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Social Media and Mental Health: Does Relationship Status moderate the Relationship between Instagram Usage and Self-esteem?

Sánchez, Julen Orinoco (2019) Social Media and Mental Health: Does Relationship Status moderate the Relationship between Instagram Usage and Self-esteem?

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Abstract:While a growing body of research has focused on the relationship between Instagram usage and self-esteem, no studies have yet been conducted on whether an individual’s relationship status (being single vs. being in a romantic relationship) would potentially moderate this relationship. The present study therefore aimed to fill this existing gap in the literature. For this purpose, an online survey was created and the responses of n = 169 predominantly German Instagram users between 18 and 24 year of age (M = 20.3, SD = 1.5) were subjected to correlation and moderation analyses. Results indicated that no negative relationship existed between an individual’s Instagram usage and self-esteem. However, relationship status was found to be a significant moderator of the relationship between Instagram use and self-esteem. More specifically, the relationship between Instagram usage and self-esteem turned out to be negative for singles, while it was positive for individuals who were in a romantic relationship. It is argued that future research is necessary to investigate the direction of potential causality between mentioned variables.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:10 humanities in general
Programme:Psychology BSc (56604)
Keywords:Instagram, Relationship status, Self-esteem, Young adults, Social comparison, Actual self, Idealized self
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/78533
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