The Relationship Between Fitness Posts Exposure on Social Media and Female Appearance Self-Esteem: A Perspective of Sexual Objectification

Feng Yang; Yang Han; Xinru Fan; Ziyi Liu

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11

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The Relationship Between Fitness Posts Exposure on Social Media and Female Appearance Self-Esteem: A Perspective of Sexual Objectification

Feng Yang, Yang Han, Xinru Fan, Ziyi Liu

Published in American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 12, Issue 2)

Received: 29 March 2023 Accepted: 20 April 2023 Published: 27 April 2023

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Abstract

Social media generally refers to all kinds of websites or applications which allow users to present the contents created by themselves on the platform and counteract with other users. Today, it is a common phenomenon for females to view fitness posts on social media. Although past research has revealed the significantly negative relationship between social media exposure and global self-esteem, it is still unclear that how specific social media activities will have an influence on specific domains of self-esteem. Given that, with 246 female undergraduates as participants, the current research used the questionnaire survey method to examine the relationship between fitness posts exposure on social media and appearance self-esteem, and the underlying mechanisms. Regression analyses showed that, after control for the possible confounding variables, fitness posts exposure on social media was significantly and negatively related to appearance self-esteem (β = -0.18, p = 0.003), but not significantly related to global self-esteem (β = 0.09, p = 0.10). Further analyses suggested that the sexual objectification theory provided a feasible explanation for the correlation between fitness posts exposure on social media and appearance self-esteem. Specifically, further mediation analyses showed that fitness posts exposure on social media was related to appearance self-esteem via two possible mediation paths: (1) fitness posts exposure → body surveillance → appearance self-esteem, 95% CI [-0.08, -0.01]; (2) fitness posts exposure → body surveillance → body shame → appearance self-esteem, 95% CI [-0.07, -0.02]. We also found that when the indirect effects were considered, the direct effect between fitness posts exposure and appearance self-esteem was not significant, 95% CI [-0.20, 0.03]. The current research firstly demonstrated the correlation between fitness posts exposure on social media and appearance self-esteem, and also specified activities that may raise potential harms on self-esteem of users.

Published in	American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 12, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11
Page(s)	28-35
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Social Media, Fitness, Self-Objectification, Appearance Self-Esteem, Female

References

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APA Style

Feng Yang, Yang Han, Xinru Fan, Ziyi Liu. (2023). The Relationship Between Fitness Posts Exposure on Social Media and Female Appearance Self-Esteem: A Perspective of Sexual Objectification. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 12(2), 28-35. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11

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ACS Style

Feng Yang; Yang Han; Xinru Fan; Ziyi Liu. The Relationship Between Fitness Posts Exposure on Social Media and Female Appearance Self-Esteem: A Perspective of Sexual Objectification. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2023, 12(2), 28-35. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11

