Introduction
Nowadays, youngsters are mainly the digital natives, and they frequently use social media to serve various needs such as information seeking, entertainment, development of interpersonal relationship, and alike. The fast evolution of Internet infrastructure and the general availability of smartphones have enabled youth to be online nearly all the time. Social media has emerged as youth’s most significant source of information, social networking, and self-expression. China has no exception on this. Zhao et al. (2025) postulated that Chinese youth engage in social media-related practices for identity development, sense of belonging, knowledge acquisition, and so on. Among the social media applications, Xiaohongshu (Rednote) has been a fast-growing one, positioning itself as a lifestyle and content-sharing platform. A study pinpointed that 39% of the monthly active users of Xiaohongshu belonged to the age group of 18-24 and 38% of them belonged to the age group of 25-34, which made up 77% of the total user base (Manley, 2024). The wide adoption of Xiaohongshu among young individuals empowers Xiaohongshu to influence youth culture and even youngsters’ consumption trends.
On Xiaohongshu, youngsters often follow different online influencers and regularly read Xiaohongshu feed that is relevant to them. A data report about Xiaohongshu in 2024 highlighted that Xiaohongshu had over 80 million users contributing content, with a daily user search penetration rate as high as 60% (Staiirs, 2024). The most widely followed online influencers on Xiaohongshu are those in the fields of fashion and cosmetics, food and drinks, and parenting (Qiangua Data, 2025). This is not surprising as Xiaohongshu initially brands itself a lifestyle-related platform. Besides, a majority of Xiaohongshu global users are females (Ngu, 2024). Social media feed discussing beauty and lifestyle could easily resonate with the female as it reinforces physical appearance standards. Tiggemann and Slater (2013) argued that exposure to this kind of content heightens body image anxiety in teenage girls. On Xiaohongshu, discussions about appearance anxiety recorded over 1.5 billion views (MobTech, 2023). Apart from the three most popular types of Xiaohongshu online influencers primarily appealing to female users, learning bloggers are a more general and inclusive type of Xiaohongshu online influencers. They are commonly followed by the young, particularly college students. Learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu are skillful to grow the exposure and engagement of their social media feed by consistently sharing their academic achievements and performance as well as their study materials using tags in which college students are interested such as “effective study strategies”, “experience sharing of postgraduate school-entry exam”. Not only is such experiential learning on Xiaohongshu appealing to the younger audience, but it also gives practical insights that can easily be replicated by the audience. Therefore, Xiaohongshu is viewed as an important source for learning and gaining inspiration in the youth learning environment. According to Chen (2024), through the personalization that Xiaohongshu provides, users’ social and affective needs can be met, which helps enhance themselves and maintain mental well-being.
As for college students, the use of social media has also been accompanied by a growing trend in psychological issues. Previous research revealed that social media use is associated with unfavorable psychological conditions such as anxiety and depression among the young (Huang, 2017). On social media, people are intended to selectively post their work/life-related information, and even embellish or idealize the things involved. For instance, on Instagram, people like to select more appealing pictures to post on the platform, which are decorated with filters and beautified through software like Photoshop (Chua & Chang, 2016; Dumas et al., 2017). When other users are exposed to these social media feed of work/life-related highlights and outstanding performance, they may question their self-worth after comparing themselves with these talented or successful individuals. This also creates potential concerns for young followers who consume learning bloggers’ social media feed. These bloggers brand themselves as role models among college students by posting meticulously crafted notes, efficient study plans, and exam experience/tips. Extant studies highlight that when dealing with others’ superior performance, individuals often unconsciously engage in social comparison and later develop self-doubt (Appel et al., 2016). Vogel et al. (2014) pointed out that social comparison with individuals who are better/more successful can weaken an individual’s self-esteem, especially when the comparison object is similar to oneself such as the peer. Orth and Robins (2013) further addressed that the decrease of self-esteem significantly boosts an individual’s anxiety and vulnerability to handle academic challenges. Moreover, social media’s algorithmic recommendation mechanism may also amplify the impact of social comparison among college students. As posited by Müller-Pinzler et al. (2019), the echo chamber effect on social media platforms serves to reinforce users’ sustained attention and emotional resonance with particular type of social media feed. This, in turn, has the effect of exacerbating their psychological dependence and anxiety. Although previous studies discussed the relationship between social media use and mental health, investigation into pathways and mechanism of interaction between learning bloggers and their young followers is limited. Therefore, it is urgent and necessary to conduct a research study to explore how learning bloggers’ social media feed affects college students and their mental well-being. This study aims to fill the research gap by bridging the social comparison theory with self-esteem and self-efficacy in the context of learning bloggers and young followers on Xiaohongshu.
