Do Facebook and Instagram differ in their influence on life satisfaction? A study of college men and women in South Korea

While a number of previous studies examined the impacts of social networking sites (SNSs) on young people’s well-being, they usually focused on a single platform without considering the increasing use of multiple social media platforms. In addition, only a few studies have explored gender differences, and empirical evidence outside Western culture is still lacking. To this end, the present study explores how two different types of use (i.e., active vs. passive) of the two most popular SNS (social network sites) platforms (i.e., Facebook and Instagram) are related to college men’s and women’s life satisfaction via social support and social comparison in South Korea. Path analyses conducted using data from a nationwide online survey of Korean college students (N = 360) revealed that active use contributes to life satisfaction via perceived social support on SNSs, while passive use decreases life satisfaction via negative social comparison on SNSs. Both active Facebook and Instagram use are related to perceived social support, while negative social comparison tends to be related only to passive Instagram use. Gender differences were not observed in the hypothesized relationships except for those involving the control variables (i.e., the amount of overall SNS use and the number of SNS platforms used). The results suggest that the influences of SNS use on subjective well-being depend on the types of SNS use and the nature of the platforms. The practical implications for social media literacy education are discussed

The Differential Consequences of Fear, Anger, and Depression in Response to COVID-19 in South Korea

Studies on previous outbreaks of contagious diseases suggest that the impact of the emotions associated with an epidemic can be greater than that of the epidemic in terms of the number of people affected. This study explores the relationships between the three most commonly expressed emotional responses to the COVID-19 pandemic (fear, anger, and depression) and two outcome variables (compliance with the social-distancing policy and the stigmatization of those infected by COVID-19). A large online, public opinion survey was conducted in South Korea (n = 1000) between 4 and 11 June 2020, which was between the first and the second waves of COVID-19. A series of regression analyses suggest that the emotional response was accompanied by differential behavioral and perceptual consequences. Fear was consistently positively related to all indicators of compliance with social-distancing policies (the voluntary practice of social distancing, support for the “routine-life-distancing” policy, and support for stronger social-distancing policies). Anger was positively related to both stigmatization indicators (responsibility attribution and stigmatizing attitude toward people infected with COVID-19). Finally, depression showed negative relationships with support for the “routine-life-distancing” policy and for stronger social-distancing policies but a positive relationship with the voluntary practice of social distancing. By examining whether and how certain types of emotional responses are more or less related to compliance with social distancing and stigmatization, the present study provides practical implications for effective public communication during an epidemic such as COVID-19

The Relationships among Self-Worth Contingency on Others’ Approval, Appearance Comparisons on Facebook, and Adolescent Girls’ Body Esteem: A Cross-Cultural Study

The present study examined the relationship between appearance-related social comparison on social networking services (SNSs) and body esteem in a cross-cultural context (three European countries, i.e., Austria, Belgium, and Spain, versus one Asian country, i.e., South Korea). The role of self-worth contingency on others’ approval was considered to be a psychological and cultural factor. Utilizing a large-scale cross-national survey of early and middle adolescents in 2017, the responses of female adolescents (N = 981) were analyzed. The results generally support the findings from previous studies but also reveal cultural differences. Appearance comparison on Facebook negatively influenced girls’ body esteem in all European countries, but not in South Korea. Self-worth contingency on others’ approval negatively influenced girls’ body esteem across all four countries. Finally, a positive relationship between self-worth contingency on others’ approval and appearance comparison on Facebook was found in all European countries, but not among Korean girls. These findings suggest the importance of self-worth contingency on others’ approval and cultural contexts can be used to study the effects of body image-related SNS use