Relationship among Social Media Use, Socio Cultural Norms and Physical Appearance Concerns in Young Female Adults: Role of Digital Media Beauty Standards

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine relationship among Social Media Use, Socio Cultural Norms and Physical Appearance concerns in female adults. A random sample of 250 young adult female students was recruited through face-to-face administration of printed questionnaires from Government College Women University Sialkot and the University of Sialkot. Three standardized instruments were used to assess the study variables. The Appearance Social Media Consciousness Scale (ASMC), a 13-item measure, was used to assess concerns related to appearance on social media. The Sociocultural Attitudes toward Appearance Questionnaire 4 Revised (SATAQ-4R-Female), a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), was employed to measure internalization of beauty ideals and perceived sociocultural pressure. Physical appearance concerns were assessed using the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale (PACS), consisting of 11 items, where higher scores indicate greater appearance-related concerns. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson product–moment correlation. The findings revealed a significant positive correlation between social media usage and sociocultural standards (r = 0.36, p < .01). Social media usage was also significantly and positively correlated with physical appearance concerns (r = 0.361, p < .01). Furthermore, sociocultural standards showed a strong positive correlation with physical appearance concerns (r = 0.61, p < .01). The study concludes that young Early adults with greater physical appearance concerns are more strongly influenced by social media and sociocultural beauty standards. A significant relationship exists between social media use, sociocultural standards, and physical appearance concerns. Females who engage more frequently with social media are more likely to internalize societal beauty standards, leading to heightened concerns about their physical appearance compared to those with lower social media usage.