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. 2020 Feb 19:11:100263.
doi: 10.1016/j.abrep.2020.100263. eCollection 2020 Jun.

Selfie-engagement on social media: Pathological narcissism, positive expectation, and body objectification - Which is more influential?

Valentina Boursier  1 , Francesca Gioia  1 , Mark D Griffiths  2
Affiliations

Selfie-engagement on social media: Pathological narcissism, positive expectation, and body objectification - Which is more influential?

Valentina Boursier et al. Addict Behav Rep. .

Abstract

The current use of social media platforms by active young users/creators of visual content provides an easy medium to achieve narcissistic goals of self-promotion and attention-seeking, and to socialize with self-objectification experiences. One of the most popular activities associated with social media use is selfie-sharing. Consequently, the global focus on online physical appearance approval could reinforce selfie-engagement as a specific body image-related behavior, potentially associated with selfie-marketing strategies for self-improvement, and problematic social media use. The present study evaluated the main direct effect of pathological narcissism, objectified body consciousness, and expectations toward selfies on young women's and men's selfie-engagement. A total of 570 young adults (66.8% females; mean age = 24.4 years, SD = 3.6) participated in an online survey study. Variables were assessed using the Pathological Narcissism Inventory (Fossati, Feeney, Pincus, Borroni, & Maffei, 2015), Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (Dakanalis et al., 2015), Selfie-expectancies Scale (Boursier & Manna, 2018), and a measure of selfie-engagement. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed on independent male and female subsamples. Results showed that body surveillance and positive selfie-expectancies are consistent selfie-behavior predictors, among both men (R2 = 0.227; p < .001) and women (R2 = 0.332; p < .001). Furthermore, findings confirm women's involvement in appearance concerns and body-image related practices, even though men's engagement in body-objectification deserve attention. The study provides novel findings in the field of self-objectification research as well as contributing to the ongoing debate concerning which psychological factors can be predictive of males' and females' selfie-engagement. The implications of these findings are also discussed in light of the debate on social media use and misuse.

Keywords: Body image; Body surveillance; Pathological narcissism; Self-objectification; Selfie expectancies; Selfie-engagement.

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Conflict of interest statement

In the present study there were no funding sources neither conflict of interest.

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