Social Media Engagement and Social Appearance Anxiety in Teenagers: An Analysis of Correlational Links and Gender Differences

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20488377

Punita B. Deori and Rajlakhimi Bharati (Department of Psychology, University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya)

This research aimed at examining the relation between social media engagement and social appearance anxiety among. A sample total of 150 participants (n=150; where 75=female & 75=male) from selected Higher Secondary Schools of Sipajhar, Darrang District, Assam, were taken. Furthermore, the survey assessed “social media engagement” and “social appearance anxiety” by using the Social Media Engagement Scale for Adolescents (SMES-A) (Ni et al., 2020) and Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS) (Hart et al., 2008). Data analysis was done by using descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation and percentage and inferential statistics such as independent sample t-test and Pearson’s correlation by using advance Excel and SPSS. Findings revealed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.70) between social media engagement and social appearance anxiety among teenagers. The results indicated no significant gender-based differences in social media interaction and social appearance related anxiety among teenagers.