Personality Traits: A Bidirectional Model of the Effects of Social Media Use on Self-Esteem

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to discover the traits that would predispose an individual to low self-esteem as a result of social media use. Previous research suggested that self-esteem was affected by a combination of an individual’s amount of social media use, social media platform(s) used, sex, and the individual’s personality traits. Because of this, this study expected to see self-esteem have significant relationships with sex, personality traits, time spent on social media, platforms used, and an interaction between age and sex. A web-based survey containing informed consent, the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and a demographic questionnaire was provided to potential participants at a university who could complete it at their leisure. Statistical analyses and a post hoc analysis were used to partially accept one hypothesis and reject the rest. Openness to experience and neuroticism were found to be the most predictive personality traits as they were related to most or all others as well as to self-esteem. The total number of platforms was also found to be significantly related to openness to experience as well as amount of time spent on social media. No other significant results were obtained, though many minor trends were observed. These results support a bidirectional model in which personality traits influence the relationship between social media and self-esteem, and in which adjusting social media use can alter personality and increase self-esteem.