A cross-sectional study on the association between social media addiction, body image, and social comparison among young adult Filipino women aged 18-25 years old in Metro Manila / The Health Sciences Journal

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION@#The Philippines tops globally for time spent on social media. This study aimed to explore the association between social media addiction, body image, and social comparison among young adult Filipino women aged 18-25 years old in Metro Manila.@*METHODS@#The Social Media Addiction Scale (SMAS), Body Image Questionnaire (BIQ), and Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (INCOM) were used to assess social media addiction, body image, and social comparison, respectively. PRR (CI 95%) assessed the association between SMA and BI, and SMA and SC.@*RESULTS@#Majority of participants had social media addiction (91.11%), while most reported a neutral body image (87.64%). Additionally, more than half of the participants exhibited a high tendency towards social comparison (53.15%). The study found a positive association between social media addiction and negative body image, as well as a significant positive association between social media addiction and social comparison. Obesity showed a significant positive association with negative body image perception, while being overweight was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of having a positive body image. Spending at least 4 hours per day on social media was significantly associated with a higher tendency towards social comparison.@*CONCLUSION@#These findings suggest the presence of social media addiction among young adult Filipino women and its association with body image and social comparison. Awareness of these associations can contribute to the development of targeted interventions and educational programs to promote healthier social media use and positive body image among young adults.