Moderating Role of Gender in the Relationship among Social Media Use, Body Image Perception and Self-Esteem of In-School Adolescents in Abeokuta
The increasing prevalence of social media use among adolescents has raised concerns about its potential impact on self-esteem and body image perception. This study investigated the relationship between social media use, body image perception, and self-esteem, alongside the moderating role of gender among in-school adolescents in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional design was employed, involving 431 adolescents aged 10–19 years. Data were collected using the Social Media Use Scale, Body Self-Image Questionnaire–Short Form (BSIQ-SF), and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Analyses included Pearson correlation, multiple regression, and PROCESS Macro 4.2, with a significance level set at 0.05. Findings revealed a significant negative relationship between social media use and self-esteem (r = -0.12, p < .05). Conversely, a significant positive relationship was found between social media use and body image perception (r = .27, p < .01). However, body image perception was not significantly related to self-esteem (r = .01, p > .05). Results also showed that only social media use significantly predicted self-esteem (β = -0.14, p < .05), while body image perception (β = 0.04, p > .05) and gender (β = -0.02, p > .05) did not. Additionally, gender did not moderate the relationship between social media use and self-esteem (B = -0.005, p > .05), nor between body image perception and self-esteem (B = -0.008, p > .05). The study concludes that while social media use negatively influences self-esteem, body image perception and gender do not play significant predictive or moderating roles. It recommends awareness programmes promoting responsible digital use and psychological interventions to support adolescent self-esteem.