A Dual Award With Lancaster University

Running Head: RELATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA WITH BODY IMAGE
DISSATISFACTION AND SELF-ESTEEM OF AN INDIVIDUAL
Roshni Kaur Dhillon
A dissertation
Submitted in the partial fulfilment for the requirements for the
Degree of Bachelor’s of Science (Honours) in Psychology
School of Science and Technology
Sunway University
A dual award with Lancaster University
January 2021
RELATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA WITH BODY IMAGE DISSATISFACTION AND
SELF-ESTEEM OF AN INDIVIDUAL
The work submitted in this report is my own and has not been submitted in substantially the
same form towards the award of another degree or other qualificatory work by myself or any
other person. I confirm that acknowledgement has been made to assistance given and that all
major sources have been appropriately referenced.
Your name Roshni Kaur Dhillon
Your signature
The date 4 February 2021
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Abstract
Many individuals are said to be facing body image dissatisfaction and self-esteem from the
influence of social media. This study aims to investigate the relationship of social media
engagement in young adults in relation to their body image dissatisfaction and self-esteem. In
addition, this study is also explore if social media impact body image dissatisfaction
differently for males versus females. This study recruited 120 Malaysian participants (58
males; 62 females) ranging from 18 to 25 years old. They participated in an online survey,
completing social media engagement questionnaire, Rosenberg self-esteem scale, and body
appreciation scale questionnaires. The findings concluded that social media engagement is
not associated with body image dissatisfaction. Other than that, social media is not associated
with self-esteem whereby it will not cause a negative effect to an individual. Furthermore,
body image dissatisfaction will have a negative effect on an individual’s self-esteem. Females
are also not likely to have a higher body image dissatisfaction compared to males. Moreover,
gender do not moderate the relationship between social media and body image
dissatisfaction. Future implications like widening the research scale should be done in this
study. In conclusion, more research should be carried out on these areas to have better results.
Keywords: social media engagement, body image dissatisfaction, self-esteem
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The relationship of social media with body image dissatisfaction and self-esteem of an
individual
In the world that we live in today, people spend most of their time on their
smartphones surfing through the internet (Franchina & Coco, 2016). Media usage on mobile
including browsing the mobile web, accessing applications, and downloading content from
the internet showed a major increase and has reached 50% in many markets out there (Sarwar
& Soomoro, 2013). The smartphone usage in the United Kingdom has shown that 37% of
adults and 60% of teens admit that they are highly addicted to their smartphones (Sarwar &
Soomoro, 2013). Traditional media such as television and newspapers are losing their
audience and gaining popularity ever since internet-based media has evolved (Franchina &
Coco, 2016). Internet media has taken over traditional media as the internet is easily available
to everyone, where they can just browse them through their smartphones or tablets (Franchina
& Coco, 2016). Another form of internet media is social media, whereby it is defined as an
online platform where people are able to interact with other people to share various forms of
interest, activities or real-life connections (Akram & Kumar, 2017).
There are many ways on how social media causes an impact to our everyday life.
Social media can cause a person’s reputation to be at stake, by just making a false statement
and spreading time over social media (Akram & Kumar, 2017). The National Children’s in
Britain home study has found that one in four children were reported being bullied on the
internet (Amedie, 2015). This issue of cyberbullying has let individual to have deep mental
scars, and even lead to suicide (Amedie, 2015). Social media has caused a influence on the
body image of an individual.
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Like traditional media, social media like Facebook has been related to poorer body
image outcomes for both men and women (Franchina & Coco, 2016). This can be due to how
the media promotes the ideal beauty standard and the unrealistic standard of beauty
(Franchina & Coco, 2016). Even if the promoted body shape and weight is unachievable for
an individual, viewers end up perceiving this ideal image as a reality to them which leads
them to feel dissatisfied with themselves (Franchina & Coco, 2016). An ideally thin body
figure has been promoted to public as a standard of beauty and success in both developed and
developing countries (Shahyad, 2015). Failure to achieve that beauty standard results in an
individual to body image dissatisfaction (Shahyad, 2015). Social comparison from social
media whereby individuals compare themselves to ideal standards of beauty also causes an