Literature Review
Use of social media, social comparison, and youngsters’ anxiety
Social comparison theory, as put forth by Festinger (1954), explains how individuals assess their beliefs, abilities, and standing by comparing themselves with others. Such comparison contains three levels, including the upward (with individuals who are considered to be better), the downward (with individuals worse off than themselves), and the lateral (with others similar to themselves). Overall, social comparison is conceptualized as the process of individuals’ self-evaluation through the comparison with others (Festinger, 1954). Social media provide a platform for users to compare with one another. Individuals appear to be very curious to find out about others on social networks since the majority of online activities entails looking at other individuals’ profiles instead of social interactions (Joinson, 2008; Pempek et al., 2009). They perform social comparison on social media, especially when looking at other individuals’ updates and photographs (Lee, 2014). By means of this type of comparison, individuals are able to gain a more accurate understanding of themselves. In other words, social comparison is often used as a motivating factor for self-improvement and self-assessment (Gibbons & Boonke, 1999). Social media, being interactive in nature, offers the ideal setting for such comparison activities. Empirical studies show that greater levels of user interaction and participation on online media are followed by a higher incidence of social comparison. A positive association between the extent of social media use and tendencies toward social comparison is also verified by Chou and Edge’s (2012) study. In line with this, we argued that if youngsters on Xiaohongshu frequently consume learning bloggers’ content, their intention to compare with learning bloggers and their academic achievement will be enhanced. Therefore, H1 was proposed:
H1: The frequency of using Xiaohongshu to read learning bloggers’ content influences youngsters’ social comparison with learning bloggers.
The excessive use of social media may lead to the rise of health-related issues. For instance, Huang (2017) revealed that time spent on social media is correlated to depression symptoms. Keles et al. (2020) discovered the presence of a significant effect of social media utilization on anxiety and psychological distress among adolescents, and longer time duration and higher frequency of social media use might be linked to greater anxiety and psychological distress. Furthermore, Twenge et al. (2017) highlighted that excessive social media use by youth is linked with increasing rates of sleeping problems, which can exacerbate both mental and physical health problems, including reduced cognitive function and a decrease in overall well-being. Along with its psychological effect, overuse of social media has also been associated with physical health measures, including higher levels of inflammation and greater somatic complaints (Lee et al., 2022).
When focusing on the specific behaviors of college students consuming learning bloggers’ content on social media, the mechanism of its impact on anxiety becomes more complex. On the one hand, the efficient learning methods, abundant learning resources, and detailed learning plans shared by learning bloggers could help college students improve their academic performance, enhance their self-confidence, and alleviate anxiety caused by academic pressure. Some studies have pointed out that moderately referencing the experiences of learning bloggers and developing a suitable learning plan based on personal circumstances can help improve learning efficiency (Chen, 2024). College students can learn practical approaches, streamline learning processes, improve learning effectiveness, and reduce learning anxiety induced by learning barriers. Al Hakim et al. (2022) even argued that university students who use social media as a means of accessing learning resources and learning opportunities are able to enhance learning motivation as well as academic performance and, to a certain degree, mitigate academic anxiety. Moreover, Mat et al. (2024) identified that effective engagement with social media platforms for academic purposes significantly enhances students’ self-regulation in learning and their motivational levels. Such increased engagement also helps in reducing academic anxiety by providing easily accessible learning content and enhancing peer support, thereby promoting students’ psychological well-being.
