Picture-perfect lives on social media: a cross-national study on the role of media ideals in adolescent well-being

A number of studies have suggested that social media use may be negatively related to adolescents’ well-being. One explanation for this relation may lie in the internalization of various types of ideals displayed on social media; however, research supporting this reasoning is largely absent. This survey study among 1,983 Austrian, Belgian, Spanish, and South Korean adolescents (aged 12–19, 49.7% girls) addressed this gap and found that Instagram use was positively related to the internalization of professional, social, sexual, and romantic ideals, and Facebook use was positively related to the internalization of social and romantic ideals. In turn, the internalization of sexual ideals was related to poor mental well-being. Furthermore, Facebook use was also directly associated with poor mental well-being. Cross-national differences played an important role in that South Korea significantly differed from Austria, Belgium, and Spain in the relations between social media use, the internalization of social ideals, and poor mental well-being. We also found differences among Belgium, Austria, and Spain in the relations between social media use, the internalization of professional, social, and sexual ideals, and poor mental well-being.

"Facebook use was positively related to the internalization of social and romantic ideals but not to the internalization of professional and sexual ideals. In addition, Instagram use was positively related to the internalization of professional, social, sexual, and romantic ideals. Social and romantic relationships are the main subjects of Facebook pictures and Instagram further coincide with its status as an excellent platform for adolescents to learn from observing idealized role models. Instagram use was positively related to the internalization of professional and sexual ideals, considering it's s focus on self-presentation, which encourages users to display (biased) content and be exposed to messages on professional and sexual ideals more frequently than on Facebook. The internalization constructs may only be partly explained by social media use, as personal goals are also shaped by other socialization agents, such as parents (education expectations) and peers (determining conceptions about idealized romantic relationships). Additionally, merely measuring usage oversimplifies the possible effects of social media on adolescents’ well-being; it is possible that exposure to media ideals on social media is not necessarily negatively related to mental well-being but if perceived as attainable, individuals can feel inspired and can generate positive outcomes toward well-being. In line with the the collectivistic-individualistic and masculine-feminine distinctions between countries, South Koreans reported high scores of internalizing social ideals, Spaniards reported to have internalized sexual ideals to a rather high extent on Instagram and Austria which is characterized as a highly masculine society post more often about their professional achievements on Facebook than Belgians." (de Lenne et al., 2020, pp. 70-74)