individual to feel dissatisfied with their own body (Franchina & Coco, 2016). Social
comparison also leads up to an individual to have low self-esteem (Franchina & Coco, 2016).
Low self-esteem results in an individual having low self-worth while high self-esteem results
in an individual having high self-worth (Shahyad, 2015). Low self-esteem also correlates
with several mental health issues like body image dissatisfaction (Shahyad, 2015).
Aim of the study
Therefore, the aim of this study is mainly to investigate the relationship of social
media engagement in young adults in relation to their body image dissatisfaction and self-
esteem. This study will also investigate the gender differences of social media on body image
dissatisfaction of an individual.
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Literature Review
Social Media and Body Image Dissatisfaction
Social media is a new forum that allows individuals to exchange ideas, connect with,
relate to, and mobilize for a cause, seek advice from others, and offer help to people around
them (Amedie, 2015). Social media has removed communication barriers among individuals
and created a decentralized communication channel and has open channels for all to have a
voice (Amedie, 2015). However, social media also have a negative impact on our lives due to
combination of how people have isolated themselves which has eroded the culture (Amedie,
2015). This is because social media robs us from our self-control as an individual and to think
independently which makes us gullible to join any group that posts preserving messages that
tickle our ears (Amedie, 2015). Social media portrays certain standards of beauty and
attractiveness. An important contribution to an individual’s body image dissatisfaction is
social media (Pop, 2016). When individuals are constantly watching and being exposed to
‘perfect bodies’ it causes them to be insecure and dissatisfied about their own body (Pop,
2016).
Body image dissatisfaction is defined as negative feelings and thoughts on a person’s
weight and body shape (Shahyad et al., 2015). Media image in social media plays a huge role
in shaping the cultural ideology on beauty and attractiveness of a person through various
forms like in advertising, retailing and also the entertainment industry (Jung & Lennon,
2003). In the United States society, images on media reflect cultural standards that mainly
focus on realistically thin body images and attractive physical characteristics (Jung &
Lennon, 2003). In a study that was done by Richin’s (1991), that was done with female
college students, it was found that they show a lower satisfaction with their physical
attractiveness after being exposed to several advertisements that show an idealized body
image (Jung & Lennon, 2003).
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On social media, women are likely to present idealized images of themselves (Hogue
& Mills, 2018). In consequence, women on social media are likely to see idealized images of
their peers and compare it to themselves (Hogue & Mills, 2018). Hogue & Mills (2018),
hypothesized that young adult women who deliberately engage themselves with image-based
social media of their peers are more likely to have a negative body image dissatisfaction
compared to when not doing so. Perception towards body image will be positive when the
individual has a properly integrated view on their personal body scheme which will make
them feel comfortable and happy with their appearance (Reategui & Palmer, 2017). On the
other hand, it will be negative when an individual does not feel satisfied with how they look
(Reategui & Palmer, 2017).
Users of social media often control pictures that they show online, and that is said to
be a common habit among young girls (Kleemans et al., 2018). Body image dissatisfaction
results in young women ascending social comparison of their own appearance with the
appearance of other women in real life or in social media (Kleemans et al., 2018). Social
media plays a very powerful influence when it comes to giving messages to the public about
weight and appearance which leads to dissatisfaction (Santarossa & Woodruff, 2017). This is
because users on social media can interact with family members, friends and celebrities
which influences societal standards which supports beauty ideals and encourages body image
dissatisfaction (Santarossa & Woodruff, 2017).
H1: The engagement of social media among young adults will have a negative effect on
the body image dissatisfaction of an individual.
Social Media and Self-Esteem
According to Clay et al (2005), self-esteem is a positive or negative attitude towards
one self. Opinions and comments of people have a great impact on people's self-esteem levels
(Jan et al., 2017). The consequences of low self-esteem is the negative feedback from people
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which will make their self-esteem to decrease while for high self-esteem is the positive
feedback from people which will increase their self-esteem (Jan et al., 2017).
Social media has been said to have an influence on an individual’s self-esteem.
According to Jan, Soomro & Ahmad (2017), anxiety, depression and low self-esteem levels
