Do You Dare to Compare?: The Key Characteristics of Social Media Users Who Frequently Make Online Upward Social Comparisons

ABSTRACT

Social media platforms and social networking sites are heavily focused on self-presentation and impression management. The present study aimed to identify salient social media behaviors and psychosocial factors most associated with high levels of upward online social comparisons. An online survey was administered through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to assess demographics, psychosocial factors, and social media behaviors, including tendencies to make upward social comparisons online. Results revealed key factors related to high upward social comparisons: those with low quality of life, low perceived social support, high in fear of missing out, high levels of social media addiction, frequent censorship to avoid judgment, and feelings of safety while using social media. The overall findings of this study suggest an association between negative well-being and making online upward social comparisons.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Merab Gomez

Merab Gomez is a doctoral student for the Social and Personality Psychology program at the University of California, Riverside. She previously completed her MA in Psychological Research at Texas State University. Her research interests include: social media, leadership, diversity, positive psychology, and organizational behavior.

Dalton Klare

Dalton Klare completed his MA in Psychological Research at Texas State University with a focus on quantitative, clinical, and health psychology and is currently in data operations at a global workforce solutions company. He will continue his doctoral work concentrating on applied and advanced quantitative approaches.

Natalie Ceballos

Natalie Ceballos is a Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Psychology at Texas State University, where her research focuses on the interactions of stress and addictive behaviors in college students. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and Humanities Texas.

Stephanie Dailey

Stephanie Dailey is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Texas State University. Her research interests center around how people learn about and feel part of organizations through communication.

Sierra Kaiser

Sierra Kaiser completed her MA in Psychological Research at Texas State University with interests focused on social and quantitative psychology and is currently a lead Research Coordinator at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus conducting research on infants and toddlers with sex chromosome aneuploidies.

Krista Howard

Krista Howard is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Texas State University. The broad focus of her research is understanding how psychological factors influence health behaviors and outcomes. She is interested in studying social media behaviors, occupational health, chronic health conditions, and public health.