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This study tested whether age moderates the longitudinal relationships between upward and downward comparisons on Instagram and three identity processes (i.e., commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment). Two hundred and eleven British emerging adults completed two self-report surveys, two months apart, in early 2020. A cross-lagged panel model with interaction terms found that age moderated the relationships between both upward and downward comparisons on Instagram and commitment. Contingent moderations were found: the relationship between upward comparisons and commitment was negative for older participants, whilst the relationship between downward comparisons and commitment was negative for younger participants. Significant age differences were not found in the paths between the comparison behaviours and the two exploratory processes. Findings therefore provide evidence to suggest that developmental factors may inform the identity implications of social comparisons on Instagram during emerging adulthood, and thus, developmental sensitivity is required when supporting emerging adults to navigate the platform.

While social media is often assumed to exacerbate adolescents’ depressive symptoms, research findings are ambiguous. One way to move the field forward is by looking beyond time spent on social media and considering subjective experiences, such as the extent to which adolescents rely on social media for validation. The current three-wave longitudinal panel study (N=1,032) examines the within- and between-person relations between adolescents’ self-worth dependency on social media feedback and depressive symptoms using a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model. We found that adolescents who derived more of their self-worth from social media feedback were also more depressed, as indicated by a positive correlation at the between-person level. At the within-person level, a weak effect of self-worth dependency on depression over time was found for girls only. These results highlight the need to examine social media effects at the within-person level, with respect to gender, and to consider subjective experiences with social media in doing so.

Social media fulfil emerging adults’ self-presentation needs, and young people often selectively present positive self-portrayals on social media (i.e., exciting social life, successful professional life, and being happy). Yet, being exposed to the positive self-portrays of others can sometimes relate to mental health pressures. In exceptional times of social deprivation (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic), such relations may differ. This cross-sectional study among 415 emerging adults (Mage = 24.27, SD = 3.19; Women = 64.10%) examined the interrelations between exposure to the positive self-portrayals of others on social media and mental health during an intense COVID-19 lockdown period. The study revealed that exposure to such content related to lower levels of mental health. No support emerged for the moderating role of experiencing negative life events, specifically the experience with COVID-19 illnesses in one’s environment, or a three-way interaction with such experience and gender. These results provide evidence to suggest that specific social circumstances may lead exposure to positive self-portrayals on social media to relate to lower mental health. Specifying such circumstances can help the field to move away from the current inconsistent findings concerning social media/mental health relations.

Although the relationship between social media and narcissism in adolescents has been widely studied, the direction of this link remains unclear to date. This is striking given the potential deconstructive consequences of narcissism for adolescents’ peer relationships. Therefore, this three-wave panel study (Nw1=1032) examined at both the between- and within-person level how narcissism is related to adolescents’ positive self-presentations on the one hand, and to adolescents’ peer attachment on the other hand. At the between-person level, there were significant positive correlations between positive self-presentations on social media and narcissism, and between narcissism and peer relationships. At the within-person level, only the cross-lagged relation of narcissism predicting an adolescent’s tendency to post appearance-related self-presentations on social media was significant. Multiple group tests for gender and receiving positive feedback on one’s self-presentations showed no differences in these within-person associations.

Social media literacy is assumed to protect adolescents from negative social media effects, yet research supporting this is lacking. The current three-wave panel study with a four-month interval among

The present study conceptualized and developed new measurement instruments to assess adolescents’ a) exposure to, b) liking, and c) posting of positive content on social media. By means of an integ...

Despite voiced concerns about sexual online risk behaviors related to mobile dating, little is known about the relation between mobile dating and sexting. The current cross-sectional study (N = 286) examined the relations between the use of geo-social dating apps and emerging adults' willingness to sext with a dating app match. By drawing on the prototype willingness model, both a reasoned path and a social reaction path are proposed to explain this link. As for the reasoned path, a structural equation model showed that more frequent dating app usage is positively related to norm beliefs about peers' sexting behaviors with unknown dating app matches (i.e., descriptive norms), norm beliefs about peers' approval of sexting with matches (i.e., subjective norms), and negatively related to perceptions of danger to sext with matches (i.e., risk attitude). In turn, descriptive norms were positively and risk attitudes were negatively associated with individuals' own willingness to sext with someone they had met through a dating app. As for the social reaction path, it was found that more frequent dating app usage was positively related to emerging adults' favorable evaluations of a prototype person who sexts with unknown dating app matches (i.e., prototype perceptions). The analyses further revealed that such prototype perceptions positively linked with emerging adults' own willingness to sext with a match. These results were similar among women and men and help explain why individuals may be willing to engage in sexting behavior with unknown others. ispartof: Archives Of Sexual Behavior vol:49 issue:4 pages:1133-1145 ispartof: location:United States status: published