are from results of social networking sites, especially Facebook. It is being said that low self-
esteem levels of an individual are from the result of cyber bullying (Jan et al., 2017). If
Facebook users do not receive a certain amount of likes or comments in affects their self-
esteem (Gallagher, 2017). However, if individuals have a high self-esteem, the amount of
likes or comments on posts that they publish on Facebook, it does not decrease their self-
esteem (Gallagher, 2017). However, Jan, Soomro & Ahmad (2017) found that people with
low self-esteem finds Facebook a beneficial platform as it has more social capital. As said by
Reategui & Palmer (2017), individuals who do not have a high opinion of themselves, find it
difficult to have a face-to-face interaction as they experience shyness due to the lack of self-
esteem (Reategui & Palmer, 2017). Self-viewing has an individual effect on the self-esteem
level of an individual, where the more people view selfies on social media, the lower their
self-esteem (Gallagher, 2017).
Social media can cause negative aspects to an individual, especially when they use
social media to interact with people they do not know as this causes a decrease in self-esteem
(Isa & Badran, 2017). People often communicate freely on social media compared to face-to-
face and the effect of this is that they may feel uncomfortable which may decrease their self-
esteem to interact with one another (Isa & Badran, 2017). Self-esteem of an individual can
also be affected when individuals start comparing with their online peers on their
achievement in life (Isa & Badran, 2017). The longer a person spends on social media, the
lower their self-esteem becomes (Isa & Badran, 2017).
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However, as there are negative effects to social media, there are also positive effects
to it. For example, social media plays an important role when it comes to education
(Nadkarni, Charkha & Kulkarni, 2018). This is so because by having social media, teachers
will be able to communicate and collaborate with their students easily which will result in
grades being improved and absenteeism to reduce (Nadkarni et al., 2018). It was found that
59% of students use social networking sites to discuss educational topics and 50% of them
use these sites to discuss about assignments (Nadkarni et al., 2018). Furthermore, social
media is the best ways to find new friends, build a connection, interact with people with the
same interest as you and it also allows you to seek out to groups which has the same interest
as you (Nadkarni et al., 2018).
With the negative and positive effects of social media being explained, social media
engagement will lead to a negative effect on individual’s self-esteem as when one is on social
media, they tend to compare themselves with others which gradually decreases their self-
esteem level.
H2: Social media engagement will have a negative effect on an individual's self-esteem
Body Image Dissatisfaction and Self-Esteem
Self-esteem can be viewed as a key indicator to an individual’s self-esteem at least for
people in the Western culture (Clay et al., 2005). A meta-analysis of self-esteem studies was
conducted in Western industrialized nations has confirmed that women’s self-esteem is
moderately but significantly lower than men's (Clay et al., 2005).
There are many relationships between body image dissatisfaction and self-esteem of
an individual. It was found that there is a negative correlation between body image
dissatisfaction and self-esteem of an individual (Shahyad et al., 2015). Research was done
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and has been found that one-third and one-fourth of self-esteem relates to what the person
feels about their physique (Shahyad et al., 2015). Low self-esteem is identified as a risk factor
for body image dissatisfaction and it has also been said that self-esteem could diminish body
image dissatisfaction (Shahyad et al., 2015). Low self-esteem correlates with poor body
image and body image dissatisfaction (Shahyad et al., 2015). However, individuals who
report higher levels of body dissatisfaction showed lesser self-esteem (Tiwari, 2014).
Research found that body image and self-esteem were negatively correlated whereby higher
level of body image dissatisfaction is negatively related to self-esteem (Krishen, 2011).
However, negative body image dissatisfaction will lead to an individual having a low
self-esteem level (Gorman, 2015). If an individual does not take a positive attitude towards
their body, it can lead them to feeling unworthy, and confidence levels will be affected
(Gorman, 2015). Research was done and it was found that adolescent girls who are not
overweight has perceived themselves as overweight or disturbed with how their body looks
have reported to have a low self-esteem (Calogero & Thompson, 2010).
H3: Body image dissatisfaction will have a negative effect on an individual’s self-esteem.
Gender and Body Image Dissatisfaction
Gender is said to play a role in body image dissatisfaction. For example, body image
dissatisfaction increases during adolescence and particularly among adolescent girls (Vries et
