Social-Media-Photo-Upload-Feedback and Personality Traits as Predictors of Self-Objectification

Abstract

In the contemporary time of high internet over-drive, many female undergraduates are getting interested in ways they can acquire acceptable body parts. As a result, they consciously want to receive information from the online audience on how they are doing. This new disposition may have led to the new normal of not being comfortable with their body parts. This study examined social-media-photo-upload-feedback and personality traits as predictors of self-objectification. The participants were made up of 100 female undergraduates who randomly volunteered from the faculty of management science of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The participants comprised of ages ranged from 17 to 29 with a mean age of 22.04 years and a standard deviation of 2.75 years. Three instruments were adopted in this study and they include the Ten Item Personality inventory (TIPI), the Self-Objectification Questionnaire (SOQ), and the Social-Media-Photo-Upload-Feedback Questionnaire (SMPUFQ). The Social-Media-Photo-Upload-Feedback Questionnaire (SMPUFQ) was developed by the researchers in the course of the study. The appropriate design for the study is predictive design. Multiple regression analysis was used for data analysis and the data was managed using the SPSS version 20.0.The first hypothesis which stated that social-media-photo-upload-feedback will positively predict self-objectification was not confirmed (B = -.04, P>.05). Also, the second hypothesis was confirmed at B = .04, B < .05 for (Agreeableness personality trait). It was recommended that female undergraduates with agreeable personality traits should avoid social media environments that have high tendency to respond to self-objectification.