Unauthentic social media self-presentation practices relate to lower self-esteem, yet research replicating these findings at the within-person level is lacking. By means of a three-wave longitudinal survey (N=1032), the present study addresses this gap by examining the reciprocal within-person relations between participating in the social media positivity bias and self-esteem over a four month time interval among adolescents. Furthermore, the role of social media literacy was explored in informing adolescents’ positivity bias participation. We found no support for within-person associations between participation in the positivity bias and self-esteem. Positive within-person associations did occur between cognitive social media literacy and participation in the positivity bias, which was in the opposite direction of what was expected. Interestingly, on the between-person level, affective social media literacy related negatively to participation in the positivity bias and positively to self-esteem. The results are discussed in light of peer dynamics characterizing social media behaviors.

Social media use has often been linked to adolescents’ body dissatisfaction, but longitudinal investigations of this relation are scarce. This three-wave panel study among N = 1,032 adolescents contributes to the existing literature by testing the within-person relations between different interactions with appearance-focused social media content (i.e., exposure, liking, positively commenting and posting) and adolescents’ body dissatisfaction, measured with a current versus ideal size discrepancy figure rating scale. The results of RI-CLPM’s showed that increased posting of appearance-focused content predicted decreased body dissatisfaction four months later. Yet, this finding was not consistent across both time intervals. In addition, increased exposure predicted decreased body dissatisfaction, yet only among boys. Liking and positively commenting did not predict adolescents’ body dissatisfaction over time. These results indicate a self-affirming role of posting self-related appearance content and highlight boys’ positive agency over their social media use and body image.

Social media literacy is assumed to protect adolescents from negative social media effects, yet research supporting this is lacking. The current three-wave panel study among N = 1,032 adolescents tests this moderating role of social media literacy. Specifically, we examine between- vs. within-person relations of exposure to the positivity bias, social comparison, envy, and inspiration. We find significant positive relations between these variables at the between-person level. At the within-person level, higher exposure to others’ perfect lives on social media was related to increased inspiration, and higher social comparison was related to increased envy. Finally, multiple group tests showed that the within-person cross-lagged relation between social comparison and envy only occurred for adolescents with low affective social media literacy.

ispartof: Computers In Human Behavior vol:135 status: Published online

Although current literature has extensively discussed media literacy processes, few theories exist explaining the role of social media literacy. Social media are used daily by a substantial number ...

Despite wide recognition that youth spend a significant amount of time communicating on social media, the literature is mixed when assessing the offline interpersonal impact of such time spent. Thi...

INTRODUCTION: The current study addresses how sexualizing online media practices, i.e., exposure to sexually explicit internet material and receiving negative appearance feedback on social media, relate to the acceptance of sexist attitudes among adolescents. Specifically, it extends previous research on the acceptance of rape myths by exploring a construct related to these beliefs, i.e., resistance towards the metoo-movement. METHODS: The study is based on a cross-sectional paper-and-pencil survey among 568 Flemish adolescents (15-18 years old, Mage = 16.4, SD = .98, 58.3% girls) that measured adolescents' sexualizing online media use, sexist attitudes and objectification processes. RESULTS: The results showed that exposure to sexually explicit internet material, but not receiving negative appearance feedback on social media, was related to more resistance towards the metoo-movement and the acceptance of rape myths through notions of women as sex objects. Self-objectification did not function as a valid mediator in the examined relations. Gender and self-esteem did not moderate the proposed relations. CONCLUSIONS: The findings underline the role of media use in how adolescents develop sexist beliefs and, more precisely, beliefs about contemporary actions to combat sexism, i.e., the metoo-movement. The present study showed that sexual objectification fueled by sexually explicit internet material may result in less positive attitudes and, thus, more resistance towards this movement. ispartof: Journal Of Adolescence vol:77 issue:77 pages:59-69 ispartof: location:England status: published

© The Author(s) 2019. Risky selfies are recent, but worrying phenomena in which adolescents take pictures of themselves during the act of risk behavior. By applying the principles of the prototype willingness model, the current cross-sectional study among adolescents (N = 686) aged 15–18 years old examined the relation between social media use and adolescents’ risky selfie behavior. A structural equation modeling indicated that adolescents’ general social media use was positively related to descriptive norm estimations of risky selfie takers and favorable prototype perceptions of risky selfie takers. Moreover, attitudes toward the taking of risky selfies and prototype perceptions of risky selfie takers were found to positively relate to adolescents’ willingness to engage in risky selfie taking and their actual risky selfie behavior. Furthermore, no support was found for the moderating roles of gender, developmental status, narcissism, and sensation seeking in the reported relations with social media use. ispartof: New Media & Society vol:21 issue:11-12 pages:2443-2462 status: published