1
Running head: SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE AND THE SOCIAL COMPARISON THEORY
The Jones Effect: Taking a look at the Relationship between the Volume of Social Media
Consumption and the Social Comparison Theory.
Paige Miller
Arkansas State University
2
The Jones Effect: Taking a look at the Relationship between the Volume of Social Media
Consumption and the Social Comparison Theory.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to explore whether the amount of time a user spends on social media
enhances the phenomenon of the Social Comparison Theory and the immediate effects it can
lead to such as rumination, identity diffusion, and low self-esteem. The ideals being investigated
are if the Social Comparison Theory exists on social media and users that are frequently on
social media are more vulnerable to it, social media being a quantitative experience, and does
social media usage lead to the effects of rumination, low self-esteem, and identity diffusion as a
result of social comparison. A purposive sampling method will be applied for this study, because
the desired sample are those that meet the criteria of using social media. The population will be
defined as those that at least spend 3 hours a week on social media. The demographics of the
sample participants will be females, males, from the age 18-55. Based on the efforts of previous
studies it is predicted that the more one participates in social media, the more s/he will be
vulnerable to and participate in social comparison. It is predicted that the social media
experience is quantitative. Lastly, it is predicted that heavy social media users are more likely to
have feelings of rumination, low self-esteem, and identity diffusion as a result of participating in
social comparison.
3
The Jones Effect: Taking a look at the Relationship between the Volume of Social Media
Consumption and the Social Comparison Theory.
Introduction
In order to understand the relationship between social media consumption and the Social
Comparison Theory, an understanding of the origin of the Social Comparison Theory is
necessary. Festinger (1954) identifies nine different hypotheses in the Social Comparison
Theory. The major findings that relate to the current research being explored include the natural
human desire to evaluate and compare oneself abilities and opinions to others. People seek
confirmation in understanding how they compare to their peers and will take notice to those that
appear superior. Festinger (1954) specifically points out the comparison only exists to those that
we can relate to. “A college student, for example, does not compare himself to an inmate of an
institution for the feeble-minded to evaluate his own intelligence” (p. 3). In the publication, it
identifies two methods in which we compare ourselves socially. Those being the upward social
comparison and the downward social comparison. The upward social comparison is when we see
those as being superior we feel a sense of inadequacy and the downward social comparison being
quite the opposite when we feel superior and in a better social standing than others (1954).
Understanding the bases of the Social Comparison Theory is detrimental when it comes to
understanding the role it plays on social media.
The purpose of this study is to explore whether the amount of time a user spends on
social media enhances the phenomenon of the Social Comparison Theory and the immediate
effects it can lead to such as rumination, identity diffusion, and low self-esteem.
There is extensive research that shows that there is a link between social media and
depression. Feinstein, Hershenberg, Bhatia, Latack, Meuwly, and Davila (2013) showed that it is
4
the quality of a user’s’ interactions on social media rather than the amount of time a user spends
on social media that leads to depression. The quality of an interaction can be receiving a
negative/positive comment, reaching a number of likes/shares, or not receiving any feedback at
all. The idea of quality versus quantity makes sense in this scenario, however, when it comes to
the realm of the Social Comparison Theory the argument for the amount of time on social media
weighs stronger than the quality. Looking at this theory it’s not about whether a user had a
negative or positive experience on social media, it’s just that other users appear to be having a
much better one.
As a society that heavily consumes social media, it is important to understand where the
feelings of inadequacy, identity diffusion, rumination and low self-esteem are coming from. The
Social Comparison Theory is a very natural phenomenon and having social media opens up
another outlet for the theory to live, breathe and be intensified, potentially not in the healthiest
way.
The purpose of these research is to identify the correlation between the increased
consumption of social media and the Social Comparison Theory and the effects that are brought
out because of it such as low self-esteem, identity diffusion, and rumination.
The findings from Cramer, Song, and Drent (2016) support the claim that the Social
Comparison Theory does exist out in the social media world. They reported that 69% of the
study’s participants concluded that they did indulge in social comparison on Facebook (p. 743).
They also concluded that they were more likely to compare themselves on social media outlet
rather than in a physical social gathering (2016).
Feinstein, Hershenberg, Bhatia, Latack, Meuwly, and Davila (2013) also proved
that negative comparisons on social media link to depressive symptoms such as rumination,
5
which is when one obsesses over a negative situation. The study completed by Chou and Edge
(2012) identifies that those on Facebook who are friends with mere acquaintances felt that they
lead better lives than they did. These findings support the idea that the Social Comparison
Theory does indeed thrive online even more so than in a physical situation, because of its ability
to thrive rumination, identity diffusion, and low self-esteem result from it.
Literature Review
The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship of the amount of time a user
spends on social media and the Social Comparison Theory and the phenomenon as result. These
phenomenons being rumination, identity-diffusion, and low self-esteem. The Social Comparison
Theory will be reviewed in full; broken down into the nine sections and identifying the variables
