The impact of social media use intensity on college students’ self-esteem: the mediating roles of online group identity and online selective exposure

Objective This study explores how the intensity of social media use influences self-esteem among college students, focusing on the mediating roles of online selective exposure and online group identity. It draws on Social Identity Theory and Selective Exposure Theory to better understand these relationships. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 4,789 college students, selected through cluster random sampling. Two representative universities were chosen from each of China’s Central, Eastern, and Western regions. Participants completed validated questionnaires measuring social media use intensity, online selective exposure, online group identity, and self-esteem. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis was employed to explore potential nonlinear relationships between social media use intensity and self-esteem, based on the hypothesis that the relationship may not be linear. Chain mediation analysis with 5,000 bootstrap samples was performed to evaluate the indirect effects of online selective exposure and online group identity. Results The findings revealed a positive linear relationship between social media use intensity and self-esteem. Both online selective exposure and online group identity played partial mediating roles in this relationship. Specifically, higher social media engagement was associated with stronger identification with online groups and greater exposure to content consistent with one’s self-concept, which in turn were linked to higher self-esteem. Conclusion The study suggests that social media engagement can positively influence college students’ self-esteem through enhanced online group identification and selective exposure to self-relevant content. These results provide empirical evidence for the mechanisms underlying the association between social media use and self-evaluative outcomes among young adults.