Kavaklı Mehmet, Ünal Gülten
Department of Psychology, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey.
Department of Psychology, Nigde Omer Halisdemir University, Nigde, Turkey.
Curr Issues Personal Psychol. 2021 Apr 13;9(2):114-124. doi: 10.5114/cipp.2021.105349. eCollection 2021.
Social media addiction (SM) is a widespread and severe problem in today's world. It is associated with both self-esteem (SE) and general belongingness (GB). There are many studies related to these associations in the literature, but in this research an attempt was made to explain this mechanism based on social comparison theory. The aim of this study is to examine the indirect effect of social comparison (SC) on the relationship among SM, SE, and GB.
The sample consisted of 311 university students studying at a state university in Turkey. Data were gathered by using a demographic information form, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the General Belongingness Scale, the Social Comparison Scale, and the Social Media Addiction Scale-Student Form. The mediator effect of SC was determined via structural equation modelling.
The results indicate that SC has an indirect effect on the relation between SM and SE. Similarly, SC has an indirect effect on the relation between SM and GB.
People tend to compare themselves with other individuals, and this SC process can be made very easily and quickly via social media tools. Moreover, social media sites offer plenty of opportunities for SC, and this comparison consists of sometimes upward SC and sometimes downward SC processes. Downward and upward SC processes can regulate individuals' emotions, SE, and GB levels in social media either in a negative or positive way. The mediating role of SC in the relationship between SM, SE, and GB can be examined in terms of these upward and downward SC processes.
社交媒体成瘾在当今世界是一个普遍且严重的问题。它与自尊（SE）和总体归属感（GB）都有关联。文献中有许多关于这些关联的研究，但在本研究中，试图基于社会比较理论来解释这种机制。本研究的目的是检验社会比较（SC）在社交媒体成瘾、自尊和总体归属感之间关系中的间接效应。
样本由在土耳其一所国立大学就读的311名大学生组成。通过使用人口统计学信息表、罗森伯格自尊量表、总体归属感量表、社会比较量表和社交媒体成瘾量表 - 学生版来收集数据。通过结构方程模型确定社会比较的中介效应。
结果表明，社会比较在社交媒体成瘾与自尊的关系中具有间接效应。同样，社会比较在社交媒体成瘾与总体归属感的关系中也具有间接效应。
人们倾向于将自己与他人进行比较，并且通过社交媒体工具可以非常轻松快捷地进行这种社会比较过程。此外，社交媒体网站为社会比较提供了大量机会，这种比较有时包括向上社会比较，有时包括向下社会比较过程。向上和向下社会比较过程可以以消极或积极的方式调节个体在社交媒体中的情绪、自尊和总体归属感水平。可以从这些向上和向下社会比较过程的角度来考察社会比较在社交媒体成瘾、自尊和总体归属感关系中的中介作用。