On the other hand, some college students may unconsciously engage in social comparison while reading the contents published on the social media accounts of learning bloggers. Appel et al. (2016) furthered that college students while using social media, tend to question themselves and feel inferior when they see others’ exceptional achievements, and this would further contribute to growth of college students’ anxiety. The effect of social comparison on learning anxiety is well documented in recent literature. Social comparison, particularly upward social comparison, tends to make individuals aware of their shortcomings, hence leading to self-criticism and emotional burden (Chand, 2023). When people make comparisons on the basis of ability or status, their momentary level of anxiety surges considerably, particularly when they perceive themselves as being less capable (Goodman et al., 2021). According to their findings, the regular engagement in social comparison leads people to view a difference in their abilities when compared to those of others, thus leading them to become anxious. In other words, social comparison breeds anxiety. On social media platforms like Xiaohongshu, idealized academic content exacerbates social comparison with learning bloggers, which may further intensify students’ learning anxiety and emotional stress through carefully crafted narratives of peers’/others’ success. Additionally, the algorithmic recommendation mechanism may exacerbate anxiety because of echo chamber effect. On social media, echo chamber effect occurs when individuals are frequently exposed to like-minded views so that their pre-existing beliefs would be further enhanced (Cinelli et al., 2021). Müller-Pinzler et al. (2019) discovered that social media websites’ algorithms frequently promote like-minded content dependent on users’ behavioral patterns, potentially confining them in an information bubble and rendering them more fixated on a particular field, thereby escalating the level of anxiety. In our study context, if social media frequently recommends similar content from learning bloggers based on users’ browsing history and interests, it may trap college students in an information bubble, causing them to overly focus on academic information, disrupting their life balance, and increasing anxiety levels. Therefore, the following hypothesis was developed:
Social comparison, self-esteem, and youngsters’ anxiety
Self-esteem refers to the degree to which people value themselves, which is part of the assessment of self-awareness (Heatherton & Wyland, 2003). It deals with to what extent individuals feel confident, valuable, and worthy of respect. The engagement with other users who post instances of academic achievement on social media may inadvertently encourage social comparisons, particularly upward social comparison. When people being compared to are perceived as similar or related, such comparison becomes particularly prominent and may threaten an individual’s self-evaluation (Gerber et al., 2018). Extant research indicates that repeated upward comparison erodes self-esteem, particularly when individuals interpret others’ success as a reflection of their own inadequacy (Vogel et al., 2014). In academic context, a decrease in self-esteem can disable an individual’s coping effectiveness and render them more susceptible to stress associated with the learning environment. Orth and Robins (2013) emphasized that if individuals’ perceived self-esteem is low, the risk of interpreting academic obstacles as personal-level deficiencies will be high, thus exacerbating anxiety-related symptoms. Moreover, longitudinal studies have found that low self-esteem can predict anxiety in the future (Orth et al., 2014). Similarly, low self-esteem in Sowislo and Orth’s (2013) meta-analysis is shown to be not only associated with anxiety but also a strong predictor of its development over time, emphasizing the key role of self-esteem in influencing long-term mental health outcomes.
