We live in an age in which social media platforms connect people worldwide, allowing them to share messages, pictures and videos both directly to another person or to whoever may view their public profile. However, this seemingly inescapable virtual world does not passively coexist with humanity, rather it plays an active role in shaping our behaviour. As the name suggests, social networks have positive impacts on human behaviour, such as enhancing our relationships with others. On the other hand, the ability to constantly compare oneself or one’s online identity with the profiles of others can lead to the damage of self-esteem and create confusion during identity formation. Social influence plays a large role in the process of conformity on varying levels, with compliance and internalisation contributing to how we present and view ourselves. In the worst cases, the internalisation of ideas shared online can lead to both mental health disorders such as eating disorders as well as the circulation of treatment methods. These are just some examples of how social media’s influence on behaviour is prevalent in our lives.

Research suggests that social media platforms help people form or maintain relationships with others and hence strengthens social capital. Ellison et al. (2007) conducted a study with undergraduate university students that examined the effects of using Facebook. The participants took part in a survey that assessed the frequency of Facebook usage and whether they used the app to meet new people or contact people they already had an offline connection with. The students were also asked about their psychological well-being, covering self-esteem and satisfaction with life at university. The study found that those who had a high intensity of Facebook use had a positive association with bonding, bridging and maintaining social capital. This correlation could suggest that social media use has positive consequences, perhaps facilitated by its widespread accessibility and instant posting of photos or messages that allow efficient communication.

A follow-up longitudinal study confirmed the proposition that for students with low-self-esteem, frequent use of Facebook was more beneficial for forming connections with similar people than it was for people with high self-esteem (Steinfield et al., 2008). A

possible explanation for this is that it can feel less daunting to converse online rather than in person as one does not have to worry about being judged on their physical appearance, and online messaging often gives one more time to think of a response rather than feeling put on the spot. Furthermore, creating unique user-profiles can also allow people to find similar individuals, which provides a sense of comfort and can also boost confidence as a connection feels more likely to be formed due to shared interests. However, constantly refining one’s profile on social media platforms can begin to become harmful.

A range of studies have been conducted into the effect of social media on the process of forming an identity, focusing especially on teenagers. Adolescence is the psychological stage in which Erikson (1968) suggested that individuals need to explore their own personal beliefs without limits and experiment with their own roles to form a strong identity and to establish goals. Pazer (2024) studied adolescents aged 14 to 21 and their relationship between social media use and their identity development. It was found that people who frequently compared themselves to others online were more likely to value their own online presence as an important part of their identity. When not relied upon too heavily, social media is a way for individuals to explore who they are and develop their interests. It can also encourage gratitude and reflection during downwards comparison, in which people consider those who are less fortunate than themselves; this may enhance self-esteem because a person is encouraged to be grateful for what they have in life (Appel et al., 2016).

Unfortunately, Pazer also found that those who compared themselves the most also paid more attention to their own perceived shortcomings. Previous research that supports this study found that the people engaging in upwards comparison, comparing oneself to someone seen as better-off, were more likely to have lower self-esteem (Vogel et al, 2014). These studies suggest that social media is a breeding ground for negative self-talk due to comparisons, as it is easy for influencers as well as other online connections to curate their page in a way that shows the best version of their lives; influencers are paid to create watchable content, rather than an accurate portrayal of themselves.

Social influence can play a role in the identity that someone presents online. An explanation for this is normative social influence, which suggests that people act a certain way to gain social approval and avoid rejection. To fit into the virtual world, one may only post photos of themselves that conform to current beauty standards on Instagram (Chua and Chang, 2016) or post videos of trending challenges or dances on

TikTok (Bene et al., 2022). Both these studies also highlighted the effects of positive reinforcement; the likes and engagement on posts serve as a reward that motivate a person to continue posting the latest trends. This type of conformity to social norms can be classed as compliance due to its relatively shallow nature, as behaviour only changes online publicly even if the person does not necessarily agree with the trend.

While the teenage girls from the study by Chua and Chang claimed to believe that “true beauty is in the heart of everyone” despite conforming, an online survey by Jarma et al, (2020) found that both boys and girls internalise ideals about appearance, such as wanting to be thin. Internalisation is the deepest form of social influence in which a person will adopt the ideas they see online into their own set of beliefs. It can have positive effects on human behaviour, such as people recycling more in response to an environmental page or signing petitions about current world issues found on informational Instagram pages. The likelihood of internalisation is increased if the message is consistent because the source seems more credible and determined to raise awareness. Unfortunately, many people, particularly teenagers, can fall victim to the algorithms of apps such as TikTok, meaning that if they like one diet or workout video, exposure will increase drastically.

