See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/350021903

A Study between Social Media Usage and Self-Esteem among Youths

Article · January 2018

CITATION READS
1 6,859

3 authors, including:

Shoaib Hasan Electronic Research Journals

Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University Electronic Research Journals
2 PUBLICATIONS   1 CITATION    201 PUBLICATIONS   593 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Fintech and the future of retail banking in nigeria. View project

ICT and emotional intelligence View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Electronic Research Journals on 12 March 2021.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Electronic Research Journal of Behavioural Sciences, Volume 1 (2018)
www.erjbehaviouralsciences.com

A Study between Social Media Usage and Self-Esteem among

Youths
Shoaib Hasan1
Department of Psychology, DDU Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, India
Email: shoaib7126@gmail.com

P. S N. Tiwari
Professor, Department of Psychology, DDU Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, India

Abstract:
The use of social media has grown up dramatically day by day and social media statistics
have been reporting to the level of fetching close to one-third of the world’s population as of
January 2016 which average annual increase of 10% in a total number of handlers. The aim of the
present study was to see the impact of education (post-graduation-graduation), gender (male-
female), and social media usage (high and low) on the self-esteem of youths and investigate the
relationship between social media usage and self-esteem. A total of 160 youth participated in the
present study; 80 participants (40 boys and 40 girls) were graduate and 80 (40 boys and 40 girls)
were postgraduate which studying in different departments of DDU Gorakhpur University;
Gorakhpur. To know the Social Media Usage, an open-ended structured interview technique was
used and for measuring self-esteem cooper, smith self-esteem inventory (1882) was used. Results
revealed that gender differed significantly on self-esteem and self-esteem was found high in female
users. Further, social media usage differed significantly on self-esteem which indicated that self-
esteem was found higher in low social media users.
Keywords: self-esteem, social media, gender, youths, education
Introduction:
The use of social media has grownup exponentially to the level of fetching close to one-
third of the world’s population as of January 2016. In fact, social media statistics have been
reporting an average annual increase of 10% in the total number of handlers. These enormously
imposing statistics have been eliciting researchers’ interest in investigating this marvel and its
impact on every aspect of users’ lives. In other words, social media use and its increase have
created a new research platform and it has become more evident that there is a need to further
examine how social media can influence various aspects of life, including youths’ self-esteem.

Social Media:

In recent years the use of social media accounts such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram,
etc. has increased dramatically (Andreassen, Pallesen, & Griffiths, 2017; Sanfilippo, 2015). It has
been stated that one-third of the world´s population is active on social media (Hawi & Samaha,
2016). Social media is defined as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the

1
Corresponding author

17
 Electronic Research Journal of Behavioural Sciences, Volume 1 (2018)
www.erjbehaviouralsciences.com

ideological and technological foundations of the World Wide Web, and allow the creation and
exchange of user-generated content”. Without any doubt, social media and user-generated content
have become a reality for millions of individuals and corporations (Kaplan, 2014). People use
social media to share information about themselves (Picard, 2013). The Merriam-Webster
dictionary describes social media as “forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social
networking and blogging) through which users create online communities to share information,
ideas, personal messages, and other content like videos.” The same source defines networking as
“the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions; specifically:
the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business.” In general, the
development of media is divided into two different ages, the broadcast age, and the interactive age.

In the broadcast period, media were almost centralized with an individual like radio,
television, newspaper, etc. But in the digital time interaction on a large scale turn out to be easier
for individuals than earlier; and per se, a new media age was born where interactivity was placed
at the center of new media roles as well as one individual could now speak to many, and get an
instant response. Some common forms of social media are WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube,
Gmail, Skype, Imo, Snap chat, etc. According to Lenhart et al., (2010) approximately 73% of
adolescents use social media and young people are active social media users (Rideout, Foehr, &
Roberts, 2010) because social media users create, share and/or exchange information and ideas in
virtual communities as well as they are able to network with other members who share a similar
or common interest, dreams, and goals (Sharma & Shukla, 2016).

