A Comparative Study on Delaying Gratification, Body Image and Emotional Regulation among Male Social Media Users and Female Social Media Users

Abstract

Social media has become an inseparable part of our lives and it has a great impact on the physical, mental, emotional and overall well-being of an individual. Delaying gratification refers to the ability of an individual to delay temptation, body image is the perception of an individual of one’s own body whereas emotional regulation is divided into cognitive appraisal and emotional suppression. The following study aims to compare the level of delaying gratification, body image and emotional regulation (cognitive appraisal and emotional suppression) among male and female social media users. The sample includes 100 unmarried and unemployed social media users of age 18 to 25 using minimum 3 social media applications and for minimum 3 hours. The data is equally distributed comprising of 50 males and 50 females. The data was collected using Delaying Gratification Inventory (DGI), Body Image Self Questionnaire (BISQ) and Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) along with PDS and further statistical analysis was done. The results show that there is higher delaying gratification, cognitive appraisal and emotional suppression in females social media users than male social media users at a significant level. There is no significant difference of body image among male and female social media users. A number of factors might be responsible for the same like the type of content viewed, the personality of the individual, external factors, etc.