Selfie-viewing and Facial Dissatisfaction Among Chinese Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model of General Attractiveness Internalization and Body Appreciation

The present study examined whether selfie-viewing (i.e., viewing other people's selfie posts and related likes/comments) on social networking sites (SNSs) was positively associated with adolescents' facial dissatisfaction and whether this association was mediated by general attractiveness internalization. We also tested whether the indirect link between selfie-viewing and facial dissatisfaction by general attractiveness internalization would be moderated by body appreciation. Furthermore, potential gender differences were explored. The model was tested with 1496 Chinese adolescent boys and girls who completed questionnaires regarding selfie-viewing, general attractiveness internalization, body appreciation, and facial dissatisfaction. Results indicated that selfie-viewing was positively related to facial dissatisfaction and this relationship was mediated by general attractiveness internalization. Furthermore, body appreciation moderated the indirect relation between selfie-viewing and facial dissatisfaction via general attractiveness internalization. Gender did not moderate the mediation model. Findings from the current study provide new insights into the relation between SNS use and body image and highlight the potential value of promoting body appreciation in the prevention of body image concerns.