SOCIAL COMPARISON, SOCIAL MEDIA USE, SELF COMPASSION AND PESSIMISM

Abstract

ABSTRACT The current study investigated at how self-compassion, social comparison, and young adults' use of social media are moderated by emotional intelligence. Social media use is becoming more and more common, raising worries about the possible effects on mental health, especially with regard to greater social comparison and less self-compassion. Although past research has established a link between social media use and mental health, the possible moderating impacts of emotional intelligence have received less attention. This study focuses on one way that Emotional Intelligence (EI) can shield users from the negative effects of social media: by encouraging a decline in damaging social comparisons and boosting self-compassion. In the current study, 400 users between the ages of 18 and 25 were given questionnaires on social comparison, emotional intelligence, self-compassion, and social media usage. These corresponding relationships were examined using multiple regression analysis and moderation modeling. The findings revealed that higher social media use was associated with increased social comparison and decrease self-compassion while emotional intelligence moderated this relationship to some extent however emotional intelligence did not significantly influence the association between social media use and self-compassion. These results suggest that emotional intelligence alone may not sufficiently mitigate the psychological impacts of social media emphasizing the need for comprehensive mental health strategies and educational programs on emotional resilience among young adults