In line with the logical reasoning mentioned in the previous studies, it is assumed that in Xiaohongshu context, when youngsters make social comparison with learning bloggers, their perceived self-esteem might be negatively affected, thereby increasing anxiety. Hence, H3 was developed:
Social comparison, self-efficacy, and youngsters’ anxiety
Self-efficacy is the perception of one’s capacity to carry out goal-oriented behavior (Bandura, 1997). In school, self-efficacy serves to motivate students to learn and manage their feelings. Some studies suggest that frequent social comparison can enhance self-efficacy. Specifically, Perey and Koenigstorfer (2022) reported that participants who identify with active role models rate their own abilities higher and express a stronger readiness to act. Another research by Qiu (2023) offers empirical support for the perspective that people with greater self-efficacy, especially those who are oriented toward upward social comparison, are more likely to have higher level of life satisfaction. These individuals are more inclined to perceive others’ success as achievable for themselves, which has the effect of shielding them from the possible adverse consequences of regular social comparison. Additionally, students with strong academic self-efficacy usually feel more positive about learning. They also handle school stress better (Schunk & Pajares, 2002). Self-efficacy can even soften the impact of stress on life satisfaction (Moksnes et al., 2019). As Li (2019) pointed out, people with high self-efficacy believe that academic goals are achievable. However, low self-efficacy is a cognitive vulnerability, which makes individuals more prone to perceiving academic demands as unattainable and makes learning anxiety possible (Putwain et al., 2013). Moreover, Zimmerman and Schunk (2013) highlighted that academic self-efficacy is crucial in inspiring students and developing successful self-regulated learning strategies. By strengthening goal setting, perseverance, and adaptive emotional control, it helps students resist academic pressure and anxiety. In line with the reasoning, on Xiaohongshu, college students frequently encounter well-designed social media feed tagged by “learning tips” or “learn from me”. These social media posts released by learning bloggers typically consist of study efficiency, flawless course grades, and admission to top universities to pursue further study. These academic achievements often trigger individuals’ social comparison with them. In the social comparison, college students could get some valuable suggestion or tactics on how to succeed in study, such information is like a guiding light on the sea to lead college students to learn and address their study-related confusions, contributing to the growth of college students’ self-efficacy to study. If college students’ self-efficacy is improved and if they believe they are capable of studying effectively, their negative emotions such as anxiety will be declined. Therefore, H4 was proposed:
Xiaohongshu and youngsters’ anxiety level. In this study, self-esteem and self-efficacy are assumed to function as parallel mediators as they represent conceptually diverse psychological factors to influence the impact of social comparison on individuals’ well-being. Self-esteem reflects individuals’ overall assessment of their self-values or self-worth, whereas self-efficacy focuses on individuals’ specific belief of their own capabilities to meet requirements or achieve planned outcomes. Inspired by previous studies, both of them are assumed to bridge the relationship between social comparison and individuals’ mental anxiety through affective feelings of self-worth for the first one and perceived control for the latter one.
Methods
Quantitative online survey study was conducted with 350 college students in China in 2025. All respondents were voluntarily recruited from the Credamo online survey platform, an alternative of Qualtrics in China. Ethics approval was obtained from the Research Ethic Committee of Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University, China (Approval No. REC-2025-27). This survey study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and our institutional regulations. All participants were 18 years old or above. An electronic version of consent form, highlighting the confidentiality for data protection as well as voluntary participation and the right to withdraw, was shown to the potential respondents before the survey. Only individuals who provided electronic consent were shown the full version of the questionnaire design for voluntarily participation.
Sampling
This cross-sectional survey applied purposive sampling method to collect data to ensure the qualified individuals participated in the study. Purposive sampling method was necessary as this study needs to intentionally choose representative samples with unique characteristics relevant to the research topic. Specifically, on Xiaohongshu, various types of online influencers are available. The most commonly followed online influencers are bloggers from the industry of fashion and cosmetics, food and beverage, parenting and so on (Qiangua Data, 2025). Since not all college students follow online influencers branding themselves as learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu and learning bloggers are not the most representative type of online influencers, it is necessary to apply purposive sampling method to screen out relevant participants to explore the proposed research topic. Overall, two filter questions were asked-- “How often do you use Xiaohongshu?” and “How often do you follow and read learning bloggers’ content released on Xiaohongshu?”
350 valid data were recorded. The average age of our respondents was 22.33. Most samples were from the age group of 20-24. Overall, 104 male and 246 female college students participated in the study. In terms of their social media experience, 49.7 percent of respondents claimed that they often used Xiaohongshu to follow learning bloggers and read their social media posts about academic achievements and tips. 31.1 percent of them sometimes consumed learning bloggers’ social media posts. For the remaining samples, 11.1 percent of them mentioned to always consume such content on Xiaohongshu whereas the rest eight percent of individuals seldom followed and read learning bloggers’ Xiaohongshu posts.
Measurement
Social comparison describes the process associated with individuals assessing their own abilities and perspectives by comparing themselves to others (Festinger, 1954). 7-point Likert scale were applied to measure social comparison and the reliability performance was excellent (α = .92). Statements such as “I always pay a lot of attention to how I do things with how learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu do things” were prepared for respondents to rate their level of agreement. Overall, five statements from Gibbons and Buunk’s (1999) study were applied in this survey study. Necessary modifications were made to fit in Xiaohongshu context. Besides, one statement from the original measurement scale was removed as the meaning is identical to some of the applied statements after it was translated to Chinese. Respondents, overall, compared with learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu in terms of their academic performance and effectiveness (M = 4.86, SD = 1.37).
Self-esteem refers to individuals’ attitude toward the self (Heatherton & Wyland, 2003). It is about individuals’ self-evaluation of their values and worth. In line with Heatherton & Wyland’s (2003) study, Rosenberg’s (1979) measurement scale about self-esteem was adopted in this study. Ten statements such as “I feel that I am a person of worth, at least on an equal plane with others” were included to test college students’ perceived self-esteem. The reliability performance was acceptable (α = .74). On average, respondent could recognize their self values and develop their internal respect (M = 5.22, SD = 0.67).
Self-efficacy is conceptualized as individuals’ beliefs about their capability to perform a particular behavior/task, influencing people’s performance and motivation in the face of challenges (Bandura & Walters, 1977). Tan-Kristanto and Kiropoulos (2015) emphasized that self-efficacy is not about individuals’ real abilities. It is mainly about individuals’ perceived confidence and belief in themselves. To measure this variable, ten items (e.g. “I can always manage to solve difficult problems if I try hard enough.”) from Schwarzer and Jerusalem’s (1995) study were applied. Overall, the adopted measurement scale has an excellent performance in reliability test (α = .92). College students participating in the study, on average, claimed that they had confidence in their ability to perform certain tasks (M = 5.35, SD = 0.86). In other words, they believed that they could handle whatever comes their way, including learning-related difficulties.
Anxiety is apprehension-related emotion when individuals face misfortune, challenges and alike (Ritzhaupt et al., 2022). Spitzer et al.’s (2006) measurement scale about generalized anxiety disorder was used (α = .91). Seven statements such as “Feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge” were posted for self-evaluation about anxiety level after consuming learning bloggers’ content on Xiaohongshu. In the survey study, college students overall had a low level of anxiety (M = 2.09, SD = 0.83). They disagreed that they were unable to stop worrying after reading Xiaohongshu content created by learning bloggers. In other words, college students were not bothered by learning bloggers’ content of sharing their academic achievements or advice. Instead, college students’ emotions were positive and peaceful after consuming those social media feed.
Results
Simple linear regression was conducted to test how frequency of using Xiaohongshu to read learning bloggers’ content affected youngsters’ social comparison with learning bloggers and how social comparison with learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu influences youngsters’ anxiety level. The results highlighted that frequency of using Xiaohongshu to read learning bloggers’ content had a positive impact on social comparison (b = 0.48, t = 5.38, p < .001). If college students more frequently followed learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu and consumed their social media content about academic performance, they would more frequently compared their own academic performance and achievements with what had been shared and mentioned by learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu. Besides, the regression analysis also found that social comparison with learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu had no significant impact on college students’ anxiety level (b = 0.04, t = 1.21, p = .23). Therefore, H1 was supported whereas H2 was rejected.
