mediators of sociocultural norms of physical appearance, especially

those of the media (Spurr et al.,Jugović&KuterovacJagodić, 2016). Numerous

researches suggest that greater exposure to media content is associated with more

pronounced symptoms of internalization of media ideals, development of

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dissatisfaction with their own appearance which results in lower self-esteem. This is

caused from differences between the masses of men and women of the general
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population and those that appear in the media as a standard of beauty

(Tiggeman&Pickering , 1996; McCabe &Ricciardelli, 2001; Rheanna et al., 2007).

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1.1 Social Networks and their significance

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When the internet was first introduced and became popular among the general

population, it was used to gather information. As users, individuals did not have the

opportunity to express their views, create new content, contribute to the existing

content, and only rarely could the internet be interactively used. This period is known

as Web 1.0. The creation of Web 2.0 was a result of the users' requirements, in terms

of content, comments,and sharing information (Burc, 2012). Social Networks and

Social Networking exist in different forms and have never been new concepts but

represent a simple act of maintaining and or strengthening the existing circle of

friends and/or acquaintances and their circles. In this way, "It introduces a new

network of friends and acquaintances through the already existing ones that promotes

the formation of a network of individuals and the creation of communities (Kušić,

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2010, p.14).” The creation of social networks and social networking used to be and

still is possible in a real world (e.g. in a neighborhood, a school, a student home, etc.),

however, "these concepts have been transposed into an online environment that makes

online social networks and social networking very popular among young people (Alić,

2009, 104).” Creating online social networks and social networking is enabled

through social software and web site service, and Instagram is one of the most

popular.

1.2 Concept, Functionality and Classification of Social Networks

Online social networks can be defined as a "web-based service that allows

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individuals to (1) build a public or semi-public profile within the bounded system, (2)

articulate a list of other users with whom they share the relationship, and (3) view and
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use their own list links and links between others within the system (Boyd, Ellison,

2008, p.211).” With the term social network, in public discourse there is also the
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concept of social networking, and these terms are often used as synonyms, although

there is a difference. Networking emphasizes initiation and start of new relationships,

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most often among people who might have something in common but do not know

each other. Although networking is possible on online social networks, this is not

their primary practice, nor is it what differentiates them from other forms of

computer-mediated communication (Boyd& Ellison, 2008). What makes online social

networks special is allowing individuals to articulate and visualize their profiles on

social networks rather than to meet unknown people. In many online social networks,

participants do not necessarily "network", do not meet new people, but primarily

communicate with people who are already part of their wider off-line social network.

While online social networks make it easier and easier to meet new people,

individuals usually use them to maintain and / or strengthen their current off-line

social networks. The nature and linkage name that can be achieved in online social
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networks may differ with respect to the features provided by certain online social

network services (Alić, 2009, 105).

To make it easier to understand the notion of social networking, it is necessary

to clarify how it works. Namely, the social network as a service consists of presenting

each user (profile), his / her social connections, and a range of additional services. It

should be noted that most social networks provide means for user interaction via the

Internet, such as email and instant messaging. Social networking allows users to share

ideas, images, posts, activities, events, and interests with people in their network.

While social networks provide a variety of technical capabilities, their backbone

consists of visible profiles that display an articulated list of friends, who are also

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system users. Profiles are unique pages where an individual can sign up. After joining

the social network, an individual is asked to fill out forms that contain a number of
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questions. The profile is generated by answering questions, which typically include
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descriptions such as age, location, interests, and section "About me.” Most of these

social networks encourage users to put pictures on their profiles. Some web sites

allow users to improve their profiles, add multimedia content, or change the look of
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their profile. Others, like Instagram, allow users to add modules (apps) that improve

their profile (Boyd, 2007).

The foundation ofsocial networks is social media that includes web-based

technologies and mobile technologies used to turn communication into interactive

dialogue (Chapman, 2016). Social networks are defined as a group of Internet

applications built on the ideological and technological basis of Web 2.0 technologies

that enable the creation and exchange of user-generated content (Kaplan, 2013).

Social Networks are the media for interaction and represent a kind of supernatural

tool that goes beyond the very sphere of social communication. They are easily

accessible and have changed the way organizations, societies and individuals
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA 11
communicate. They also refer to many forms, including magazines, web forums,

blogs, social blogs, microblogs, wikis, podcasts, photos or images, videos, and Social

Marking Pages (Chapman, 2016).

1.3 Social Network Instagram

Instagram is an easy way to share the most important moments in an

individual's life with the whole world. Users can follow their friends and family to see

what they are doing and in which part of the world they are, and it does not cost them

anything. Joining Instagram means joining a community with more than 500 million

people and expressing it by sharing all the moments of your day (Zrim, 2015). Using

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Instagram, it is possible to set up photos and videos that a user wants to keep on the

profile network, share as many photos and videos as they want to the story of the user.
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These can be animated with text and drawing tools and the stories disappear after 24

hours and will not appear on the profile or feed network. With this social network it is
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possibleto track people stories that the users are tracking in the feed bar; disclose

photos and videos that users may like and follow new accounts on the "Explore" tab
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and send private content and feed posts directly to their friends via Instagram

Direct.These posts are connected to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and other social

networks and all posts can be viewed on those social networks automatically if the

user chooses to.