al., 2019). Females are said to be more vulnerable than males when it comes to physical
changes, that eventually turns into a high level of body image dissatisfaction (Gatti et al.,
2014). In a cross-sectional study, adolescent girls who used social media frequently report
greater internalization of beauty ideals than males (Vries et al., 2019). Other than that, an
experimental study was conducted and found that when adolescent’s girls viewed edited
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pictures of other girls on social media it increased their body image dissatisfaction, especially
among those who often compared themselves to others (Vries et al., 2019). Body
dissatisfaction from females are due to teasing from the peers, especially at the beginning of
their pubertal development (Gatti et al., 2014).
Other than that, body image dissatisfaction is experienced negatively by the majority
of females (Pop, 2016). Many of the females are dissatisfied with their body in terms of
weight and size because being slim is seen as the desirable standard of beauty pattern (Pop,
2016). 76% of women want to change something about their body shape and size, and
eventually their weight (Pop, 2016). Other than that, 66% of women want to lose weight in
order to achieve an ideal, and slimmer body (Pop, 2016).
In addition, males have been said to be more open to accepting physical changes to
their body and accepting it compared to females who are often dissatisfied (Gatti et al., 2014).
However, another research showed when male is being exposed to images of muscular and
attractive male models, they will have a negative effect on their body satisfaction level
(Mulgrew et al., 2014). Body dissatisfaction was also found in men when they were being
exposed to advertisements of muscular men, where they found there is a difference between
self-perceived muscularity and ideal level of muscularity (Hobza & Walker, 2007).
The nature of body weight dissatisfaction is slightly different between men and
women whereby women are likely to judge themselve of being overweight when by right
they are not while men are likely to perceive themselves as being underweight with the
respects of objective standards (Furnham et al., 2002). These perceptions have shown that
both genders interprets their weight differently (Furnham et al., 2002). Underweight on the
other hand has different meanings of both men and women whereby women see underweight
as good while men see it as bad (Furnham et al., 2002). Researchers who compare men and
women dissatisfaction with their weight need to take into consideration their direction of
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dissatisfaction (Furnham et al., 2002). Dissatisfaction in women is shown as the desire for
them to lose weight while for men they want to gain weight as lose it (Furnham et al., 2002).
H4: Females are likely to have a higher body image dissatisfaction compared to males.
Social Media Engagement and Body Image Dissatisfaction moderated by gender
Social media comes in many interrelated forms such as blogs, forums, podcasts, photo
sharing, widgets, and videos (Idemudia et al., 2017). Although social media is mostly used by
the younger generation, it has attracted both men and women from different ages, educational
backgrounds, and cultures all over the world (Idemudia et al., 2017).
Men have been said to have more time for the use of social media because of gender
expectations which expect them to take care of the public sphere (Idemudia et al., 2017). Few
research in usage patterns of Social Networking Sites (SNS) has highlighted that men mostly
use social media for networking, making new friends, seeking out potential dates and playing
games while women's use social media for relationship maintenance and posting public
messages (Idemudia et al., 2017). Another related study pointed out that women's use SNS to
look for old friends, keep in touch with their existing friends but at the same time hiding their
personality identity for security purposes (Idemudia et al., 2017). In addition, it was found
that women have outnumbered men for most social networking sites with the exception of
LinkedIn (Idemudia et al., 2017).
Men and women both differs in the way they perceive and evaluate their bodies
(Calogero & Thompson, 2010). Men evaluate and talk about their bodies as a whole
functional entities like ‘How fast do I run’ whereas women’s evaluate their bodies as a
collection of different and distinct parts like ‘I hate the size of my thighs’ (Calogero &
Thompson, 2010). It indicates that women take an more external observation about their body
more than men does (Calogero & Thompson, 2010). Other than that, in westernized societies
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it was found that women’s overestimate the size of their bodies more than men does
(Calogero & Thompson, 2010). As a whole, womens are significantly more dissatisfied with
their bodies from men from adolescent through adulthood (Calogero & Thompson, 2010).
Gender differences in body image has been shown in young children as while whereby girls
aged from 7 to 11 years old have reported more body image dissatisfaction compared to boys