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AMA Style

Feng Yang, Yang Han, Xinru Fan, Ziyi Liu. The Relationship Between Fitness Posts Exposure on Social Media and Female Appearance Self-Esteem: A Perspective of Sexual Objectification. Am J Appl Psychol. 2023;12(2):28-35. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11,
  author = {Feng Yang and Yang Han and Xinru Fan and Ziyi Liu},
  title = {The Relationship Between Fitness Posts Exposure on Social Media and Female Appearance Self-Esteem: A Perspective of Sexual Objectification},
  journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
  volume = {12},
  number = {2},
  pages = {28-35},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20231202.11},
  abstract = {Social media generally refers to all kinds of websites or applications which allow users to present the contents created by themselves on the platform and counteract with other users. Today, it is a common phenomenon for females to view fitness posts on social media. Although past research has revealed the significantly negative relationship between social media exposure and global self-esteem, it is still unclear that how specific social media activities will have an influence on specific domains of self-esteem. Given that, with 246 female undergraduates as participants, the current research used the questionnaire survey method to examine the relationship between fitness posts exposure on social media and appearance self-esteem, and the underlying mechanisms. Regression analyses showed that, after control for the possible confounding variables, fitness posts exposure on social media was significantly and negatively related to appearance self-esteem (β = -0.18, p = 0.003), but not significantly related to global self-esteem (β = 0.09, p = 0.10). Further analyses suggested that the sexual objectification theory provided a feasible explanation for the correlation between fitness posts exposure on social media and appearance self-esteem. Specifically, further mediation analyses showed that fitness posts exposure on social media was related to appearance self-esteem via two possible mediation paths: (1) fitness posts exposure → body surveillance → appearance self-esteem, 95% CI [-0.08, -0.01]; (2) fitness posts exposure → body surveillance → body shame → appearance self-esteem, 95% CI [-0.07, -0.02]. We also found that when the indirect effects were considered, the direct effect between fitness posts exposure and appearance self-esteem was not significant, 95% CI [-0.20, 0.03]. The current research firstly demonstrated the correlation between fitness posts exposure on social media and appearance self-esteem, and also specified activities that may raise potential harms on self-esteem of users.},
 year = {2023}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Relationship Between Fitness Posts Exposure on Social Media and Female Appearance Self-Esteem: A Perspective of Sexual Objectification
AU  - Feng Yang
AU  - Yang Han
AU  - Xinru Fan
AU  - Ziyi Liu
Y1  - 2023/04/27
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11
T2  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
JF  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
JO  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
SP  - 28
EP  - 35
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-5672
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11
AB  - Social media generally refers to all kinds of websites or applications which allow users to present the contents created by themselves on the platform and counteract with other users. Today, it is a common phenomenon for females to view fitness posts on social media. Although past research has revealed the significantly negative relationship between social media exposure and global self-esteem, it is still unclear that how specific social media activities will have an influence on specific domains of self-esteem. Given that, with 246 female undergraduates as participants, the current research used the questionnaire survey method to examine the relationship between fitness posts exposure on social media and appearance self-esteem, and the underlying mechanisms. Regression analyses showed that, after control for the possible confounding variables, fitness posts exposure on social media was significantly and negatively related to appearance self-esteem (β = -0.18, p = 0.003), but not significantly related to global self-esteem (β = 0.09, p = 0.10). Further analyses suggested that the sexual objectification theory provided a feasible explanation for the correlation between fitness posts exposure on social media and appearance self-esteem. Specifically, further mediation analyses showed that fitness posts exposure on social media was related to appearance self-esteem via two possible mediation paths: (1) fitness posts exposure → body surveillance → appearance self-esteem, 95% CI [-0.08, -0.01]; (2) fitness posts exposure → body surveillance → body shame → appearance self-esteem, 95% CI [-0.07, -0.02]. We also found that when the indirect effects were considered, the direct effect between fitness posts exposure and appearance self-esteem was not significant, 95% CI [-0.20, 0.03]. The current research firstly demonstrated the correlation between fitness posts exposure on social media and appearance self-esteem, and also specified activities that may raise potential harms on self-esteem of users.
VL  - 12
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Feng Yang

Department of Teacher Education, Taishan University, Tai’an, China
Yang Han

Department of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
Xinru Fan

Department of Teacher Education, Taishan University, Tai’an, China
Ziyi Liu

Department of Teacher Education, Taishan University, Tai’an, China

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APA Style

Feng Yang, Yang Han, Xinru Fan, Ziyi Liu. (2023). The Relationship Between Fitness Posts Exposure on Social Media and Female Appearance Self-Esteem: A Perspective of Sexual Objectification. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 12(2), 28-35. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11

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ACS Style

Feng Yang; Yang Han; Xinru Fan; Ziyi Liu. The Relationship Between Fitness Posts Exposure on Social Media and Female Appearance Self-Esteem: A Perspective of Sexual Objectification. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2023, 12(2), 28-35. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11