Instagram is an easy and intuitive social network for sharing images, with

about one hundred million active users from around the world, predominantly the

younger population (Zrim, 2015). Mobile phones, which are now for a large number

of people at hand, allow photographs to be taken at anytime and anywhere and to

avoid forgetting valuable and interesting moments. Use of the service implies that the

user understands and agrees to use the platform (i.e., services) to publish content,

including photos, comments, and other materials (user content), and to publicly share
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA 12
the user's content. This means that other users can search, browse, use, or share any

user content publicly available through the service, in accordance with the terms and

conditions of the Privacy Policy and Instagram Terms of Use (Instagram, 2019). The

benefits of Instagram are ease of use for a user / business (one photo can be easily set

up on any social network), and it has more than 1,000 words, since only publishing

business-related photography can attract more users than some text.

Instagram’s popularity is increasing because today's mobile phones have

higher quality cameras, and therefore have better photos. The fact is that an increasing

number of social network users want to share their world views and interesting

situations with their friends, as well as the products they use. However, there is a

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disadvantage, “The biggest disadvantage of Instagram is its highly technological tool

that requires attention to use to make the photos of high quality” (Spremić et al.,
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2016).
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At the beginning, Instagram provided the ability to post only photos, and

shortly after that, the opportunity to post a video for 15 seconds was introduced. To

become an Instagram user is very easy, filling out the required data, set up email
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addresses and passwords. Instagram, unlike other social networks, allows you to post

only photos and videos. It is conceived in a way that people follow each other, which

means that an individual follows the profiles that are important or are interesting to

him/her. The higher the number of followers, the more popular that profile is to view.

Instagram enables, with the release of images and videos, that users mark their

location (where it is captured), and below the picture it is possible to write a

description that has often been included in the hashtags. There is also the possibility

of tagging other people in the photos. Additionally, Instagram offers users the ability

to reply regardless of whether a conversation is started by a person who follows the

profile of the person to whom the message is addressed. Everyone has the option to let
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the conversation start, or to ignore it. Instagramhas also become attractive in the

business world for advertising, sales, promotion and resale (Instagram, 2019)

In addition, selfie photos should be mentioned. Selfie is a self-portraying

selfportrayal of a photo where a person photographed him/herself with other people

holding a camera or mobile device. The selfie represents the phenomenon of

Instagram and is thought of as a personalized postcard. Selfie photographs are mostly

informal and spontaneous and are most commonly made by shooting themselves in

the mirror or by shooting themselves by holding a mobile device focused on a

particular person. In addition to the specific polaroid photo format, filters are also

known for the purpose of beautifying photographs. Instagram currently has 40 free

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filters that provide different effects on photos (Instagram, 2019).
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1.4 Psychological Impact of Social Networks
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The Social Networks provide a wealth of user experience, dynamic content,

openness and collective intelligence (Zrim, 2015). Active users can take advantage of

the different features offered by social networking bids. They provide instant
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messaging, private messages, blogging, commentary on personal status, images and

audio / video content, notes can be written in diary style, and more (Hill, Denman,

2016). User profiles include personal information, which greatly attracts other

members. The primary goal of social networks is communication with people who are

already part of their true social networks. When it comes to networking, it's mostly

about connecting users who are not familiar with the real world. Networking is

possible on social networking sites, but this is not the purpose of these Internet

applications, and networking does not represent what separates these pages from other

forms. Thus, the difference between social media and social networks is not only in

semantics, but also in the features and functionality added by the creators of these
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA 14
web sites and dictating the way they are used, but social networks have evolved from

just social networking (Cohen, 2009).

Social networks have developed to such an extent that they have started to

significantly affect the relationship between people. It is increasingly seen that many

active users of the World Wide Web, and thus social networks, have become

dependent to the extent that they dedicate more time to virtual friends than their

trueminded friends (Keen, 2010). Social networks are appealing mostly because they

offer different ways of relaxation to the users and the ability to stay in touch with old

friends and meet new friends, join groups based on common interests and more

(Busch et al., 2014). Most people choose to join the virtual foreign communities

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because they have a sense of belonging, acceptance and inclusion, which is extremely

important for their psychosocial development (Alić, 2010).

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Today, in modern communications, social network users have great potential
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to bring their own confidence through perfection, as they can display what they really

want to be on those networks. They can, for example, endlessly edit their digital
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profiles and selfies before posting them online or sending them to friends. Scientists

today often wonder whether the ability of social networks is to increase selfawareness

and self-confidence in users or transforms them into narcissistic individuals.

Facebook has done everything to ensure it does not lose its young users by creating

Snapchat and Instagram applications. These developments cause many questions. Has

the use of social media led to superficial relationships and loneliness - or increases

self-esteem, self-confidence and social skills (Christakis& Fowler, 2010).Friendship

is one of the greatest benefits of a common kind of interpersonal relationships and the

great advantage of friendship is social and material support in stressful situations.

