A Study on Body Image Disturbances, Social Media Addiction, and Satisfaction with Life Among Emerging Adults

Social media’s prevalence exposes Emerging adults (EA) to idealized images, subtly molding their perception of themselves and their lives. This study aimed to find the gender difference, if any, on the levels of Body image disturbance (BID), Social media addiction (SMA), and Satisfaction with life (SWL) and to determine relationships between the 3 variables and predict the influence of BID and SMA on SWL. The study included 190 participants (79 male & 111 female) aged 20 – 30 years. Body Shape Questionnaire-16B, Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale were used to measure the study’s variables. Employed t-tests and chi-square tests to analyze parameters. Utilized Pearson’s correlation and multiple regression analysis to study correlations and influences between variables. The findings revealed that levels of SWL, but not BID or SMA, differed statistically significantly between males and females. Females reported higher life satisfaction than males, which was statistically significant. The study found a negative correlation between SMA and SWL and a negative correlation between BID and SWL. SMA and BID were found to be positively correlated. The study observed that, while SMA had a statistically significant impact on SWL, BID had a higher influence. It can be concluded that relationships exist among all three variables, with both SMA and BID significantly influencing SWL. Further research is needed to identify precise mechanisms for these relationships.