More Than A Mirror: Investigating Social Media’s Role in Shaping Social Comparisons and Identity Around Perceptions of Beauty

<p>The rapid expansion of social media has transformed interpersonal communication and the way that individuals engage in social comparisons in their daily life. While existing literature emphasizes the negative psychological effects of both social comparison and the use of social media platforms, there remains a need to better understand the positive experiences of users in these digital spaces. Guided by social comparison theory (SCT; Festinger, 1954) and social identity theory (SIT; Tajfel & Turner, 1979), the current study applied an interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA, Smith et al., 2022) to explore how social media users interacted with beauty-centered narratives and the content creators who produce them. 32 social media users and 13 content creators were interviewed about their lived experiences interacting with beauty-centered narratives on social media. Findings revealed that participants perceived social media as a predominantly positive experience in their day-to-day lives. While participants often struggled to conceptualize what constituted “beauty content” on social media, they shared notable insights into the role social media played in shaping contemporary standards of beauty, emphasizing that beauty was deeply intertwined with identity and unique to each individual. Participants also showed hesitancy around engaging in comparisons, often finding it challenging to frame social comparisons in a positive light. Future research is needed to continue the exploration of positive social comparisons on social media, in order to better understand social comparison dynamics and inform future policy and practice to promote healthier digital environments.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Communication

Year

2025

Author dc:creator

• Eshiet, Janella

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Mark Hopson
• Dr. Jennifer Bevan
• Dr. Sara LaBelle
• Dr. Narissra Punyanunt-Carter

• positive social media experiences
• social comparison
• social identity
• content creators
• beauty
• Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)
• Communication

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/communication_dissertations/16

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.chapman.edu:communication_dissertations-1015