of the same age (Calogero & Thompson, 2010). However, some research has also shown that
body image of mens are reported to be increasing over the past few years whereby 95% of
men experience some degree of body image dissatisfaction (Calogero & Thompson, 2010).
Therefore, with the comparisons being found, research needs to be carried out to investigate
if gender moderates the relationship between social media engagement and body image
dissatisfaction.
H5: Gender moderates the relationship between social media engagement and body
image dissatisfaction
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Methods
Research Design
The research design in this research is a correlational study design. The variables in
this study are body image, self-esteem and social media engagement where the correlation of
body image and self-esteem will be measured to investigate the relation to social media
engagement. The outcome variable in this study is body image and self-esteem while the
independent variable is social media engagement and body image.
Participants
A total of 120 participants, male and female with age ranging from 18 to 25 (M =
4.25, SD= 2.01) years old were recruited via convenient sampling. Inclusion criteria includes
Malaysian, have an active social media engagement and ranges from 18 to 25 years old. Non-
active social media engagement data was excluded. Exclusion criteria include non-
Malaysians, do not have an active social media engagement (less than 4 hours), and ages
ranging below 18 or above 25 years old. The sample consist of 48.3% males and 51.7%
females, with a mean age of 4.25. Race wise classification reported that Malay 10.8%,
Chinese 15.8%, Indian 30.8%, Others 2.5% and Punjabi 40%. For how long participants
spend on social media, it was reported that 4 hours to 7 hours 76.7%, 8 hours to 12 hours
17.5, and for 12 hours and above 5.8%. See Table 1 for demographic details.
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Table 1
Demographic Table (N= 120)
Variable n(%) M SD
Gender
Male 58 (48.3)
Female 62 (51.7)
Age 4.25 2.01
Race
Malay 13 (10.8)
Chinese 19 (15.8)
Indian 37 (30.8)
Others 3 (2.5)
Punjabi 48 (40.0)
Nationality
Malaysian 120 (100)
Engagement on social media (active) 120 (100)
How active on social media
4 hours to 7 hours 92 (76.7)
8 hours to 12 hours 21 (17.5)
12 hours and above 7 (5.8)
Measures
Demographic Sheet. This sheet is a self-developed instrument that is designed to
understand the demographic details of the participants. In this sheet, it includes the age,
gender, nationality, race, question whether they are an active user of social media, and how
long they spend on social media each day.
Social Media Engagement Questionnaire (Przybylski 2013). This scale is a self-
report instrument used to measure user engagement in social media sites. This scale is a 5
item likert scale with items answered on a seven-point scale, from 1- never to 7- seven. A
high social media engagement is when a high total score is obtained. Example of a question is
‘How many times have you used social media 15 minutes before going to bed? Previous
studies have indicated that the Cronbach alpha for social media engagement questionnaire
was .81. In the current study Cronbach alpha for social media engagement questionnaire
was .90.
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Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg 1965). This scale is a self-report
instrument designed to measure and evaluate an individual’s self-esteem. This scale is a 10
item likert scale with items answered on a four-point scale, from strongly agree to strongly
disagree. Five items were reversed scored items. A low self-esteem level is ‘disagree’ or
‘strongly disagree’ for question 2, 5, 6, 8, and 9. A high self-esteem level is ‘agree’ or
‘strongly agree’ for question 1, 3, 4, 7, and 10. Question 2, 5, 6, 8, and 9 was reversed, to 4
being low self-esteem while 1 being high self-esteem. ‘Strongly disagree’ is given 1 point,
‘Disagree’ is given 2 points, ‘Agree’ is given 3 points, and ‘Strongly agree’ is given 4 points.
A total score of all the items indicates an individual’s self-esteem with a higher total score
indicating a higher self-esteem level. Example of a question is ‘On the whole, I am satisfied
with myself’. Previous studies have reported the Cronbach alpha for Rosenberg Self-esteem
scale at .89. In the current study the Cronbach alpha for Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale was .
75.
Body Appreciation Scale. This scale is a self-reported instrument designed to
measure an individual’s body appreciation, acceptance, and respect. This scale is a 13 item
likert scale with items answered on a five-point scale from never to always. Sum of scores
will be added up and a higher score will indicate a higher body appreciation. Example of a
question is ‘I respect my body’. Previous studies have reported the Cronbach alpha for Body
Appreciation scale as .90. In the current study the Cronbach alpha for Body Appreciation
scale was .92.
Procedures
This research was carried out through an online survey via Lancaster University’s
Qualtrics platform. Participants were reached through social media platforms like WhatsApp