Self-Esteem:
Self-esteem is one of the most common paradigms studied regarding youth. Self-esteem is
often defined as how negatively or positively an individual perceives their own self-worth, one´s
sense of pride, positive self-evaluation or self-respect (McLellan et al., 2011; Meyer, 2008; Suzuki
& Shunsuke, 2013). Self-esteem drives through many changes across the entire lifespan and
research suggests that it is high in childhood, decreases considerably during adolescence, and
increases in adulthood and becomes steadier in middle adulthood and then decays again in old age
(Gruenenfelder-Steiger, Harris, & Fend, 2016). Rosenberg (1965), one of the pioneers in this
phenomenon, argued that self- esteem refers to an individual overall positive evaluation of the
self. Further, He added, that high self-esteem consists of an individual respecting himself and
considering himself worthy. Similarly, Sedikides and Gress (2003) stated that self-esteem refers
to an individual’s perception or subjective appraisal of one’s own self-worth, one’s feelings of
self-respect and self-confidence, and the extent to which the individual holds positive or negative
views about self.

Social Media and Self-Esteem

MacIntyre et al. (1999) stated that self-esteem is a self-valuation; it is how people perceive
their own value and how valuable they think they are to others. Many researchers have discussed
the relationship between self-esteem and communiqué behaviors. MacIntyre et al. (1999) point out
that people who are lower in self-esteem are less likely to engage in communication than those
who are higher in self-esteem because they think they may have less to contribute to the
conversation and are likely to receive negative feedback from others..

18
 Electronic Research Journal of Behavioural Sciences, Volume 1 (2018)
www.erjbehaviouralsciences.com

Previous researches indicated that individuals with lower self-esteem are less likely to be
involved in face to face communication. Further, research exhibits that individuals with lower self-
esteem spend enlarged time using instant messaging instead of face to face communication because
they find communicating with others via technology easier than face to face communication
(Ehrenberg, Juckes, White & Walsh, 2008). Consequently, individuals with lower self-esteem are
less likely to take part in face to face communication. Research on addictive social media use has
shown it to be correlated with self-esteem (Andreassen et al., 2017). It has been also shown that
those who spend more time on social media expressed upward social comparison which can have
a negative effect on youths (Lewallen & Behm-Morawitz, 2016). However, research is unclear
about how lower self-esteem individuals effort more online compared with those who have greater
self-esteem. In addition, some studies on the relationship between social media and self-esteem
have shown that those who spend more time on social media report lower levels of self-esteem
(Vogel, Rose, Okdie, Eckles, & Franz, 2015, Hawi & Samaha, 2016).
A research performed by Kalpidou, Costin, and Morris studied how Facebook use and
attitudes relate to self-esteem. They examined undergraduate students that completed the Facebook
measures “time, number of friends, emotional and social connection to Facebook” and the
“Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale”. The students were split into two groups by age. Results exhibited
that first-year students had a better emotional connection and spent more time on Facebook but
had fewer friends than older students. Results also displayed that students who spent the most time
on Facebook had lower self-esteem (Kalpidou, Costin, & Morris, 2011).

Objectives:
Against this backdrop, the present study proposes to examine the following research
objectives.
i. To explore the effect of education (post-graduation-graduation), gender (male-
female) and social media usage (high and low) on the self-esteem of youths.
ii. To investigate the relationship between social media usage and self-esteem.
iii. To examine the contribution of social media usage for self-esteem.
Hypotheses:
On the basis of the existing and review of the literature, the following hypotheses were
formulated to examine the above-said objectives:

i. Male and female youths will differ significantly on the level of self-esteem.
ii. Social media usage would have a negative impact on self-esteem.
iii. Social media usage will show a negative correlation with self-esteem.
iv. Social media usage will significantly play a role in predicting self-esteem.

Research Design:
On the account of the variables, the present research was basically correlational in nature.
For comparison among different groups 2x2x2 factorial design with education (post-graduation-
graduation), gender (male-female), and two levels of social media use (high and low), was used.

19
 Electronic Research Journal of Behavioural Sciences, Volume 1 (2018)
www.erjbehaviouralsciences.com

Participants:

In the present study, a total of 160 youth participated in which 80 participants (40 boys and
40 girls) were graduate and 80 (40 boys and 40 girls) were postgraduate which studying in different
departments of DDU Gorakhpur University; Gorakhpur. The age range was 16 to 23.

