Social Media Usage and Self-Esteem among Pakistani Youth

Abstract

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The swift growth of social media has changed the manner in which the young people converse, express themselves and the manner in which they view their social world. This paper is an analysis of the correlation between social media use and self-esteem among the Pakistani young people. Based on the concept of the quantitative research design, the research question is as follows: How the various patterns of social media use, such as active and passive use, affect the levels of self-esteem, taking into account the aspect of cultural and gender variations? Structured questionnaires that were used to measure social media behavior and self-esteem to survey a sample of 300 university students. The data were examined using the descriptive statistics, correlation, multiple regression, and structural equation modeling. The results show that there is a significant relationship between the use of social media and self-esteem and active use of social media positively affects the self-esteem and passive use of social media has been shown to have a positive correlation with social comparison and low self-esteem. These effects are also moderated by gender and cultural factors and there is need to use context-specific strategies to encourage healthy digital use. The research has a contribution in terms of recognizing the complicated role of the social media in the development of youth and provides an insight into the work of educators, parents and policymakers in terms of raising the positive self-perception among the young users.