Body shame and problematic social networking sites use: the mediating effect of perfectionistic self-presentation style and body image control in photos

Current Psychology https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04644-8 Body shame and problematic social networking sites use: the mediating effect of perfectionistic self-presentation style and body image control in photos Giulia Fioravanti1 · Sara Bocci Benucci2 · Viola Vinciarelli3 · Silvia Casale1 Accepted: 2 April 2023 © The Author(s) 2023 Abstract Previous studies have shown that body shame and body image control in photos are associated with Problematic Social Networking Sites Use. The current study aims to build upon previous evidence by examining the role of perfectionistic self-presentation in the relationship between body shame, on the one hand, and body image control in photos and Problematic Social Networking Sites Use, on the other hand. The sample included 695 participants (%F = 61.29; Mage = 21.01 ± 5.05; age range = 14–30). The hypothesized serial mediation effect of perfectionistic self-presentation style and body image control in photos in the association between body shame and Problematic Social Networking Sites Use was significant (indirect effect = 0.05; 95% CI: [0.02, 0.07] for young women; indirect effect = 0.02; 95% CI: [0.002, 0.04] for young men). The present study contributes toward the understanding of the possible predictors of Problematic Social Networking Sites Use and leads novel findings in the field of self-objectification research. Regardless of gender, young people who feel ashamed of their body may develop a perfectionistic self-presentation (by promoting a perfect image and hiding imperfections) as compensatory strategy. However, the gratification of the need for self-presentation through body image control in Social Networks photos activities could in turn lead to Problematic Social Networking Sites Use. Keywords Body shame · Body image · Perfectionistic self-presentation style · Problematic social networking Sites Use Introduction Adolescents and young adults are the populations who use Social Networking Sites the most (D’Arienzo et al., 2019; Kuss & Griffiths, 2017). Social networks are online platforms that allow individuals to create profiles, share and view content and interact with other users and their posts through “likes”, comments and private messages (Tiggemann & Vellissaris, 2020). Compared to traditional Sara Bocci Benucci 1 Department of Health Sciences, Psychology Unit, University of Florence, Via di San Salvi 12, Florence 50135, Italy 2 Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Largo Brambilla, 3, Florence 50134, Italy 3 School of Psychology, University of Florence, Via della Torretta, 16, Florence 50037, Italy face-to-face interactions, Social Networks let individuals control the information about themselves, thus enhancing the possibilities to manage self-presentation (Buffardi & Campbell, 2008). Self-presentation refers to “the process of controlling how one is perceived by other people” (Leary, 1995, p. 2), which is described as goal-driven behaviour (Leary & Kowalski, 1990). According to the uses and gratification framework (Katz et al., 1973), different media are chosen by users to fulfil specific needs, and the need for self-presentation is one of the main reasons for using Social Networks (for an overview see Nadkarni & Hoffman, 2012). Given the high focus on visual self-presentation and appearance promoted by several photo-based Social Networks (i.e., Instagram), users might manage their self-presentations by hiding personal attributes that they consider unattractive, such as body size, or manage how they look by editing their pictures or selfies (Fox & Rooney, 2015). Unfortunately, levels of body shame and the extent to which individuals control their body images in pictures before posting them on Social Networks appears to be strongly related to 13 Current Psychology Problematic Social Networking Sites Use (PSNSU) (Casale & Fioravanti, 2017; Gioia et al., 2020). Problematic Social Networking Sites Use can be defined as an excessive use of Social Networks characterized by being overly concerned about social networks and a strong motivation to use them which, in turn, impairs social lives, scholastic success, work lives and/or psychological health and well-being (Andreassen & Pallesen, 2014). A recent research has enlightened the core symptoms associated with Problematic Social Networking Sites Use which can help in distinguishing between problematic and non-problematic social networking site use: (i) difficulties in controlling the use, (ii) thinking obsessively about going online; (iii) and a preference for online interactions (Svicher et al., 2021). Meta-analyses showed that Problematic Social Networking Sites Use is associated with several issues, including depression (Cunningham et al., 2021), low self-esteem (Saiphoo et al., 2020), suicidal ideation (Nesi et al., 2021), lower well-being (Huang, 2020) and higher psychological distress (Shannon et al., 2022), and – as already mentioned – body shame. Building upon previous evidence, the current study focuses the attention on the potential role of perfectionisticself-presentation as a behavioral strategy that might explain how body shame leads to body image control in photos which, in turn, leads to Problematic Social Networking Sites Use. Body shame and problematic social networking sites use As cultural beauty standards are often unattainable, internalization of such standards has been found to be positively associated with body shame (e.g., Kim et al., 2013). In fact, body shame has been defined as a psychological phenomenon that arises when individuals feel ashamed of their bodies due to the perceived inability to satisfy cultural beauty standards (McKinley & Hyde, 1996). According to selfobjectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), selfobjectification occurs when women adopt a third-person perspective on the body, which leads them to look at their bodies as objects that they have to constantly monitor and judge, giving a high value to how they look to others instead of how they feel. The vigilant body surveillance activity (or body monitoring) leads individuals to have negative subjective experiences such as body shame. Although the majority of research has focused on investigating self-objectification in female populations (for a review see Daniels et al., 2020), some studies have also involved male samples, demonstrating that the theory’s basic tenets can also be applied to men (e.g., Calogero, 2009; Morrison et al., 2003; Strelan & Hargreaves, 2005a). While women desire to achieve the standard of beauty of a thin body promoted by society, men with high 13 levels of self-objectification report desiring more muscular bodies (Oehlhof et al., 2009). According to self-objectification theory, body shame is a central experience for those individuals who self-objectify their bodies, and research has documented negative outcomes related to body shame, such as eating disorders (e.g., Mustapic et al., 20 (...truncated)