Measures:
Keeping our variables, the aims of the study, and the nature of the sample, appropriate tools
were selected. To know the Social Media Usage, an open-ended structured interview technique
was used and for measuring self-esteem cooper, smith self-esteem inventory (1882) was used.
Cooper, Smith Self-Esteem Inventory (1882):
In the present study, the self-esteem inventory (HINDI) adopted by S. K. Tiwari & D.
Kumar Department of Psychology DDU Gorakhpur University was used. The scale consists of 24
items. For each item, participants answer whether the statement provided is “like me” or “not like
me”. The reliability of the scale was checked by the test-retest method and was found 8.0 (p>0.01)
and the validity was found .75.
Procedure:
The above-mentioned questionnaires were compiled in order as follows: open-ended
structured interview, cooper, smith self-esteem inventory, and the personal data sheet and informed
consent form’ consisted of the demographic information about the participants followed by
informed consent. Participants were explained the purpose of the study, eligibility criteria, the
voluntary nature of participation, and the procedure participants would be involved in. After this
information, the potential participants were asked to indicate whether they agree to participate in
the study, individuals who did not want to participate in the study were thanked for their time.
The psychometric tests were administered to participants individually. Instructions related
to each scale were clearly explained to each participant and their queries (if any) were attended
appropriately. The obtained data were subjected to a three-way ANOVA, bivariate correlation, and
stepwise multiple regressions with the help of the IBM SPSS 20 statistical package.

Results:
The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between self-esteem and
social media usage. In the present study, a total of 160 youth participated in which 80 participants
(40 boys and 40 girls) were graduate level and 80 (40 boys and 40 girls) were postgraduate level.
Table 1.1 reveals Mean and S.D. of self-esteem responded by participants belonging to different
groups. Results showed that the level of self-esteem varied by gender.

20
 Electronic Research Journal of Behavioural Sciences, Volume 1 (2018)
www.erjbehaviouralsciences.com

Table 1 Means and SDs of self-esteem as a function of education, gender and social media
usage
Education Gender Social Media Usage N Mean SD
Graduate Male Low 20 57.50 13.809
High 20 36.20 9.243
Total 40 46.85 15.838
Female Low 20 63.40 13.566
High 20 42.70 8.880
Total 40 53.05 15.426
Total Low 40 60.45 13.838
High 40 39.45 9.533
Total 80 49.95 15.844
Post Graduate Male Low 20 52.30 15.083
High 20 37.90 9.830
Total 40 45.10 14.528
Female Low 20 59.80 13.516
High 20 41.60 7.472
Total 40 50.70 14.182
Total Low 40 56.05 14.637
High 40 39.75 8.819
Total 80 47.90 14.541
Total Low 80 58.25 14.325
High 280 39.60 9.126
Total 160 48.93 15.193

In order to ascertain the significant impact of education, gender and social media usage
ANOVA analysis was done and obtain results are presented in Table 1.
Table 2 Summary of 2x2x2 ANOVA for self-esteem as a function of education, gender and
social media usage
Source Sum of Square df Mean Square F
Education 168.100 1 168.100 1.221
Gender 1392.400 1 1392.400 10.111**
Social Media Usage 13912.900 1 13912.900 101.034**
Education*Gender 3.600 1 3.600 0.026
Education* Social Media Usage 220.900 1 220.900 1.604
Gender*Social Media Usage 25.600 1 25.600 0.186
Education*Gender*Social Media Usage 48.400 1 48.400 0.351
Error 20931.200 152 137.705
Total 419688.00 160
N=160, p<0.01**, p<0.05*
ANOVA results (Table 2) revealed that gender differed significantly on self-esteem. The
main effect of gender was found to be significant [F (1,152) = 10.111, p<0.01], which indicated
that self-esteem was found high in female users (M= 51.89) in the comparison of male users (M=
45.98).
Furthermore, ANOVA results (Table 2) exhibited that social media usage differed
significantly on self-esteem. The main effect of social media usage was found to be significant [F

21
 Electronic Research Journal of Behavioural Sciences, Volume 1 (2018)
www.erjbehaviouralsciences.com

(1,152) = 101.034, p<0.01], which indicated that self-esteem was found higher in low social media
users (M= 58.25) in the comparison of higher social media users (M= 39.60).

