Observed in October, World Mental Health Awareness Month and World Mental Health Day on 10 October, serve as a reminder that while technology has changed, our psychology has not. People have always compared themselves with others — friends, neighbours and colleagues, and more generally, those whom they have encountered through magazines, television and radio.
“Keeping up with the Joneses” is hardly a new phenomenon. The tendency to compare ourselves with others and evaluate our own position has moved into the digital age, where social networking sites (SNS) have greatly expanded the number of people available for comparison.
Comparisons are not new. Instead, it is the scale and speed of exposure to comparative information that is new. Nowadays, SNS provides abundant opportunities for social comparison. People are continuously visible, although usually not as they are in their private moments but through carefully selected material: showing off major achievements, exotic holidays, relationships, attractive bodies, beautiful homes and successful careers. We see considerably more of other people's lives. Unsurprisingly, we compare our “behind the scenes” with someone else's highlight reel.
Context
However, social media gives us information without context. We see the promotion but not necessarily the years of uncertainty; the holiday but not the financial stress before and after; the happy couple but not the arguments and abuse at home; or the achievement but not the failures that preceded it.
The problem may therefore lie partly in what we infer from what we see. The following are examples of typical self-talk based on such inferences: “Everyone else seems to be succeeding, so I must be falling behind”, “They have so many friends, so they must be happier than me,” or even “She looks confident and successful, so her life must be better than mine.” These are not observations. They are assumptions and interpretations of carefully selected SNS images and messages.
Social comparison, self-worth and mental health
Research generally distinguishes between upward and downward social comparison. Upward comparison involves comparing ourselves with people whom we perceive as better off, more successful or more capable than us. Such comparisons are not necessarily harmful: they can provide inspiration, useful information for improvement and constructive goals. They can also trigger feelings of inadequacy, envy and lower self-worth.
Downward comparison involves comparing ourselves with people perceived as worse off, less skilled or less fortunate. This may serve to enhance one's own self-esteem or help restore a sense of wellbeing.
Importantly, comparisons with portrayals of others on social media are not uniformly associated with poorer mental health. A large analysis combining the results of 226 observational and experimental studies involving more than 91 000 participants found that comparing oneself with idealised profiles was associated with poorer mental health and body dissatisfaction, with stronger negative associations observed for upward comparison. Downward comparison, in contrast, was not significantly associated with poorer mental health.
This suggests that the direction and nature of comparison may be significant. In other words, social media use and associated social comparison do not automatically affect self-worth or damage mental health; rather, particular patterns of comparison may contribute to psychological difficulties.
Mechanisms
Comparing oneself with portrayals of others on social media has been proposed as one mechanism through which social media use may influence self-worth and, in turn, mental health. However, notifications, likes, comments, new followers and interesting content are often unpredictable: sometimes checking produces little, while at other times it may produce something rewarding, validating or emotionally stimulating. This intermittent reinforcement may encourage repeated checking, even without a particular reason. Over time, for some individuals, this pattern of engagement may become increasingly difficult to control.
Comparisons elicited by SNS are not necessarily problematic in themselves. It is important not to equate frequent social media use with addiction or mental health disorders. Rather than asking simply how much time someone spends online, it is more informative to consider how the person uses social media, how it functions and whether its use has become difficult to control or interferes with everyday life.
Possible warning signs of social media addiction include repeated unsuccessful efforts to cut down, continuing despite negative consequences including neglecting sleep, work, study or relationships, or allowing online activity to displace other important activities. Problematic social media use remains an active area of research rather than a formal diagnosis in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR).
Importantly, time spent on social media alone appears to explain only a relatively small proportion of the variation in self-esteem and mental health outcomes. How and why we use social media may matter more than how often we use it.
Interpretations
When considering the relationship between social media, comparison, self-worth and mental health, interpretations of SNS images and messages are of paramount importance. It is not simply how many likes we receive, but the meaning thereof. Someone else's number of followers, their displayed possessions, holiday photographs, relationship status or professional achievements tell us remarkably little about the full reality of their life and even less about ours. Thus, social media can show us what other people look like or are doing in selected moments but not what they or we are worth.
During Mental Health Awareness Month, we should pause and consider the comparisons we make and their resulting interpretations. If comparisons based on social media use is beginning to affect your sense of self-worth or your emotional well-being, talking to someone you trust can be a useful first step. In South Africa, the Mental Health Information Centre of Southern Africa and the South African Depression and Anxiety Group offer helpful information and support.
Professor Christine Lochner is affiliated with the Mental Health Information Centre of Southern Africa in the Department of Psychiatry at Stellenbosch University