Cited by 605Impact of Technology on AdolescentsMental Health via WritingEmotions and Moral Behavior

The interplay between Facebook use, social comparison, envy, and depression

Appel, Helmut, Gerlach, Alexander L, Crusius, Jan·2016·Current Opinion in Psychology

Published version of a preprint

Abstract

In their Facebook profiles, users communicate abundant social comparison information conveying mainly positive self-portrayals. Thereby, social networking sites like Facebook pro-vide a fertile ground for envy. This has been proposed as a mechanism for the potential negative effects of Facebook use on well-being and depression. This article reviews research on this process. Studies show that (especially passive) Facebook use indeed predicts different measures of social comparison as well as envy. In several studies social comparison or envy mediate a positive association between Facebook use and undesirable affective outcomes such as depression. However, causal relationships have not yet been sufficiently established. Methodological and conceptual variety across studies limits their comparability, but reveals viable ideas for future research.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.10.006

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61 of 61 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Appel, Gerlach, and Crusius (2016) found that passive Facebook use predicts social comparison and envy, which in turn lead to depression.

    “Similarly, Appel, Gerlach, and Crusius (2016) found that passive Facebook use predicts social comparison and envy, which in turn lead to depression.”
  • A bidirectional relationship may exist due to a cascading feedback loop whereby depression engenders compensatory social media use, which in turn aggravates depressive symptoms due to unhealthy social comparisons and other detrimental forms of social interaction.

    “A bidirectional relationship may also exist due to a cascading feedback loop whereby depression engenders compensatory social media use, which in turn aggravates depressive symptoms due to unhealthy social comparisons and other detrimental forms of social interaction (37, 38).”

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Authors
Appel, H., Gerlach, A. L., & Crusius, J.
Affiliations
University of Cologne (DE)
Corresponding author
Appel, Helmut
Venue
Current Opinion in Psychology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2016-06
Volume
9
Pages
44-49
ISSN
2352-250X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1928177371
Cited by
605
References
61
Citations by year
2026: 74 · 2025: 69 · 2024: 59 · 2023: 95 · 2022: 51 · 2021: 69 · 2020: 77 · 2019: 51 · 2018: 34 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2012: 1
FWCI
7.79
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Current Opinion in Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • Kölner Universitäts PublikationsServer (Universität zu Köln) (publishedVersion)
  • Kölner Universitäts PublikationsServer (Universität zu Köln) (acceptedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health via Writing
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
Keywords
Facebook use, social comparison, envy, depression, social networking sites, passive social media use, self-presentation, well-being, mediation

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