Social Media, Body Appreciation, and Appearance Comparison: A Cross-cultural Comparison Between Women in Taiwan and the United States

Abstract

過去二十年來，社交媒體的使用在全球範圍內急遽擴展，大多數主要應用程式均具有照片分享功能。現今，每個人都能透過智慧型手機的相機不斷檢視自己的外貌，分享個人照片，並觀看朋友、同學和喜愛的名人在網路上分享的照片。關於社交媒體對身體形象滿意度和外貌比較的影響，尤其是在年輕女性和女孩中，相關研究已經伴隨著社交媒體普及化而存在了近二十年。然而，大部分有關社交媒體如何影響身體形象和身材鑑賞的研究僅限於西方地區，跨文化研究在此領域仍然相對未深入探討。為了解決這個問題，本論文以六種不同的量表作為比較基礎，並進行質性實證研究，旨在比較台灣和美國女性對社交媒體如何型塑身材鑑賞的觀念。研究對象為200名來自台灣（N=100）和美國（N=100）年齡介於18至35歲的Instagram使用者，完成匿名的線上問卷調查。研究結果顯示，兩組之間在身材鑑賞、外貌比較和照片編輯方面存在顯著差異。然而，在社交媒體上的外貌比較、媒體素養以及對整容手術的接受程度方面則沒有統計上的差異。當參與者依年齡分為不同群體時，年齡介於18至22歲的Z世代女性在兩組之間的身材鑑賞和照片編輯方面有顯著差異，而年齡介於23至35歲的Y世代女性則僅在外貌比較方面存在顯著差異。綜合以上結果，似乎在美國，身材鑑賞和外貌比較是一個較為嚴重的問題，而在台灣則較為輕微。在Z世代參與者中，美國女性的身材鑑賞程度較台灣女性低，而在Y世代參與者中，美國女性的外貌比較程度則較台灣女性高。有趣的是，Z世代參與者在照片編輯方面也存在顯著差異，台灣參與者較美國參與者更常編輯照片。此論文為跨文化身材鑑賞研究領域做出了貢獻，希望未來能繼續納入台灣進行相關研究。The use of social media has exploded over the last twenty years around the globe, with most major apps having a photo sharing component. Everyone now has the ability to constantly check their appearance in their smartphone’s camera, post photos of themselves, and see what photos their friends, classmates, and favorite celebrities post online. Research on how social media affects body image satisfaction and appearance comparison, especially in young women and girls, has existed for almost as long as social media has been widely used by the public. Despite the large amounts of research on how social media influences body image and body appreciation, most research takes place exclusively in a Western setting, and cross-cultural research in this topic is still relatively underexplored. To address this concern, this thesis, with six different scales as a basis of comparison, along with qualitative empirical research, aimed to compare women in Taiwan and the United States on how social media shapes their thoughts on body appreciation. A sample of 200 Instagram users from Taiwan (N=100) and the United States (N=100) ranging in age from 18 to 35 completed an anonymous online survey. Results showed that there were significant differences in body appreciation, appearance comparison, and photo editing between the two groups. There was no statistical difference in appearance comparison on social media, media literacy, or acceptance of cosmetic surgery. When divided into different age groups, Gen Z woman ranging in age from 18 to 22 had significant differences in body appreciation and photo editing between the two groups, while Gen Y women ranging in age from 23 to 35 only had significant differences in appearance comparison between the two groups. Based on these results, it appears that body appreciation and appearance comparison is a larger issue in the United States than in Taiwan. There were statistically significant differences in body appreciation in Gen Z participants, and in appearance comparison in Gen Y participants. Gen Z American women had lower body appreciation than Gen Z Taiwanese women, and Gen Y American had higher appearance comparison than Gen Y Taiwanese women. Interestingly, Gen Z also had statistically significant differences in photo editing, with Taiwanese participants editing photos more than American participants. This thesis contributes to the growing field of cross-cultural research on body appreciation, which will hopefully continue to include Taiwan in the future