The influence of social networking site use on adolescents’body dissatisfaction and its internal mechanism

Abstract: Body dissatisfaction is common among adolescents, and the use of social networking sites is a risk factor. Conducting a systematic review of the manifestations, pathways, and moderators of how social networking site use affects adolescents’ body dissatisfaction is crucial for preventing and addressing this issue. The use of social networking sites can impact adolescents’ body dissatisfaction in several ways. This influence occurs through three main pathways: comparison and internalization of the ideal body, self-objectification and body surveillance, and appearance self-schema and appearance self-discrepancy. Furthermore, this effect is moderated by personality factors, including the Big Five personality traits, narcissism and perfectionism; self-cognitive factors, such as self-compassion and self-concept clarity; and media-cognitive factors, including social media literacy and appearance-related social media consciousness. Future research should focus on exploring the relationship between social networking site use and body dissatisfaction in China, expanding the scope to include various aspects such as research subjects, methods, and content, and further validating and simplifying the theoretical framework. This will help develop more effective online intervention programs to address adolescents’ body dissatisfaction.