SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION, BODY IMAGE, AND APPEARANCE ANXIETY AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Abstract

Emerging adulthood is a development phase, which is marked by increasing self-awareness and exploration of identity, and is more sensitive to social judgment, which makes undergraduate students highly susceptible to the psychological effects of digital media. The use of social media has been disproportionately coupled with body image and anxiety over their appearance. The current research involved the analysis of the impact of addiction to social media, body image and appearance anxiety among undergraduate Pakistani students. Convenience sampling was used to recruit a sample of N=327 students who were aged 18-25 years in different universities. The participants were asked to take the Social Media Addiction Scale-Student Form (SMAS-SF), the Body Image States Scale (BISS), and the Appearance Anxiety Inventory (AAI). Correlations showed that there were significant negative correlations between social media addiction and body image. Although, social media addiction had a significant positive correlation with appearance anxiety. However, the body image was found to be significantly negative correlation with appearance anxiety. The multiple regression analyses indicated that social media addiction and body images were significant predictors of appearance anxiety among undergraduate students. These data indicate the powerful role of problematic social media use in the occurrence of appearance-related psychological distress in young adults. The findings emphasize the necessity of university-based interventions, such as digital literacy education and mental health assistance, to alleviate the negative impact of social media on the well-being of students.