The DOI matches its Crossref record; 61 of the 61 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The interplay between Facebook use, social comparison, envy, and depression
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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“Similarly, Appel, Gerlach, and Crusius (2016) found that passive Facebook use predicts social comparison and envy, which in turn lead to depression.”
From A systematic review: the influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents (2020) · cites this paper as Appel, Gerlach, and Crusius (2016)
In the citing paper
“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).”
From Does Social Media Use Increase Depressive Symptoms? A Reverse Causation Perspective (2021) · cites this paper as [37]
Citations
Cites
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“Additionally, users mainly interact with friends and peers on Facebook [7,21].”
BackgroundEcological momentary assessment
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“The available empirical evidence is equivocal however, sometimes suggesting a positive [2– 5], a non-existent [6], or even a negative [7–9] relationship between Facebook use and depression.”
BackgroundDoes low self-esteem predict depression and anxiety? A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.
Sowislo, J. F., & Orth, U. (2013) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0028931 · Cited by 2,123 · cited 1×
“Arguably, the lack of self-esteem [30] and the tendency to compare themselves negatively with others [31] might make depressed individuals also particularly prone to envy.”
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“However, younger individuals should be even more likely to engage in or be affected by SNS social comparisons, given their developing identities [44] and their heavy SNS use [45].”
BackgroundFacebook Use Predicts Declines in Subjective Well-Being in Young Adults
Kross, E., Verduyn, P., Demiralp, E., Park, J., Lee, D. S., Lin, N., Shablack, H., Jonides, J., & Ybarra, O. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0069841 · Cited by 1,596 · cited 1×
“However, some effects of Facebook use may not manifest immediately, but require repeated exposure [2,15], especially when considering more far-reaching consequences.”
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Tracy, J. L., & Robins, R. W. (2004) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1207/s15327965pli1502_01 · Cited by 1,462 · cited 1×
“Indeed, Facebook postings of narcissistic users, which can be assumed to convey hubristic pride [55], elicit less positive feedback [56], potentially reflecting malicious envy.”
BackgroundSocial comparison, social media, and self-esteem.
Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P., Roberts, L. R., & Eckles, K. (2014) · Psychology of Popular Media Culture · doi:10.1037/ppm0000047 · Cited by 1,418 · cited 4×
“However, some effects of Facebook use may not manifest immediately, but require repeated exposure [2,15], especially when considering more far-reaching consequences.”
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“Given that sites such as Facebook serve a diversity of purposes [10,11], treating them as a one-dimensional construct is likely an oversimplification [4,5] resulting in conceptual imprecision (for an overview, see [12 ]).”
BackgroundA Review of Facebook Research in the Social Sciences
Wilson, R. E., Gosling, S. D., & Graham, L. T. (2012) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691612442904 · Cited by 1,226 · cited 1×
“Given that sites such as Facebook serve a diversity of purposes [10,11], treating them as a one-dimensional construct is likely an oversimplification [4,5] resulting in conceptual imprecision (for an overview, see [12 ]).”
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Keles, B., McCrae, N., & Grealish, A. (2020) · International Journal of Adolescence and Youth · doi:10.1080/02673843.2019.1590851 · Cited by 1,909
“Similarly, Appel, Gerlach, and Crusius (2016) found that passive Facebook use predicts social comparison and envy, which in turn lead to depression.”
BackgroundOdgers, C. L., & Jensen, M. R. (2020) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.13190 · Cited by 1,189
The welfare effects of social media
Allcott, H., Braghieri, L., Eichmeyer, S., & Gentzkow, M. (2020) · American Economic Review · doi:10.1257/aer.20190658 · Cited by 857
Social Media and Mental Health
Braghieri, L., Levy, R., & Makarin, A. (2022) · American Economic Review · doi:10.1257/aer.20211218 · Cited by 673
Seeing everyone else’s highlight reels: how Facebook usage is linked to depressive symptoms.
Steers, M.-L. N., Wickham, R. E., & Acitelli, L. K. (2014) · Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1521/jscp.2014.33.8.701 · Cited by 535
Metadata
- 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
- 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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