The Influence of Social Media Use Intensity on Social Comparison in College Students

Abstract

Social media have been growing rapidly with the advanced development of IT, people are spending an increasing amount of time in cyberspace and perceive psychologically intangible objects (e.g., video reels, avatars, online movie streaming services), which they come to regard as “projection”. However, it remains unclear whether social media makes people more emotionally positive healthy or less. This study aims to explore the intensity effect of social media utilization on social comparison. With a general basis of the two-stage model of interactive media use for motivation and positive content, we conducted a cross-sectional online survey study (N = 450) in the context of students in Pekanbaru, Indonesia and empirically tested a mediation pathway linking to social anxiety. The results indicated that use did not directly increase social anxiety. Instead, social comparison, a proximal outcome, and self-esteem, an intermediate outcome played mediating roles, supporting the complete mediation effects. Statistically, the intensity of social media utilization have influenced more in a positive direction. This finding provides important theoretical and practical implications for the design of communication mental health campaigns and education in this digital era to enhance the positive effect of social media.