Table 3 Coefficient of Correlation between self-esteem and social media usage

Social Media Usage
Self-Esteem 1 -.616**
Note- P<0.01** P<0.05*
The result revealed that self-esteem negatively and highly correlated with social media
usage. To examine the relative significance of self-esteem in predicting social media usage a set
of stepwise multiple regression analyses were performed using social media usage as predictor
variables and self-esteem as criterion variables.
Table 4 Results of Stepwise Multiple Regression analyses using social media usage as
predictor and self-esteem as criterion variable

Predictors R R2 R2 Change F Beta t

Social Media Usage 0.616 0.379 0.379 96.455 --0.616 25.612**

Table 4 indicates that self-esteem was found to be predicted by social media usage, which
explains a 37.9% variance. The Beta value suggested that the above-mentioned variables have
negative correlation in the prediction of self-esteem.
Discussion:
One of the major objectives of this study was to see the effect of gender and social media
usage on self-esteem. Results revealed that gender differed significantly on self-esteem and self-
esteem was found high in female users. DDU is located in eastern Uttar Pradesh which covered
not only local students besides this Nepal to Bihar border’s students also. Many girls came daily
morning for class and return the same day evening. That’s why their self-esteem found high which
clearly shows the sign of women empowerment. Researchers have found that women generally
use social media more often than men and for unique social purposes (Simpson & Stroh, 2004).
For women, their online behavior tends to be interpersonal in nature, while men are
considered to be more task-and information-oriented (Jackson, Ervin, Gardner, & Schmitt, 2001).
Earlier studies showed that women spend more time on Facebook (Sheldon, 2008) and use social
networking sites more repeatedly to compare themselves with others. On the contrary, men are
more likely to view other people‘s profiles and find friends (Haferkamp, Eimler, Papadakis, &
Kruck, 2012).
The other principal objective of the present research was to examine the relationship
between social media usage and self-esteem in youths. The result revealed that social media usage
played a noteworthy role in predicting self-esteem. The result of correlation was also incongruence
with that result. Further, results showed that social media usage differed significantly on self-
esteem, and self-esteem was found higher in low social media users. That means those who spent
the most time on social media per day had the lowest levels of self-esteem. Those who spent one
hour or less on social media per day had the highest levels of self-esteem and those who spent over
three hours on social media per day had the lowest levels of self-esteem. These results are similar
22
 Electronic Research Journal of Behavioural Sciences, Volume 1 (2018)
www.erjbehaviouralsciences.com

to those of Vogel et al. (2015) and Hawi & Samaha (2016) which showed that spending more time
on social media or being addicted to social media can result in more social comparison orientation
thus resulting in lower levels of self-esteem. Woods & Scott (2016) stated that 90% of youths are
active on social media day and night. This can lead to a more social comparison between
adolescents which may lead to worse psychological functioning (Lindner et al., 2012). Adolescents
that show more upward social comparison have shown lower levels of self-esteem (Cramer et al.,
2016).
Limitations and Future Directions:

There were also some limitations in the present study. It can be difficult to elucidate for
the exact influence of gender and time spent on social media per day has on self-esteem in youths.
When working with big sample size, the results can show the influence that would not be present
in a smaller sample. This study was conducted solely among undergraduate and postgraduate
students; if wider age ranges were examined different patterns may emerge. Furthermore, it is
difficult to clarify which social media sites or apps influence self-esteem because there is a lack of
research in that field. Another limitation is that a causal relationship cannot be established. It also
did not observe the nature or level of social media users and their friends and other interactions.
Future research should explore these interactions as well as it would be fascinating to examine
different social media sites or apps separately to see their different effects on self-esteem in youth.

References:

Andreassen, C. S., Pallesen, S., & Griffiths, M. D. (2017). The relationship between addictive use
of social media, narcissism, and self-esteem: Findings from a large national survey.
Addictive Behaviors, 64, 287–293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.03.006

Cramer, E. M., Song, H., & Drent, A. M. (2016). Social comparison on Facebook: Motivation,
affective consequences, self-esteem, and Facebook fatigue. Computers in Human
Behavior, 64, 739–746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.07.049

Ehrenberg, A., Juckes, S., White, K. M., & Walsh, S. P. (2008). Personality and self-esteem as
predictors of young people's technology use. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 11(6), 739-
741.

Gruenenfelder-Steiger, A. E., Harris, M. A., & Fend, H. A. (2016). Subjective and objective peer
approval evaluations and self-esteem development: A test of reciprocal, prospective, and
long-term effects. Developmental Psychology, 52(10), 1563–1577.
https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000147

Haferkamp, N., Eimler, S. C., Papadakis, A. M., & Kruck, J. V. (2012). Men are from Mars,
women are from Venus? Examining gender differences in self-presentation on social
networking sites. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15(2), 91-98.

