Social comparison is the dominant psychological process in the Facebook experience.

Evidence

According to the 302 most significant quantitative research studies on the relationships between social media use and mental health (most of them produced since 2013), the psychological process that most defines the Facebook experience is what psychologists call “social comparison.” It is usually considered a natural and virtually automatic process that operates outside of awareness, “effectively forced upon the individual by his social environment” as we apply evaluative criteria tacitly internalized from our society, community, group, family, and friends. As one research review summarizes, “Almost at the moment of exposure, an initial holistic assessment of the similarity between the target and the self is made.” As we go through life being exposed to other people, we naturally compare ourselves along the lines of similarity and contrast—I am like you. I am different from you—subliminal perceptions that translate into judgments—I am better than you. You are better than I. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1470

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to broader critiques of social media’s psychological effects and to comparisons in the attention economy literature. — connects to: Facebook exploits the psychological needs of young people during identity formation. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1421; Facebook exposure drives social comparison and envy on an unprecedented scale — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1476; More social media connections can worsen users’ emotional states through comparison loops — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1473 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Facebook exposure drives social comparison and envy on an unprecedented scale #corroborates (0.95) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1476
• Viewing others’ highlight reels on Facebook measurably degraded users’ mood and sense of meaning #corroborates (0.92) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1012
• Social media triggers unprecedented intensity of social comparison among the young. #corroborates (0.90) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1472
• More social media connections can worsen users’ emotional states through comparison loops #corroborates (0.85) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1473
• Social media’s engineered feedback loops convert normal social comparison into compulsive anxiety #expands (0.80) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1485
• Social media’s design rewards visibility and self-promotion with social status. #qualifies (0.70) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 39