Self-esteem and social media addiction level in adolescents: The mediating role of body image.

Abstract

There are many studies examining the relationship between social media and self-esteem. Studies examining the relationships between the self-esteem, social media use, and body image of adolescents are limited in the literature. This study aimed to examine the relationship between self-esteem and social media addiction levels in adolescents and the mediating role of body image in the relationship between these two variables. The sample of the study consisted of 204 adolescents, 67 (32.8%) girls and 137 (67.2%) boys, with a mean age of 15.90 ± 1.20 years, who were high school students. The self-esteem levels of the participants were evaluated with the "Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale", their social media dependency levels were measured with the "Social Media Use Disorder Scale", and their body images were measured using the "Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire". No significant relationship was found between the self-esteem levels of the participants and their ages or the education levels of their parents. There was a negative moderate significant relationship between the self-esteem levels of the participants and their social media addiction levels, and a positive moderate significant correlation was found between their self-esteem levels and body images. It was found that the social media addiction levels of the participants negatively predicted their self-esteem and body image levels. It was determined that body image had a partial mediator effect on the relationship between the social media addiction and self-esteem levels of the participants. Our results revealed that there is a negative correlation between self-esteem and social media addiction levels in adolescents. Body image has a partial mediating role in the relationship between social media addiction and self-esteem levels.