Mediation analysis was run to test if self-esteem and self-efficacy mediated the relationship between social comparison with learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu and youngsters’ anxiety level, respectively. Hayes’ PROCESS Model 4 was used to conduct mediation analysis. The results revealed that self-esteem had an indirect effect of impact of social comparison with learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu on youngsters’ anxiety level (b = −0.08, 95% CI [−0.12, −0.05], p < .001). In addition, when self-esteem was introduced in the model, the direct effect of social comparison with learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu on youngsters’ anxiety level was found significant (b = 0.12, p < .001). Here, competitive mediation occurred. Overall, social comparison with learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu had a positive direct impact on youngsters’ anxiety level. However, youngster’ perceived self-esteem as a mediator played a trade-off role in the relationship, which made the total effect of social comparison with learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu on youngsters’ anxiety level was weak, and even insignificant. The results showed that when youngsters compared themselves with learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu in terms of academic performance, their perceived self-esteem improved. Then, if youngsters valued themselves very much, their anxiety level would decay. Although the mediation effect of self-esteem was explored to be significant, the direction of mediation was inconsistent with H3’s reasoning. This hypothesis, hence, was not fully supported.
Similar trend was identified on how self-efficacy mediated the relationship between social comparison with learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu and youngsters’ anxiety level. The results found that self-efficacy had an indirect effect in the relationship (b = −0.08, 95% CI [−0.12, −0.05], p < .001). Besides, the direct effect of social comparison with learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu on youngsters’ anxiety level was found significant in the presence of self-efficacy (b = 0.12, p < .001). Self-efficacy was identified as a competitive mediator, weakening the total effect of social comparison with learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu on youngsters’ anxiety level, as the direct effect and indirect effect in the analysis were in an opposing direction. When youngsters compared themselves with learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu, their perceived self-efficacy to study was enhanced as useful study strategies were absorbed from learning bloggers. Then, their anxiety level would decrease when youngsters showed confidence in themselves to make study-related decisions. This also supplemented why H2 was rejected.
In addition, a supplementary parallel mediation model was run in SPSS PROCESS Model 4 with respondents’ demographic details and their frequency to use Xiaohongshu and consume learning bloggers’ social media feed as covariates. The results explored that inconsistent mediation model existed as the total effect of the model was insignificant (b = 0.05, 95% CI [−0.02, 0.11], p = .16) whereas the direct effect (b = 0.12, 95% CI [0.06, 0.19], p < .001) and indirect effect were significant but in opposing directions, leading to the suppression effect. Specifically, when both self-esteem and self-efficacy were simultaneously introduced into the model as mediators, it was verified that social comparison positively affected the self-esteem (b = 0.13, 95% CI [0.08, 0.18], p < .001) and self-efficacy (b = 0.20, 95% CI [0.13, 0.26], p < .001). However, if youth’s self-esteem was enhanced through social comparison with learning bloggers, their perceived anxiety level would decline (b = −0.43, 95% CI [−0.61, −0.25], p < .001). Although self-efficacy indicated the intention to be negatively associated with youth’s anxiety, the impact was not significant (b = −0.11, 95% CI [−0.25, 0.04], p = .15). In the parallel mediation model, the direct effect of social comparison on youngsters’ anxiety level was positive, but the total effect was insignificant as the positive impact of direct effect (b = 0.12, 95% CI [0.06, 0.19]) and the negative impact of self-esteem’s mediating role (b = −0.05, 95% CI [−0.09, −0.03]) were canceled out, leading to the suppression effect or inconsistent mediation model. In addition, the parallel mediation model also explored that self-esteem’s mediating effect was stable while self-efficacy’s mediating effect relied on that of self-esteem in that when controlling self-esteem in parallel mediation model, self-efficacy’s mediating effect was insignificant (b = −0.02, 95% CI [−0.06, −0.01]). Therefore, H4 was partially supported.
Discussion
This research examines the impact of learning bloggers’ social media feed on young individuals’ mental well-being through the exploration of relationship among social comparison, self-esteem and self-efficacy. Echoing previous study, when reading learning bloggers’ social media post about academic performance on Xiaohongshu, young individuals tend to compare themselves with these online influencers. This is backed by social comparison theory, positing that people evaluate their own opinions and competence by comparing themselves with others (Festinger, 1954). However, social comparison does not always burden college students heavily or even lead to the increase of mental anxiety and stress, thanks to heterogeneous ways youngsters process and internalize information prepared by learning bloggers. On Xiaohongshu, learning bloggers’ effective learning experience about how to achieve excellent academic performance may offer young people useful solutions of study effectiveness. Through comparison, youngsters get inspired on how to study well, which helps the young to reflect on and improve their own learning methods. In other words, the benefits of social comparison could depower the potential increase of youngsters’ anxiety.
