The Relationship between Social Media Use and Ideal Beauty Internalization among Female College Students

Abstract

Objective: To examine the relationship between social media use and ideal beauty internalization among female college students, with a further distinction between active and passive social media use. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted among 412 female college students. The Active Social Media Use Scale, Passive Social Media Use Scale, and the Internalization subscale for ideal beauty were used for measurement. Pearson correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to examine the relationships among variables. Results: Passive social media use was significantly positively correlated with ideal beauty internalization (r = 0.542, p < 0.001), and active social media use was also significantly positively correlated with ideal beauty internalization (r = 0.510, p < 0.001). Regression analyses showed that passive social media use significantly and positively predicted ideal beauty internalization among female college students (β = 0.542, t = 13.046, p < 0.001, R^² = 0.293), and active social media use also significantly and positively predicted ideal beauty internalization (β = 0.510, t = 12.037, p < 0.001, R^² = 0.261). Conclusion: The more frequently female college students use social media, the more likely they are to accept and identify with sociocultural standards of ideal appearance and body image. College mental health education and media literacy education should pay attention to aesthetic pressure in social media environments and guide female college students to develop more diverse and healthier body cognition.