IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i12p6667-d578982.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Profile Pictures in the Digital World: Self-Photographs Predict Better Life Satisfaction

Author

Listed:
  • Kalai Hung

    (Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

  • Naomi A. Lee

    (School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, King’s College, Old Aberdeen AB24 3FX, UK)

  • Kaiping Peng

    (Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China)

  • Jie Sui

    (School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, King’s College, Old Aberdeen AB24 3FX, UK)

Abstract

Profiles pictures as online identities represent an extension of the user’s self in the digital world. Changes in self-representation are responsible for reduced well-being in individuals in the offline world. However, whether profile picture selection predicts the well-being of internet users is unknown. To address this question, we tested the relationship between the type of profile picture (e.g., self-photographs or other pictures) used on social media and the life satisfaction of internet users, accounting for gender and personality traits that have been thought to relate to the selection of profile pictures. The results showed that individuals using self-photographs as profiles reported a higher level of life satisfaction compared to individuals using other pictures as profiles. This effect was influenced by gender, openness, and extraversion. Hierarchical regression and moderation analyses revealed that openness and profile type interacted to predict life satisfaction in women, while openness and profile picture independently predicted life satisfaction in men. Furthermore, extraversion directly predicted life satisfaction in both men and women. These results indicate that the consistency between one’s online and offline self-representation may characterize internet users’ well-being, with potential implications for digital wellness.

Suggested Citation

  • Kalai Hung & Naomi A. Lee & Kaiping Peng & Jie Sui, 2021. "Profile Pictures in the Digital World: Self-Photographs Predict Better Life Satisfaction," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-10, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:12:p:6667-:d:578982
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6667/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6667/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jens Christoffer Skogen & Gunnhild Johnsen Hjetland & Tormod Bøe & Randi Træland Hella & Ann Kristin Knudsen, 2021. "Through the Looking Glass of Social Media. Focus on Self-Presentation and Association with Mental Health and Quality of Life. A Cross-Sectional Survey-Based Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-16, March.
    2. Saura, Jose Ramon & Ribeiro-Soriano, Domingo & Palacios-Marqués, Daniel, 2021. "From user-generated data to data-driven innovation: A research agenda to understand user privacy in digital markets," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    3. Palmer Johnson & Leo Fay, 1950. "The Johnson-Neyman technique, its theory and application," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 15(4), pages 349-367, December.
    4. Saura, José Ramón & Palacios-Marqués, Daniel & Iturricha-Fernández, Agustín, 2021. "Ethical design in social media: Assessing the main performance measurements of user online behavior modification," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 271-281.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kolbrun Harpa Kristinsdottir & Haukur Freyr Gylfason & Rannveig Sigurvinsdottir, 2021. "Narcissism and Social Media: The Role of Communal Narcissism," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-14, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wang, Guoqiang & Tan, Garry Wei-Han & Yuan, Yunpeng & Ooi, Keng-Boon & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2022. "Revisiting TAM2 in behavioral targeting advertising: A deep learning-based dual-stage SEM-ANN analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    2. Miranda, Sandra & Trigo, Inês & Rodrigues, Ricardo & Duarte, Margarida, 2023. "Addiction to social networking sites: Motivations, flow, and sense of belonging at the root of addiction," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    3. Frank Germann & Gary L. Lilien & Christine Moorman & Lars Fiedler & Till Groβmaβ, 2020. "Driving Customer Analytics From the Top," Customer Needs and Solutions, Springer;Institute for Sustainable Innovation and Growth (iSIG), vol. 7(3), pages 43-61, October.
    4. Anni Arumsari Fitriany & Piotr J. Flatau & Khoirunurrofik Khoirunurrofik & Nelly Florida Riama, 2021. "Assessment on the Use of Meteorological and Social Media Information for Forest Fire Detection and Prediction in Riau, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-13, October.
    5. Francisco Javier Lacarcel & Raquel Huete, 2023. "Digital communication strategies used by private companies, entrepreneurs, and public entities to attract long-stay tourists: a review," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 691-708, June.
    6. Dixon, Darcie & Mikolon, Sven, 2021. "Cents of self: How and when self-signals influence consumer value derived from choices of green products," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 365-386.
    7. Jorge Hernández-Pérez & Salvador Cruz Rambaud & Tomás Lorenzana de la Varga, 2019. "Economic situation, the key to understanding the links between CEOs’ personal traits and the financial structure of large private companies," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(7), pages 1-15, July.
    8. Hendrik Slabbinck & Arjen van Witteloostuijn & Julie Hermans & Johanna Vanderstraeten & Marcus Dejardin & Jacqueline Brassey & Dendi Ramdani, 2018. "The added value of implicit motives for management research Development and first validation of a Brief Implicit Association Test (BIAT) for the measurement of implicit motives," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(6), pages 1-29, June.
    9. Saura, Jose Ramon & Palacios-Marqués, Daniel & Ribeiro-Soriano, Domingo, 2023. "Exploring the boundaries of open innovation: Evidence from social media mining," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    10. Raghuveer Negi & Amit Kumar Gupta & Vidhu Gaur, 2023. "Effect of green marketing orientation dimensions on green innovation and organizational performance: A mediation‐moderation analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5435-5458, December.
    11. Clara Maathuis & Iddo Kerkhof, 2023. "The first two months in the war in Ukraine through topic modeling and sentiment analysis," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(1), pages 56-74, February.
    12. Min Wang & Mary McVee & Jingjing Ding, 2023. "â€œè¿™ä¸ªçœŸçš„ä¸ å¥½è¯´.†(It is Hard to Say): Positioning, Graphicons, and Culture: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of a WeChat Discussion," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, October.
    13. Hamed Nozari & Agnieszka Szmelter-Jarosz & Javid Ghahremani-Nahr, 2021. "The Ideas of Sustainable and Green Marketing Based on the Internet of Everything—The Case of the Dairy Industry," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-18, October.
    14. Lütjens, Henk & Eisenbeiss, Maik & Fiedler, Maximilian & Bijmolt, Tammo, 2022. "Determinants of consumers’ attitudes towards digital advertising – A meta-analytic comparison across time and touchpoints," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 445-466.
    15. Everton Luiz de Aguiar & André Eugenio Lazzaretti & Bruna Machado Mulinari & Daniel Rodrigues Pipa, 2021. "Scattering Transform for Classification in Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-20, October.
    16. Jingjing Zhu & Xiaoying Xia & Qianqian Wu & Shiyao Zou & Yan Li, 2023. "Callous-Unemotional Traits and Social Adjustment among Chinese Preschoolers: The Moderating Role of Teacher-Child Relationship," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-15, February.
    17. Stefano De Dominicis & Rebecca Sokoloski & Christine M. Jaeger & P. Wesley Schultz, 2019. "Making the smart meter social promotes long-term energy conservation," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-8, December.
    18. Long-Hao Yang & Biyu Liu & Jun Liu, 2021. "Research and Development Talents Training in China Universities—Based on the Consideration of Education Management Cost Planning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-17, August.
    19. María-Jesús Gallego-Arrufat & Norma Torres-Hernández & Inmaculada García-Martínez & Soledad Domene-Martos, 2023. "An Educational Framework in Digital Rights and Responsibilities for Young Entrepreneurs," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, November.
    20. Hasan Beyari & Hatem Garamoun, 2022. "The Effect of Artificial Intelligence on End-User Online Purchasing Decisions: Toward an Integrated Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-17, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:12:p:6667-:d:578982. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.