FROM SOCIAL MEDIA PRESSURES TO SELF-PERCEPTION: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SELF-PROCESSING IN YOUNG ADULTS

Abstract

Social media has established itself in the lives of people especially the young adults. Still, there is little empirical evidence on its influence on the general self-perception. The study explores various psychological processes that can be used to explain the role of social media in self-perception based on self-processing mechanisms. Social media pressures come in place due to exposure to idealized images, internalization of aesthetic ideals, social pressure perceived, and upward social comparison. Self-processing was measured through the self-objectification and self-concept clarity measures. An online questionnaire was used to collect data where 230 Pakistani young adults aged between 18 and 35 years filled the questionnaire. Hypothesized relationships were tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling, which was applied subsequently. The results revealed that social media pressures did not bring a direct change in terms of self perception; rather, they had an impact through mediating self-processing and thus an indirect effect. Upward social comparison turned out to be an important predictor of self-objectification and self-perception. Self-concept clarity, in turn, had a strong connection with self-perception, which explains the usefulness of identity coherence as a key explanatory mechanism. Taken together, these findings underscore the impact of social media pressure when it comes to influencing the internal psychological processes.