and Instagram. Title of the study will be mentioned with attachment of link to the survey.
Title of the study will be mentioned with attachment of link to the survey. Upon entering the
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survey, the first page is where the information sheet is attached together with the consent
permission to take part in the study. Second page then is directed to Social Media
Engagement Questionnaire, followed by the third page is Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and
the fourth page is Body Appreciation Scale. Upon completing all three sets of the questions,
the last page is the debriefing statement. No compensation is given to participants who take
part in this study and this survey will approximately take 10 minutes and 15 minutes at most.
Proposed Analysis
The preliminary analysis that is involved is Pearson’s coefficient, Independent
Sample T-test, and moderated regression. Hypothesis 1 was measured by Pearson’s
coefficient. Hypothesis 2 was measured by Pearson’s coefficient. Hypothesis 3 was measured
by Pearson’s coefficient. Hypothesis 4 was measured by Independent Sample T-test.
Hypothesis 5 was measured by moderated regression. The software that will be used to run
these data is SPSS Statistics.
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Results
H1: Engagement of social media among young adults will have a negative effect on the
body image dissatisfaction of an individual
To test for H1, the relationship between social media among young adults and body image
dissatisfaction was measured using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Preliminary analysis
was performed to ensure no violation of the assumptions of normality, linearity, and
homoscedasticity. There was no significant relationship between the two variables, r= -.14,
n= 120, p= .12, with engagement of social media will not have a negative effect on body
image dissatisfaction of an individual. Hypothesis 1 was not supported. Social media
engagement is not associated with body image dissatisfaction. Refer to Table 1 for more
details.
Table 1
Means, Standard Deviation and Correlation for social media, body image dissatisfaction,
and self-esteem.
Measure M SD 1 2 3
1. Social Media 20.4 9.2 - .12 .30
2. Body image dissatisfaction 48.4 10.1 .12 - .000
3. Self-esteem 24.9 3.8 .30 .000 -
Note: ** Correlations significant at p <.001 level (2-tailed).
H2: Social media will have a negative effect on an individual's self-esteem
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To test for H2, the relationship between social media and individual’s self-esteem was
investigated using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Preliminary analysis was performed to
ensure no violation of the assumptions of normality, linearity, and homoscedasticity. There
was no relationship between the two variables, r= -.10, n= 12-, p= .30. Hypothesis 2 is not
supported. Social media is not associated with self-esteem. Refer to table 1 for more details.
Table 1
and self-esteem.
Measure M SD 1 2 3
4. Social Media 20.4 9.2 - .12 .30
6. Self-esteem 24.9 3.8 .30 .000 -
H3: Body image dissatisfaction will have a negative effect on an individual’s self-esteem
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To test for H3, the relationship between body image dissatisfaction and self-esteem was
measured by Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Preliminary analysis was performed to ensure
no violation of the assumptions of normality, linearity and homoscedasticity. There was a
strong positive correlation between the two variables, r= .36, n= 120, p= .000. Hypothesis 3 is
accepted. Body image dissatisfaction is associated with self-esteem. Refer to Table 1 for
more details.
Table 1
and self-esteem.
Measure M SD 1 2 3
1. Social Media 20.4 9.2 - .12 .30
3. Self-esteem 24.9 3.8 .30 .000 -
H4: Females are likely to have a higher body image dissatisfaction compared to males
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To test for H4, an independent sample t-test was conducted to compare body image
dissatisfaction of male and female. There was no significance difference in scores of male
(M= 48.36, SD= 10.51) and female (M= 48.40, SD= 9.71) ; t(118) = .022, p= .99, two-tailed).
The magnitude of difference in the means (Mean difference =.04, 95% Cl: -3.700 to 3.615)
was very small (eta squared = 0.00008). Hypothesis 4 is not supported. Females are not likely
to have a higher body image dissatisfaction compared to males. Refer to Table 5 and Table 6
for more details.
Table 5
Independent-sample t-test of gender and body image dissatisfaction
Gender N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean
Male 58 48.36 10.51 1.38
Female 62 48.40 9.71 1.23
Table 6
Mean and Standard Deviation of Body Image Dissatisfaction
Levene’s test for 95% Confidence
Equality of T-test for Equality of Means interval of the
variances difference
F Sig. t df Sig. (2 Mean Std. Error Lower Upper
tailed) Difference Difference
.494 .484 -.022 118 .982 -.041 1.846 -3.700 3.615
H5: Gender moderates the relationship between social media engagement and body
image dissatisfaction
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To investigate the if gender moderates the relationship between social media engagement and
