Facebook and self-perception: Individual susceptibility to negative social comparison on Facebook

a r t i c l e i n f o Social network sites such as Facebook give off the impression that others are doing better than we are. As a result, the use of these sites may lead to negative social comparison (i.e., feeling like others are doing better than oneself). According to social comparison theory, such negative social comparisons are detrimental to perceptions about the self. The current study therefore investigated the indirect relationship between Facebook use and self-perceptions through negative social comparison. Because happier people process social information differently than unhappier people, we also investigated whether the relationship between Facebook use and social comparison and, as a result, self-perception, differs depending on the degree of happiness of the emerging adult. A survey among 231 emerging adults (age 18–25) showed that Facebook use was related to a greater degree of negative social comparison, which was in turn related negatively to self-perceived social competence and physical attractiveness. The indirect relationship between Facebook use and self-perception through negative social comparison was attenuated among happier individuals, as the relationship between Facebook use and negative social comparison was weaker among happier individuals. SNS use was thus negatively related to self-perception through negative social comparison, especially among unhappy individuals. Social network sites (SNSs), such as Facebook, are notorious for giving off the impression that other people are living better lives than we are (Chou & Edge, 2012). People generally present themselves and their lives positively on SNSs (Dorethy, Fiebert, & Warren, 2014) for example by posting pictures in which they look their best (Manago, Graham, Greenfield, & Salimkhan, 2008) and are having a good time with their friends (Zhao, Grasmuck, & Martin, 2008). The vast majority of time spent on SNSs consists of viewing these idealized SNS profiles, pictures, and status updates of others (Pempek, Yermolayeva, & Calvert, 2009). Such information about how others are doing may impact how people see themselves, that is, their self-perceptions because people base their self-perceptions at least partly on how they are doing in comparison to others (Festinger, 1954). These potential effects of SNS use on self-perceptions through social comparison are the focus of the current study. Previous research on the effects of SNSs on self-perceptions has focused predominantly on the implications of social interactions on these websites (e.g., feedback from others) (Valkenburg, Peter, & Schouten, 2006) or due to editing and viewing content about the self …