Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 26, 2026

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
Published on: August 25, 2023
"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger": Negative Comparison on Facebook and Adolescents' Life Satisfaction Are
Eline Frison1, Steven Eggermont1
1Faculty of Social Sciences, School for Mass Communication Research , KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium .
Abstract:
Social networking sites, such as Facebook, offer adolescent users an ideal platform for negative comparison (i.e., experiencing negative feelings from social comparison). Although such negative comparison on Facebook has been associated with users' well-being, the reciprocal relations between the two remain unclear, particularly in an adolescent sample. To examine this reciprocal process, a two-wave study among a representative sample of Flemish adolescents was set up (N Time1 = 1,840). Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Cross-lagged analyses indicated that negative comparison on Facebook predicted decreases in life satisfaction over time. Conversely, lower scores on life satisfaction predicted increases in negative comparison on Facebook. The discussion focuses on the understanding of these findings, key limitations, directions for future research, and implications for prevention and intervention strategies.
Related Concept Videos
Sources of Self-Esteem III: Social Comparison
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Self-Discrepancy Theory
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison
Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects
Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model

