The Effect Of Selfie Editing On Body Satisfaction ——Perspective Of Identity Shift

The popularity of selfie-editing is not only changing selfies,but also people’s perceptions of their own appearance.As a field that has only received academic attention in recent years,researchers have debated whether selfie-editing will increase or decrease body satisfaction,this study examines the effects of selfie-editing on body satisfaction from the perspective of identity shift.The study explores whether identity shift occurs in self-presentation based on selfies,specifically,whether the selfie-taker views the self-presented image as the real self or the ideal self in the process of viewing selfies or receiving feedback on selfies,to investigate the impact of selfie-editing on body satisfaction.In Study 1,295 students from a university were surveyed using the Selfie-Editing Scale,the Appearance subscale of the Ideal-Realistic Self-Discrepancies Scale,and the Appearance subscale of the Chinese version of the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire.The results of the study showed that body imagery discrepancy did suppressing effects in the relationship between selfie editing and body satisfaction.Study 2 used an experimental method to investigate the effects of the process of taking and editing self-portraits and the process of viewing selfies on body satisfaction.The study used the Appearance Self-Esteem subscale of the State Self-Esteem Scale to measure state appearance self-esteem and the Visual Analogue Assessment to measure negative affect and facial dissatisfaction.50 subjects were recruited and randomly divided into an editing group and a non-editing group.All subjects first filled out a questionnaire to obtain baseline values and then spent 10 minutes in the laboratory one week later to take a selfie,in which the editing group was required to edit the selfie and the non-editing group was not allowed to edit,after which they filled out the questionnaire.After another week,the subjects spent 3 minutes in the laboratory to view the selfies completed in the laboratory a week earlier,after which they filled in the questionnaire.The results of the study found that for both the editing group and nonediting group,there was no significant difference in facial dissatisfaction after the selfie compared to before the experiment,a significant decrease after viewing compared to before the experiment but no significant difference compared to before the experiment,and no significant change in negative affect or state physical self-esteem across the three experiments.Study 3 used an experimental method to explore the effect of positive versus negative feedback on body satisfaction of selfie editors versus non-editors.The measurement tools in this study are the same as in Study 2,97 subjects were recruited and randomly divided into an editing/positive feedback group,an editing/negative feedback group,a non-editing/positive feedback group,and a non-editing/negative feedback group.Subjects in the editing group submitted a recent edited selfie to the researcher before the experiment,and subjects in the non-editing group submitted a recent unedited selfie to the researcher before the experiment.In the laboratory,the researcher informed the positive feedback group that the subjects received an above-average number of likes and the negative feedback group that the subjects received a below-average number of likes,after which the questionnaire was filled out.The results of the study found no significant differences between the editing group and non-editing group on all dependent variables,significantly lower levels of negative affect in the positive feedback group than in the negative feedback group,significantly higher levels of state body self-esteem than in the negative feedback group,and no significant differences in levels of facial dissatisfaction.The results of this study suggest that identity shift is contextual.In the social networking site context,identity shift occurs,and selfies are perceived as a reflection of the real self,so selfies can increase body satisfaction by viewing selfies and receiving positive feedback,while in the real situation,identity shift doesn’t occur,selfie-editing can set unattainable ideal beauty standards for the selfie-takers,thus increasing the ideal-realistic self-discrepancy and decreasing body satisfaction.