Date Available
4-28-2017
Year of Publication
2017
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
College
Arts and Sciences
Department/School/Program
Psychology
Advisor
Dr. Christia Spears Brown
Abstract
Social media use among adolescents continues to increase each year. This study explored how the amount of time spent using social media and the specific behaviors used on social media, namely behaviors that involve self-objectification, were related to early adolescents’ body image (i.e., body shame and body surveillance). Three types of social media popular among adolescents were examined: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The current study also examined whether certain youth are more at risk for negative body image outcomes than others, by assessing whether adolescents who are particularly focused on others for approval (i.e. high self-monitors) show greater decrements in body image with greater social media use compared to other adolescents. Results indicated that frequency of social media use predicted higher levels of body shame among individuals high in self-monitoring, and that engagement in self-objectification behaviors on social media predicted higher levels of body surveillance among early adolescents. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2017.130
Recommended Citation
Salomon, Ilyssa P., "The Selfie Generation: Examining the Relationship Between Social Media Use and Early Adolescent Body Image" (2017). Theses and Dissertations--Psychology. 112.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/psychology_etds/112
