Social Media Comparison

In his popular book based on acceptance and commitment therapy, The Happiness Trap, psychotherapist Russ Harris traces the phenomenon of comparison back to the beginning of humanity. He posits that the world’s early humans relied on the support of a group to survive predators and the climate, and they used comparison to assimilate and remain in good standing with their clan.

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, individuals only had a small pool of comparative figures. Today, social media has widened that pool to millions at the tap of a finger. Couple this with an evolutionary predisposition for comparison, and Harris says it’s no surprise humans struggle.

“What chance have we got?” he asks. “We will always end up feeling not good enough!”

Comparison isn’t all bad

A yearning to better understand the link between social media and self-perception inspired PhD candidate Carly Parsons to conduct a study of social anxiety and comparisons on Instagram.

“For years, many of us have been aware of the fact that when we go online or click into social media, we feel low, lethargic, or less confident,” says Parsons, a doctoral student in clinical psychology at the University of British Columbia. “It felt critical to understand how the time we spent on these platforms was possibly impacting us emotionally.”

Parsons and fellow researchers asked participants to fill out questionnaires about their self-perception before, during, and after browsing eight influencer profiles on Instagram. The results revealed that participants with higher levels of social anxiety reported a steeper decline in self-perception while viewing the profiles, resulting in a decrease in mood and self-esteem by the end of the study.

But her findings don’t suggest a blanket prescription against social media. The participants in the study who had little to no social anxiety actually experienced a slight boost in their self-perception.

“If you don’t have some of those mental health predispositions, then you could feel motivated by looking at these people who are high achievers or live these aspirational lifestyles,” she says.

Parsons suggests that the disparity in these emotional outcomes could be linked to an individual’s social comparison orientation, a term that refers to the frequency in which a person compares themselves to others. Socially anxious people have a higher tendency to compare themselves with others and be more negatively affected by these comparisons.

Mood-boosting engagement

How users interact with social media can influence emotional outcomes. Engaged behaviours like sending messages or commenting on posts have been linked to positive feelings and a sense of connectedness. In comparison, passive behaviours like scrolling have been associated with negative emotions like stress, loneliness, and depression.

To find more harmony online, Parsons suggests users embrace the intended purpose of these networks.

“Social media is meant to be social,” Parsons notes. “Let’s take advantage of that in a healthier way by actually connecting with people.”

Life rebalanced

After a one-year hiatus, Subramaniam is back on social media. But despite her return, she says she’s no longer letting these platforms control certain aspects of her life.

“Even though I’m back online, it’s much more controlled, and I think I have a healthier balance right now,” she explains. “I’m more focused on living in the moment and making memories for myself and my family, rather than for an imagined audience online.”