One negative consequence of comparisons and internalising online ideas about attractiveness can be the development of eating disorders. A review of 19 studies into the relationship between the use of social media and eating disorders, namely anorexia nervosa and bulimia, found that social media use can encourage body dissatisfaction, which is the driving force for the development of eating disorders (Padín et al, 2021). For instance, Meier and Gray (2014) concluded that those who spent more time on social media were more likely to develop body dissatisfaction and self-objectification; this can lead to a fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of one’s own body – both being symptoms of eating disorders. Negative comments from other users were also a prevalent theme in the studies, with many suggesting that they make an individual more conscious of their appearance. Social media is the main facilitator of cyberbullying (Hamm et al., 2015), with which Cheng et al (2023) found an association with eating disorder symptoms.

On the other hand, a study by Tan et al. (2016) found that 32.7% of their participants also felt that social media platforms were useful for their recovery. Au and Cosh (2022) found that the users of Instagram recovery communities had a range of symptoms and a variety of backgrounds, but who all suffered from eating disorders. Users of such services desired validation and support from others in similar situations, and the social

support provided was beneficial, as people could share coping abilities and spread encouragement. As with all online sources, not all the information was deemed helpful and therefore, the extent to which these online communities are beneficial can be questioned. The researchers also highlighted the need for further investigations into the effectiveness of online help compared to professional treatment.

In today’s world, with so many people having access to social media across all their devices, its effects on human behaviour are to be expected. Social media can be a useful tool to keep in touch with friends and family as well as create new communities with like-minded people. On the other hand, issues start to arise when more harmful content is shared around. For instance, eating disorders are fuelled by society’s expectations of beauty that users are constantly reminded of by the online community. Social media also provides opportunities for conformity and comparisons, both of which can lead to people presenting an inaccurate identity online and subsequently lowering their own self-esteem and happiness. It is therefore important to be aware of the influence social media can exert on the way we think and behave to protect ourselves from harm.

References:

Au, E. S. & Cosh, S. M. (2022). Social media and eating disorder recovery: An exploration of Instagram recovery community users and their reasons for engagement. Eating Behaviours, 46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2022.101651  

Appel, H., Gerlach, A. L., & Crusius, J. (2016). The interplay between Facebook use, social comparison, envy, and depression. Current Opinion in Psychology, 9, 44-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.10.006 

Cheng, C.M., Chu, J., Ganson, K.T., Trompeter, N., Testa, A., Jackson, D.B., He, J., Glidden, D.V., Baker, F.C. and Nagata, J.M., 2023. Cyberbullying and eating disorder symptoms in US early adolescents. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 56(12), pp.2336-2342. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.24034 

Chua, T. H. H., & Chang, L. (2015). Follow me and like my beautiful selfies: Singapore teenage girls’ engagement in self-presentation and peer comparison on social media. Computers in Huma Behaviour, 55, 190-197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.09.011 

Ellison, N.B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook ‘friends’: Social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12, 1143–1168. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x 

Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. W. W. Norton & Company.

Jarman, H. K., Marques, M. D., McLean, S. A., Slater, A., Paxton, S. J., (2020). Social media, body satisfaction and well-being among adolescents: A mediation model of appearance-ideal internalization and comparison. Body Image, 36, 139-148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.11.005

Meier, E. P., & Gray, J. (2014). Facebook photo activity associated with body image disturbance in adolescent girls. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 17(4), 199–206. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2013.0305  

O’reilly, M., Dogra, N., Whiteman, N., Hughes, J., Eruyar, S. and Reilly, P., 2018. Is social media bad for mental health and wellbeing? Exploring the perspectives of adolescents. Clinical child psychology and psychiatry, 23(4), pp.601-613. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104518775154 

Padín, P. F., González-Rodríguez, R., Verde-Diego, C., & Vázquez-Pérez, R. (2021). Social media and eating disorder psychopathology: A systematic review. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 15(3), Article 6. https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2021-3-6 

Pazer, S. (2024). The Impact of Social Media Use on Identity Formation among Adolescents. International Journal of Advance Research, Ideas and Innovation in Technology, 10(5), 299-304.

Steinfield, C., Ellison, N.B., & Lampe, C. (2008). Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29, 434–445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2008.07.002 

Tan, T., Kuek, A., Goh, S. E., Lee, E. L., & Kwok, V. (2016). Internet and smartphone application usage in eating disorders: A descriptive study in Singapore. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 19, 50–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2015.11.007 

Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P., Roberts, L. R., & Eckles, K. (2014). Social comparison, social media, and self-esteem. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 3(4), 206-222. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000047