Journal of Psychiatric Insight Review

Abstract

The present study examines the relationship between social media comparison pressure, self-esteem-dependent use of social media and depressive mood in an online recruited sample of social media users (n = 103). The theoretical starting point is social comparative theory, concepts of contingent self-esteem and cognitive models of depression. All variables were recorded using specially developed Likert scales (1–5). The descriptive results show an increased level of social media comparison pressure as well as a medium level of self-esteem-dependent online self-regulation; the depressive mood is in the slightly to moderately elevated range. Correlation analy ses show medium, significant correlations between comparative pressure, self-esteem dependence and depressive symptoms. A regression-based mediation analysis with bootstrapping shows a significant indirect effect of social media comparison pressure on depressive mood via self-esteem-dependent use, while at the same time maintaining a direct effect. The findings speak in favor of partial mediation and support the assumption that social media has a particularly stressful effect where frequent upward comparisons meet a fragile, externally regulated self-esteem. In practice, the results imply that preventive and therapeutic approaches should not primarily aim at reducing use, but at strengthening a less feedback-dependent, internally anchored self-esteem and a reflection on the compara tive logics of digital environments.