Appearance comparison on social networking sites and body shame
The role of negative body talk and perceived sociocultural influences on body image
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4227693 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ruining Wang (0000-0003-3848-500X, Jiangxi Normal University), Baojuan Ye (0000-0002-1776-5742, Jiangxi Normal University), Peiyi Wang (0000-0002-2276-1287, University of California, Irvine) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 224-237 |
| Publication date | 2025-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Health Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1359-1053 • E-ISSN: 1461-7277 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/13591053241245100 |
| PMID | 38600686 |
| OpenAlex | W4394722514 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 49 |
Social media platforms play a significant role in the lives of young people. While the usage of these platforms has grown, research exploring the challenges of body image remains limited. This study investigated whether initiating negative body talk functioned as an indirect pathway between appearance comparison on social media and body shame and whether perceived sociocultural influences from parents, friends, and media on body image moderated this indirect effect. An online cross-sectional survey of 795 Chinese college students ( Mage = 20.17, SD = 1.65; 60% female, 40% male) was conducted. Negative body talk was a partial indirect pathway in the association, and this indirect effect was significant among those experiencing higher sociocultural pressures from all three sources. This study highlights the need for health psychology in understanding and addressing the mental health consequences associated with digital media and sociocultural influences on body image perception
Developmental psychology · Mental health · Perception · Psychiatry · Shame · Social media · Sociocultural evolution · Sociology · Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies · Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification · Eating Disorders and Behaviors · Psychology · Social Psychology
Age-related and sex-specific differences in the prevalence of negative responses to online body shaming among teenagers aged 11-17
Smartphone addiction and sleep quality in the physical activity-anxiety link
Body image conversations between adolescent girls and their mothers
Between being affected and being an active emotion ‘manager’
Body image and emotions in Italian women
Oscillating between objectification and agency
The impact of perceived stigma on appearance anxiety in postoperative rhinoplasty patients
Self-objectification and depressive symptoms among young Chinese women
Exacting beauty
Social Media and Body Image Concerns
Belonging and loneliness in cyberspace
The impact of appearance comparisons made through social media, traditional media, and in person in women’s everyday lives
Negative comparisons about one's appearance mediate the relationship between Facebook usage and body image concerns
The Perfect Storm
A meta-analytic review of the relationship between social media use and body image disturbance
Photoshopping the selfie
Social media, body image and food choices in healthy young adults
Should I post my very best self? The within-person reciprocal associations between social media literacy, positivity-biased behaviors and adolescents’ self-esteem
The “Mainstreaming” of America
Required Sample Size to Detect the Mediated Effect
Online and offline social networks
Foundations of Factor Analysis
In the eye of the beholder
Conceptualizing the Role of Social Context in Media Selectivity
The Objectified Body Consciousness Scale
Objectification Theory
Fat Talk and Body Image Disturbance
Gender Comparisons of Fat Talk in the United Kingdom and the United States
Body Talk on Social Networking Sites, Body Surveillance, and Body Shame among Young Adults
Gender Differences in Fat Talk Among American Adults
Adolescents’ Body Shame and Social Networking Sites
Integrating Social Comparison Theory and Self-Esteem within Objectification Theory to Predict Women’s Disordered Eating
A Biopsychosocial Model of Social Media Use and Body Image Concerns, Disordered Eating, and Muscle-Building Behaviors among Adolescent Girls and Boys
Culture and the self
A Theory of Social Comparison Processes
Social Media Effects on Young Women's Body Image Concerns
| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 8 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |