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A research by Pompeu Fabra College (UPF) and the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) reveals that ladies who use Instagram and TikTok regard the impression of those social media on their psychological well-being extra negatively than boys. Among the many doable causes, the analysis signifies that ladies make extra intensive use of social media and really feel extra noticed and pressured by the picture and bodily look they current on these networks, in addition to needing extra exterior approval.
The analysis analyzes younger folks’s perceptions of the impression of social media on many different elements of their social life—reminiscent of a way of belonging or the flexibility to specific themselves as they’re. That is the primary quantitative research devoted to the notion that Spanish youngsters have of the impression of those social media on so many dimensions of their social life.
A current article printed within the journal Revista De Comunicación, presents the outcomes of this analysis, led by Mònika Jiménez, from the UPF, and Mireia Montaña, from the UOC, who’re the principal investigators. Each Jiménez and the lead writer of the article, Clara Virós, are researchers within the Communication, Promoting and Society (CAS) group within the UPF Division of Communication. Montaña is a member of the Studying, Media and Leisure (GAME) analysis group within the UOC’s College of Info and Communication Sciences.
The research is predicated on a survey of a consultant pattern of 1,043 Spanish adolescents aged 12 to 18 (50.5% ladies and 49.5% boys) of whom 70.7% are TikTok customers and 63.8% are Instagram customers. Respondents assessed the impression of social media on 9 elements of their social life, score it from 1 (probably the most unfavourable) to five (probably the most optimistic).
Total, probably the most extremely rated objects are as follows: the capability for collective group (3.52), sense of belonging to a bunch (3.51) and the potential of expressing themselves as they’re (3.48). There are not any vital variations by gender in any of the scale of the research, besides psychological well-being.
Decrease scores for social media for speaking with adults
The objects scoring lowest amongst each girls and boys are psychological well-being and communication with the adults who’re closest to them (3.06 in each instances). Within the case of psychological well-being, ladies rating this side 2.99, in comparison with 3.13 for boys. The opposite dimensions assessed are the flexibility to argue and focus on, socialization amongst friends, acceptance of established norms, and decision-making and social autonomy.
Basically phrases, the research signifies that younger folks take into account that the usage of these social media has a impartial impression on their lives, the unfavourable results being offset by the optimistic ones. The scores of all the scale are, accordingly, above 2.5. Younger folks even point out sure optimistic results of the usage of social media on their psychological well-being. For instance, they respect the truth that they supply connection, assist and areas for dialogue with folks in related conditions.
One other conclusion of the research is that younger folks understand the impression of those two social media on their social lives extra positively if they’re customers than if they don’t seem to be. Amongst Instagram customers, the flexibility to arrange collectively and the sense of belonging to a bunch are the scale most extremely rated, with a rating of three.55.
TikTok’s algorithm reinforces conventional gender roles
One of many three elements most valued by younger TikTok customers is the potential of being and expressing themselves as they’re (3.54). This might point out that there’s nonetheless a sure lack of awareness amongst younger folks about how this community’s algorithm works when it comes to its capability to supply customized content material. Nevertheless, the analysis additionally reveals that younger folks have discovered new methods to socialize on TikTok, though this community, in contrast to Instagram, shouldn’t be designed for social interplay.
What younger TikTok customers worth most is that interplay with others makes it simpler for them to grasp and settle for social norms and conventions (3.56). However the research warns that this development detracts from youngsters’ crucial capability concerning established social traditions, for instance with respect to gender roles. The researchers warn of the gender bias of TikTok content material, such because the strategies on the For you web page, which have vital results on youngsters.
Based on Jiménez, “The fashion and beauty content that the algorithm offers to girls by default has a clear impact on their body image and self-esteem. In the case of boys, the fact that the suggested content is closely related to sport and competitive games, with behavior that’s often aggressive, reinforces the idea of the dominant male associated with toxic masculinity, with little room to show his emotions.”
For Montaña, “Teenage girls have a more critical and often more negative perception of the impact of social media on their well-being, possibly because they’re exposed to them more intensely and feel more pressure regarding appearance and external approval. This points to an urgent need to strengthen their emotional education and encourage them to look more critically at social media.”
Nevertheless, Montaña identified that girls and boys are usually not passive shoppers of social media: “The study shows that they have a fairly accurate perception of the effects that social media have on their social and emotional lives, although there’s still room to work on their critical capacity, especially with regard to the TikTok algorithm.”
In the identical vein, Jiménez concluded that “to date there aren’t any studies that determine the extent to which teenagers have the tools to grasp and deal with the consequences of the algorithmic dictatorship, so we need to find out what their real capacity to do so is and, from there, decide on the tools they need.”
Extra info:
Clara Virós-Martín et al, Adolescentes, TikTok e Instagram: percepciones sobre el impacto de las tecnologías digitales en su vida social, Revista de Comunicación (2025). DOI: 10.26441/RC24.1-2025-3774
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Analysis suggests TikTok and Instagram have an effect on the psychological well-being of teenage ladies greater than boys (2025, March 31)
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