body image dissatisfaction, a moderated regression was conducted. The overall model was
not significant, R= .169, R2= .029, F(3, 116)= 1.143, p= .335. In addition, the individual
coefficient shows that gender was not significant, B= .190, t= .838, p= .404. Social media
engagement was not significant, B= .130, t= .838, p= .661. Lastly, the interaction of gender
and SMEQ was not significant, B= -.336, t= -.977, p= .331. As the interaction of gender and
SMEQ was not significant, hypothesis 5 was not supported. See Table 7 for more details.
Table 7
Moderated regression of gender with social media engagement and body image
dissatisfaction
Variables B SE B β t p
Gender 3.803 4.536 . 190 .838 .404
Social media .143 .325 .130 .440 .661
Social Media x Gender .-1.98 .202 -.336 -.977 .331
Note: R2= .029 (N= 120). F (3, 116) = 1.143, p>.01. SE= Standard Error
Discussion
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The focus of this study is to investigate the relationship of social media engagement in
young adults in relation to their body image dissatisfaction and self-esteem. This study will
also investigate the gender differences of social media on body image dissatisfaction of an
individual. From the findings, it was found that Hypothesis 1 shows that there is no
significant relationship between the two variables, r= -.14, n= 120, p= .12, with engagement
of social media will not have a negative effect on body image dissatisfaction of an individual.
This results shows that the influence of social media will not have an effect on body image
dissatisfaction this may be due to people having a strong not influential view on whatever
they see online. For hypothesis 2, there was no relationship between the two variables, r=
-.10, n= 12-, p= .30. This explains that social media will not have an influence on the self-
esteem level of an individual. Self-esteem may come may results from various sources and
many other factors may have an influence in it not only social media. Hypothesis 3 there was
a strong positive correlation between the two variables, r= .36, n= 120, p= .000. This proves
that body image dissatisfaction will have a negative influence on an individual’s self-esteem
level. Body image dissatisfaction makes an individual feel not confident about their body and
there are many effects of this and maybe self-esteem is not one of them, however more
research needs to be done. Hypothesis 4 shows that there is no significant difference between
females having a higher body image dissatisfaction compared to male as p= .99. For
hypothesis 5, the interaction of gender and SMEQ was not significant, B= -.336, t= -.977,
p= .331. This means that gender is not moderated the relationship of social media and body
image dissatisfaction. Male and female both have their own views on how they perceive body
image dissatisfaction and it may not be derived based on what they see on social media.
23
The strengths for this study is the reliability of the scales were good where researchers
can use them for future similar research as Social Media Engagement Questionnaire has a
reliability of .90, Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale has a reliability of .75 and Body Appreciation
Scale has a reliability of .92. Other than that, there is good literature review for every sub
section for the study which makes it easy for researchers from similar fields to use it as a
reference and understand more on what the research is all about. However, there are a few
limitations to this study. Firstly, the current research is limited to online survey. Online
survey has a limitation between the researcher and participant which creates a boundary for
researcher to not ask additional questions and researches will not be able to identify instantly
if the participants are not truthful while filling up the questionnaire unless there are missing
and information in their answered survey. This also makes the researcher difficult to ask
further questions to the participants if any doubt is present. Next, the scale of this study is too
small whereby only Malaysians are recruited from the age of 18 to 25 years old only. This
makes the findings very limited and unable to speak for the entire community. Furthermore,
body image is a very huge topic and there were lack research of body image in Malaysia.
Implications that can be done for future researchers is to widen the scale of the study
where the age scale should be widen so that it will be able to speak for the community. For
example, widening the age scale to 16 to 50 years old. Other than that, have a face to face
interview in the future so that doubts can be answered immediately and researchers will be
able to avoid untruthfully participants. More research should also be done on body image
within the Malaysian context so that we will be able to easily compare with other countries.
As a conclusion, more research and a wider scale need to be done to identify the
relationships between body image dissatisfaction, self-esteem and also social media.
References
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Running Head: RELATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA WITH BODY IMAGE

