FACEBOOK USE, APPEARANCE COMPARISON, BODY DISSATISFACION, AND SELF-ESTEEM IN THAI FEMALE FACEBOOK USERS

Abstract

It is well known that social media such as Facebook has gained popularity in recent years with its unique features facilitating communication among people from every part of the world. It can be the free space of self-presentation where users portray their flattering images through well-selected posts. Using correlational research design, this study aims to investigate the direct and indirect relationship between Facebook use, appearance comparison, body dissatisfaction, and self-esteem. Thai female Facebook users (n=171) aged between 20-74 years who subscribe the official page of six biggest provinces of Thailand (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Kanchanaburi, and Chonburi) participated in online survey distributed via Facebook messenger. The result from statistical analysis shows that there is no direct relationship between Facebook use, body dissatisfaction and self-esteem. However, the findings indicated that such relationship is mediated by appearance comparison. This means while Thai women are using Facebook, they make appearance comparison on the site, and, thus, their body dissatisfaction increases whereas self-esteem decreases. The findings can be beneficial for Thai people in both research and practice areas. Future research should be conducted to better understand this relationship and to explore it in different populations or other social media platforms.