Hawi, N. S., & Samaha, M. (2016). The Relations Among Social Media Addiction, Self- Esteem,
and Life Satisfaction in University Students. Social Science Computer Review, 1-11.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439316660340

23
 Electronic Research Journal of Behavioural Sciences, Volume 1 (2018)
www.erjbehaviouralsciences.com

Jackson, L. A., Ervin, K. S., Gardner, P. D., & Schmitt, N. (2001). Gender and the Internet: Women
communicating and men searching. Sex roles, 44(5-6), 363-379

Kalpidou, M., Costin, D., & Morris, J. (2011). The relationship between Facebook and the well-
being of undergraduate college students. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social
Networking, 14(4), 183–189. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2010.0061

Kaplan, A. M. (2014). Social Media, Definition and History. In P. R. Alhajj & P. J. Rokne (Eds.),
Encyclopedia of Social Network Analysis and Mining. pp. 1825–1827. Springer New York.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6170-8-95

Lenhart, A. et al. (2010). Social Media & Mobile Internet Use among Teens and Young Adults.
Millennials.

Lewallen, J., & Behm-Morawitz, E. (2016). Pinterest or Thinterest?: Social Comparison and Body
Image on Social Media. Social Media + Society, 2(1), 1-9.
https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305116640559

Lindner, D., Tantleff-Dunn, S., & Jentsch, F. (2012). Social Comparison and the “Circle of
Objectification.” Sex Roles, 67(3–4), 222–235. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-012-0175-
x

MacIntyre, P. D., Babin, P. A., & Clément, R. (1999). Willingness to communicate: Antecedents
& consequences. Communication Quarterly, 47(2), 215-229.

McLellan, T., Rotella, B., Grote-Garcia, S. A., Proctor, S. L., Patanella, D., Block, M., Wilkinson,
L. A. (2011). Self-Esteem. In S. Goldstein & J. A. Naglieri (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Child
Behavior and Development. pp. 1312–1312. Boston, MA: Springer US.

Meyer, W. J. (2008). Self-Esteem. In S. J. Loue & M. Sajatovic (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Aging and
Public Health. pp. 718–718. Boston, MA: Springer US.

Picard, R. G. (2013). What Social Media Are Doing and Where They Are Taking Us. In M.
Friedrichsen & W. Mühl-Benninghaus (Eds.), Handbook of Social Media Management.
pp. 835–841. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28897-5-49

Rideout, V. J., Foehr, U. G., & Roberts, D. F. (2010). Generation M [superscript 2]: Media in the
Lives of 8-to 18-Year-Olds. Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Rosenberg, M. (1987). Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale. In K. Corcoran and J. Fischer (Eds.),

Measures for clinical practice. pp. 408-409. New York: Free Press.

Sanfilippo, J. S. (2015). It’s All about the Social Media. Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent
Gynecology, 28(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpag.2014.11.006

Sedikides, C. and Gress, A. P. (2003). Portraits of the self. In M. A. Hogg and J. Cooper (Eds.),
Sage handbook of social psychology. pp. 110-138. London: Sage.

24
 Electronic Research Journal of Behavioural Sciences, Volume 1 (2018)
www.erjbehaviouralsciences.com

Sharma, A. & Shukla, A.K. (2016). Impact of Social Messengers Especially WhatsApp on Youth:
A Sociological study. International Journal of Advance Research and Innovative Ideas in
Education, 2(5), 367-375.

Sheldon, P. (2008). The relationship between unwillingness-to-communicate and students'

Facebook use. Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications, 20(2),
67-75.

Simpson, P. A., & Stroh, L. K. (2004). Gender differences: emotional expression and feelings of
personal inauthenticity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(4), 715.

Suzuki, S., & Shunsuke, K. (2013). Self-Esteem. In M. D. Gellman & J. R. Turner (Eds.),
Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. pp. 1739–1740. New York, NY: Springer New
York.

Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P., Okdie, B. M., Eckles, K., & Franz, B. (2015). Who compares and
despairs? The effect of social comparison orientation on social media use and its outcomes.
Personality and Individual Differences. 86, 249–256.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.06.026

Woods, H. C., & Scott, H. (2016). Sleepyteens: Social media use in adolescence is associated with
poor sleep quality, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. Journal of Adolescence, 51,
41–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.05.008

25

View publication stats