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AMA Style

Feng Yang, Yang Han, Xinru Fan, Ziyi Liu. The Relationship Between Fitness Posts Exposure on Social Media and Female Appearance Self-Esteem: A Perspective of Sexual Objectification. Am J Appl Psychol. 2023;12(2):28-35. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11,
  author = {Feng Yang and Yang Han and Xinru Fan and Ziyi Liu},
  title = {The Relationship Between Fitness Posts Exposure on Social Media and Female Appearance Self-Esteem: A Perspective of Sexual Objectification},
  journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
  volume = {12},
  number = {2},
  pages = {28-35},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20231202.11},
  abstract = {Social media generally refers to all kinds of websites or applications which allow users to present the contents created by themselves on the platform and counteract with other users. Today, it is a common phenomenon for females to view fitness posts on social media. Although past research has revealed the significantly negative relationship between social media exposure and global self-esteem, it is still unclear that how specific social media activities will have an influence on specific domains of self-esteem. Given that, with 246 female undergraduates as participants, the current research used the questionnaire survey method to examine the relationship between fitness posts exposure on social media and appearance self-esteem, and the underlying mechanisms. Regression analyses showed that, after control for the possible confounding variables, fitness posts exposure on social media was significantly and negatively related to appearance self-esteem (β = -0.18, p = 0.003), but not significantly related to global self-esteem (β = 0.09, p = 0.10). Further analyses suggested that the sexual objectification theory provided a feasible explanation for the correlation between fitness posts exposure on social media and appearance self-esteem. Specifically, further mediation analyses showed that fitness posts exposure on social media was related to appearance self-esteem via two possible mediation paths: (1) fitness posts exposure → body surveillance → appearance self-esteem, 95% CI [-0.08, -0.01]; (2) fitness posts exposure → body surveillance → body shame → appearance self-esteem, 95% CI [-0.07, -0.02]. We also found that when the indirect effects were considered, the direct effect between fitness posts exposure and appearance self-esteem was not significant, 95% CI [-0.20, 0.03]. The current research firstly demonstrated the correlation between fitness posts exposure on social media and appearance self-esteem, and also specified activities that may raise potential harms on self-esteem of users.},
 year = {2023}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Relationship Between Fitness Posts Exposure on Social Media and Female Appearance Self-Esteem: A Perspective of Sexual Objectification
AU  - Feng Yang
AU  - Yang Han
AU  - Xinru Fan
AU  - Ziyi Liu
Y1  - 2023/04/27
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11
T2  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
JF  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
JO  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
SP  - 28
EP  - 35
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-5672
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20231202.11
AB  - Social media generally refers to all kinds of websites or applications which allow users to present the contents created by themselves on the platform and counteract with other users. Today, it is a common phenomenon for females to view fitness posts on social media. Although past research has revealed the significantly negative relationship between social media exposure and global self-esteem, it is still unclear that how specific social media activities will have an influence on specific domains of self-esteem. Given that, with 246 female undergraduates as participants, the current research used the questionnaire survey method to examine the relationship between fitness posts exposure on social media and appearance self-esteem, and the underlying mechanisms. Regression analyses showed that, after control for the possible confounding variables, fitness posts exposure on social media was significantly and negatively related to appearance self-esteem (β = -0.18, p = 0.003), but not significantly related to global self-esteem (β = 0.09, p = 0.10). Further analyses suggested that the sexual objectification theory provided a feasible explanation for the correlation between fitness posts exposure on social media and appearance self-esteem. Specifically, further mediation analyses showed that fitness posts exposure on social media was related to appearance self-esteem via two possible mediation paths: (1) fitness posts exposure → body surveillance → appearance self-esteem, 95% CI [-0.08, -0.01]; (2) fitness posts exposure → body surveillance → body shame → appearance self-esteem, 95% CI [-0.07, -0.02]. We also found that when the indirect effects were considered, the direct effect between fitness posts exposure and appearance self-esteem was not significant, 95% CI [-0.20, 0.03]. The current research firstly demonstrated the correlation between fitness posts exposure on social media and appearance self-esteem, and also specified activities that may raise potential harms on self-esteem of users.
VL  - 12
IS  - 2
ER  -

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