Picture-perfect lives on social media: a cross-national study on the role of media ideals in adolescent well-being

A number of studies have suggested that social media use may be negatively related to adolescents’ well-being. One explanation for this relation may lie in the internalization of various types of ideals displayed on social media; however, research supporting this reasoning is largely absent. This survey study among 1,983 Austrian, Belgian, Spanish, and South Korean adolescents (aged 12–19, 49.7% girls) addressed this gap and found that Instagram use was positively related to the internalization of professional, social, sexual, and romantic ideals, and Facebook use was positively related to the internalization of social and romantic ideals. In turn, the internalization of sexual ideals was related to poor mental well-being. Furthermore, Facebook use was also directly associated with poor mental well-being. Cross-national differences played an important role in that South Korea significantly differed from Austria, Belgium, and Spain in the relations between social media use, the internalization of social ideals, and poor mental well-being. We also found differences among Belgium, Austria, and Spain in the relations between social media use, the internalization of professional, social, and sexual ideals, and poor mental well-being.