Does Instagram make you speak ill of others or improve yourself? A daily diary study on the moderating role of malicious and benign envy

Abstract

Social networking site users are constantly exposed to the glamorized lifestyles and over-positive profiles of other people. A great deal of investigation has shown that the use of social networking sites is linked to the experience of upward comparison, yielding both threat-oriented and challenge-oriented responses. Yet, limited research has studied what determines these differential responses. To capture the intraindividual fluctuations in online activities, a daily diary study (1,328 diary reports) was conducted to examine the associations between Instagram use and two unexplored and sharply different reactions, namely 1) gossiping, a threat-oriented reaction that aims to pull others down, and 2) self-improvement, a challenge-oriented reaction that leads one to level up. Results indicated that daily Instagram use was positively associated with both gossiping and self-improvement. Critically, these within-person associations were subjected to the cross-level moderation effects of one's dispositional malicious and benign envy. Specifically, the link between Instagram use and gossiping was stronger among those high in dispositional malicious envy, while the link between Instagram use and self-improvement was stronger among those high in dispositional benign envy. Finally, a series of comparisons was conducted on the within-person associations and cross-level moderations to strengthen our understanding of Instagram use