DISSATISFACTION AND SELF-ESTEEM OF AN INDIVIDUAL

Roshni Kaur Dhillon

Submitted in the partial fulfilment for the requirements for the

Degree of Bachelor’s of Science (Honours) in Psychology

School of Science and Technology

A dual award with Lancaster University

Your name Roshni Kaur Dhillon

The date 4 February 2021

Keywords: social media engagement, body image dissatisfaction, self-esteem

interest, activities or real-life connections (Akram & Kumar, 2017).

body image of an individual.

Aim of the study

Social Media and Body Image Dissatisfaction

attractiveness. An important contribution to an individual’s body image dissatisfaction is

Body image dissatisfaction is defined as negative feelings and thoughts on a person’s

image (Jung & Lennon, 2003).

(Reategui & Palmer, 2017).

dissatisfaction (Santarossa & Woodruff, 2017).

Social Media and Self-Esteem

According to Clay et al (2005), self-esteem is a positive or negative attitude towards

Social media has been said to have an influence on an individual’s self-esteem.

self-esteem (Gallagher, 2017).

lower their self-esteem becomes (Isa & Badran, 2017).

as you (Nadkarni et al., 2018).

Body Image Dissatisfaction and Self-Esteem

Self-esteem can be viewed as a key indicator to an individual’s self-esteem at least for

conducted in Western industrialized nations has confirmed that women’s self-esteem is

moderately but significantly lower than men's (Clay et al., 2005).

level of body image dissatisfaction is negatively related to self-esteem (Krishen, 2011).

have reported to have a low self-esteem (Calogero & Thompson, 2010).

Gender and Body Image Dissatisfaction

their pubertal development (Gatti et al., 2014).

order to achieve an ideal, and slimmer body (Pop, 2016).

Social Media Engagement and Body Image Dissatisfaction moderated by gender

LinkedIn (Idemudia et al., 2017).

independent variable is social media engagement and body image.

Demographic Sheet. This sheet is a self-developed instrument that is designed to

long they spend on social media each day.

Social Media Engagement Questionnaire (Przybylski 2013). This scale is a self-

instrument designed to measure and evaluate an individual’s self-esteem. This scale is a 10

‘strongly disagree’ for question 2, 5, 6, 8, and 9. A high self-esteem level is ‘agree’ or

Body Appreciation Scale. This scale is a self-reported instrument designed to

scale was .92.

The preliminary analysis that is involved is Pearson’s coefficient, Independent

Sample T-test, and moderated regression. Hypothesis 1 was measured by Pearson’s

coefficient. Hypothesis 2 was measured by Pearson’s coefficient. Hypothesis 3 was measured

by Pearson’s coefficient. Hypothesis 4 was measured by Independent Sample T-test.

these data is SPSS Statistics.

body image dissatisfaction of an individual

dissatisfaction was measured using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Preliminary analysis

was performed to ensure no violation of the assumptions of normality, linearity, and

image dissatisfaction of an individual. Hypothesis 1 was not supported. Social media

H2: Social media will have a negative effect on an individual's self-esteem

investigated using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Preliminary analysis was performed to

ensure no violation of the assumptions of normality, linearity, and homoscedasticity. There

measured by Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Preliminary analysis was performed to ensure

no violation of the assumptions of normality, linearity and homoscedasticity. There was a

for more details.

engagement was not significant, B= .130, t= .838, p= .661. Lastly, the interaction of gender

and Depression among Female Teenagers in Buraidah, AlQassim, Saudi Arabia.

Journal of Child & Adolescent Behavior. doi: 10.4172/2375-4494.1000374

D.McCreary (Eds.), Handbook of gender research in psychology.