Body image and self-esteem among adolescents in Iceland: the effect of social media use and differences between genders

Abstract

Research on factors influencing adolescents body image and self-esteem has increased over the years. Due to major technology changes in recent years, research on social media use and its effect on body image and self-esteem is lacking. This study attempts to find out the influence that social media use has on adolescents body image and self-esteem. Data from the survey Youth in Iceland 2018 was used in this study. The data collection was supervised by the Icelandic Centre for Social Research and Analysis (ICRSA). A random sample of 2140 participants was used in this study, 1042 males, 1070 females and 28 participants who did not reveal their gender. The age range was from 12-17 years (M = 14.9). Results revealed that: 1) Those who spend on average more time on social media report themselves having both lower body image and lower self-esteem. 2) There was a significant difference in body image between genders, where social media use had a more negative effect on girls than boys. 3) There was a difference between the effect social media use has on adolescents self-esteem, where girls were influenced more negatively, although the difference was not significant. Keywords: Body Image, Self-Esteem, Social Media Use

Rannsóknir er varða líkamsímynd og sjálfstraust ungs fólks hafa aukist síðastliðin misseri. Vegna gríðarlegrar tækniþróunnar síðustu ár, hafa rannsóknir um samfélagsmiðlanotkun og áhrif þess á líkamsímynd og sjálfstraust setið á hakanum. Megin tilgangur eftirfarandi rannsóknar var að kanna hvaða áhrif samfélagsmiðlanotkun hefur á líkamsímynd og sjálfstraust unglinga. Gögnin Ungt fólk 2018 voru notuð í eftirfarandi rannsókn, sem var lagt fyrir af Rannsóknum og greiningu. Þátttakendur voru grunnskólanemendur í 8.-10. bekk. Í eftirfarandi rannsókn voru valdir 2140 þátttakendur af handahófi og voru þeir voru á aldrinum 12-17 ára (M = 14.9). Niðurstöður rannsóknarinnar leiddu í ljós að 1) Þau sem verja meiri tíma á samfélagsmiðlum telja sig vera með bæði lakari líkamsímynd og lægra sjálfstraust. 2) Marktækur munur var á líkamsímynd milli kynja, þar sem samfélagsmiðlanotkun hafði neikvæðari áhrif á stelpur en stráka. 3) Samfélagsmiðlanotkun hefur neikvæðari áhrif á sjálfstraust stelpna heldur en stráka, þó munurinn hafi ekki verið marktækur.Lykilhugtök: líkamsímynd, sjálfstraust, samfélagsmiðlanotkun