Social Comparison Theory

The social comparison theory proposes that people have a drive to determine their progress and standing within life and as a result they often seek out standards to which they compare themselves (Festinger, 1954). With 69% of internet users having a social media profile and spending approximately 12.5 hours per week on social media (Sensis, 2016), Fardouly and colleagues have presented their theories on the role of social media on the body image of young women, with reference to their own research studies, in relation to Festingers’ social comparison theory.
Fardouly and colleagues propose that when young women make appearance comparisons, they become more susceptible to the effects of social media (Fardouly et al. 2015). Due to social media
The effects of media on body perception are substantial during adolescence; recently there has been a universal increase in the extent of eating disorders, particularly among females (Eyal & Te’eni-Harari, 2013). The effect that media has on body image is particularly evident in adolescence as the development of personal identity, increasing peer pressure desire for uniqueness all occur (Eyal & Te’eni-Harari, 2013). Adolescence is also a time of growth and change of body shape and mas and puberty and hormones (Steinberg & Morris, 2001), which unquestionably contributes to the impact that social media and body comparison can play on female youths body image perceptions (Polce- Lynch et al. 2001). This is reinforced through approximately 50% of adolescent girls and young women being dissatisfied with their bodies as a consequence of the images on social media (Bearman, Presnell & Martinez, 2006). Currently the desire to look “perfect” and be “thin” is so dominant among adolescent girls that it can be described as a “normative discontent” within society (Rodin, Silberstein & Striegel-Moore, 1985; Dohnt & Tiggemann, 2006). This discontent can greatly impact on the social inclusion of young women and can result in withdrawing themselves from their everyday lives. The impact of this form
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Clay, D, Vignoles, V, & Dittmar, H (2005). “Body image and self-esteem among adolescent girls: Testing the influence of sociocultural factors”, Journal of Research on Adolescence, Volume 15, pp. 451–477.
Dohnt, H & Tiggemann, M (2006). “The contribution of peer and media influences to the development of body satisfaction and self-esteem in young girls: A prospective study”, Developmental Psychology, Volume 42, Issue 5, pp. 929 – 936. American Psychological Association 2006.
Eyal, K & Te’eni-Harari, T (2013). “Explaining the relationship between media exposure and early adolescents’ body image perceptions of favourite characters”, Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods and Applications, Volume 25, Issue 3, pp 129 – 141.
Fardouly, J, Diedrichs, P, Vartanian, L & Halliwell, E (2015). “Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women’s body image concerns and mood”, Body Image, Volume 13, pp. 38 – 45.
Fardouly, J, Pinkus, R, & Vartanian, L (2016). “The impact of appearance comparisons made through social media, traditional media and in person in women’s everyday lives”, Body Image, Volume 20, pp. 31 –