Network friendship is of less quality than traditional friendship because the latter has

greater breadth, depth, more understanding, interdependence, advantages and

PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA 15
convergence than online friendship, given their risk (Alić, 2010). Chang and Chen

found in the 2013 that the difference in the quality of both types of friendship depends

on the duration of the relationship, and research has shown that the differences were

minimal in relationships lasting more than one year. Alić (2010) points out that the

very popular way of communicating among people in recent years has become online

social networking. Users search and pick friends on these networks, talk to them,

share pictures, and share other files. Somehow, they are enabled to track events in

people they do not often face. It is clear that all online social networks are based on

friends or contacts that represent other users of the same online network. So, people

are trying to expand their circle of friends, acquaintances and friends of common

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interests.

1.5 Media impact on Development of Dissatisfaction with Appearance

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There are more empirically verified conceptual approaches to the
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interpretation of development dissatisfaction with the appearance of their own body

through formative influences of media content. We emphasize the model of media

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practice (Steele & Brown, 1995), which seeks to understand why adolescents choose

and experience certain content. The influence of consumed content on attitudes,

beliefs and behaviors within this model is not conceptualized as direct, but dependent

on the manner of their interpretation. The constant interaction of messages of selected

content, traits and existing experiences of consumers and environmental influences,

especially from family and peers is consumed and accepted. The choice of the content

used is interpreted by a well-established selective exposure model (e.g. Stroud, 2008),

according to which existing interests and attitudes dictate exposure to the content that

complies with them and strengthens them, and neglects and also refuses content that

conflicts with user's attitudes and interests. The recent theoretical frameworks

developed with an emphasis on studying the effects of media content that may be
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA 16
particularly risky for adolescents, that is violent and pornographic, include a

downward spiral 3A model (Slater, 2007) of media sexual socialization (Wright,

2011),and differential susceptibility to media effects (Valkenburg& Peter, 2013). In

analyzing this issue, the most commonly used is the socio-cultural model of the

interpretation of media influence on the development of dissatisfaction with

appearance (Garner et al., 1980).This model postulates the existence of one type of

socially conditioned norms that are reproduced thought media as desirable physical

properties of men and women. Media-mediated ideals of physical appearance are

adopted as their own internalization process, and then become the basis of

appreciation of their own and other looks. This process further elaborates the theory

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of objectification (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), operationalizing a certain

sociocultural model. According to this theory, the cultural practice of objectification

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can be described as a culturally conditioned prioritization of external bodily

appearance, which western culture fosters through gender specific socialization and
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more often defining women and girls in body terms than men and boys (Aubrey,

2006, Calogero et al., 2011; McKay, 2013). The theory of objectivationisbased on the
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assumption that women's bodies become objectified during puberty when they are

emphasized to be subject to other estimates (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997).

Objectivization at the individual level leads to self-objectivization, self-assessment of

values in the terms of external body appearance and its compliance with social

standards, which gradually shift to self-control, primary cognitive and behavioral self-

objective manifestation (Lindberg et al., 2007).

Self-control commemorates frequent thinking about individuals own

appearance and checking and evaluating their appearance on the basis of how a

person thinks others see, in order to align their physical appearance with social

expectations. This may result in stress, shame, anxiety, and even disgust at one's own

body (Choma et al., 2010), and self-control has been shown to be negatively
 PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA 17
associated with certain cognitive and bodily performances (Zurbriggen et al., 2010).

Contemporary western culture is perceived by the body as infinitely variable, and its

appearance and form dependent on individual efforts, which can result in extreme and

health-threatening procedures such as radical diets, exercise regimes, and

modification procedures (Choma et al., 2007; Calado et al., 2010).

1.6 Internet Social Networks as a new source of (media) influence on satisfaction

Recent analyses of this issuestrongly advocate expanding the perception of media

influence from conventional media, such as printed, television and "one-way" Internet

media, to social media and networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

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(Cohen &Blaszczynski, 2015; De Vries et al., 2016). Social networks for younger

generations have become even more important sources of information and media
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content than conventional media (Bair et al., 2012), and it is important that this

information is mainly mediated by user referral groups which includes friends and
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acquaintances.

Virtual social networks enable self-representation through the exponential

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information and management of impressions. One of the main motives of using social

networks is to satisfy the need for self-representation and affirmation (Nadkarni&

Hofmann, 2012), and is a fundamental feature of communication between these

channels of interactivity. Users share their photos, thoughts, experiences, and other

content with other users who approve or disapprove them by commenting or even

simply by clicking the option "like". Blasting is direct feedback from the environment

and the user becomes a measure of the social desirability of their own looks and

behaviors. Haferkamp and Krämer (2011) found that users manipulate their own look

in the photographs they publish, especially girls, in the direction of objectifying the

body and aligning its appearance with the ideals of beauty.

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