ArticleFrontiers in psychology2025
The associations between social comparison on social media and young adults' mental health.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Peer pressure and fear of missing out among university students in the social media environment: the influence mechanism of self‑authenticity.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Behind the screen: Unraveling the role of perceived closeness difference in shaping viewers' engagement behaviors.PloS one · 2026Article
- A study on the differences in social-face sensitivity and conspicuous consumption tendency based on sports consumers' impulse buying tendency: focusing on Generation Z.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Social media social comparison orientation and physical self-efficacy among Chinese college students: sequential mediation via body shame and body appreciation.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Narrating anxiety as "ordinary": digital self-healing diaries and the normalization of anxiety on Chinese social media.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Editorial: The role of technology and social media in sport.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
Introduction: Social networking sites (SNSs) have become an integral part of daily life, raising concerns about their potential impact on mental health. One key mechanism through which SNSs may affect wellbeing is social comparison. The present research aimed to examine the mediating role of social comparisons (upward and downward) in the relationship between SNSs use and self-esteem (global and physical). Methods: Study 1 ( Results: Results revealed that upward comparisons mediated the association between Instagram use and lower global self-esteem, but no significant mediation was found for physical self-esteem. Study 2 ( Discussion: Together, these findings highlight the crucial role of both exposure to and extremity of upward social comparisons in the complex relationship between SNSs use and mental health. These two factors contribute significantly though modestly to the effects of SNSs on self-esteem and depressive symptoms (
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Registered trials
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