Social comparison with learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu does not necessarily play a negative role in college students’ mental well-being. Instead, mediated by self-efficacy to study, college students are not quite anxious after they consume learning bloggers’ social media feed about academic performance on Xiaohongshu and compare with them. High self-efficacy encourages young individuals to believe that they are able to handle academic challenges, and then balances stress caused by social comparison. For example, the detailed study plans and effective learning approaches demonstrated by learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu may bring the copycat effect. This can be explained by the modeling in social learning theory (Bandura & Walters, 1977). After observing these learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu, youngsters are inclined to practice what these role models did in a similar study situation. This is motivated by the belief that with the role models’ demonstration, youngsters possess sufficient ability to study and they assume they could achieve equivalent learning outcomes after turning it into practice. Micari and Drane (2011) added that students with high self-efficacy are less vulnerable to social comparison because they are confident. Self-efficacy, therefore, can alleviate anxiety from comparing with learning bloggers.
In addition, perceived self-esteem could be somehow improved after college students compare themselves with learning bloggers regarding academic performance, which is also negatively associated with anxiety among college students. This is partially contradictory to Vogel et al.’s (2014) study, arguing the negative impact of social comparison on self-esteem. However, this might be explained by the varied choice in terms of social comparison’s direction measured in the studies. Vogel et al.’s (2014) study primarily focuses on upward social comparison whereas our study, to ensure the content validity, addresses social comparison as a whole without choosing one direction such as upward, downward or lateral social comparison to analyze. Nevertheless, some other existing studies about perceived self-respect backed up our research findings. Specifically, when young individuals compare themselves with classmates, if the act of comparison makes them appreciate their own value and improve their self-respect, then their anxiety level lowers (Wehrens et al., 2010). It seems because the perceived self-esteem positively correlates to the psychological resilience of the learner, and it is easy for him or her to handle stress in learning as well as in life. For instance, when students make social comparison with learning bloggers, re-construing the blogger’s success is viewed as evidence of an attainable pathway (e.g., ‘I can learn in an organized fashion with learning blogger’s study plan’). The social comparison is altered from a threat to a source of self-affirmation, therefore making them feel more self-esteemed.
Practical Implications
Some practical implications could be identified from the study. As for social media platforms, algorithm optimization should leverage the buffering effects of self-esteem and self-efficacy. The platform is suggested to give priority to social media content demonstrating pragmatic learning methods such as ‘how to break down difficult tasks’, rather than simply showing others’ academic achievements. This kind of content resonates more with users’ intrinsic motivation for knowledge exploration. In addition, social media platforms can intersperse ‘process-oriented’ social media feed between high-achievement updates, such as “how to start again after failure”, to help users understand that challenges are a part of life and hence minimize anxiety. Viewing social media posts that reflect struggling with challenges—instead of success only—has been found to decrease depression and stress through normalizing struggle and fostering resilience (Yuan et al., 2023).
As for students, self-reflection is important after they compare with and learn from learning bloggers. The association between optimistic and reasonable social comparison with learning bloggers and youngsters’ mental burnout is not significant. Students can learn by actively observing the strategies shared by learning bloggers. Being followers of learning bloggers on Xiaohongshu, for example, they are suggested to spend more time in reflecting on how the identical learning strategies can be applied to their own learning journey than in worrying about how smart or academically successful the learning blogger is. Since it is proved that self-esteem and self-efficacy are negatively related to the perceived anxiety felt by the young, it is unavoidable to find ways to boost them in order to strengthen mental health and well-being. For instance, students could break down their overall learning objectives into smaller and manageable ones. Studies have shown that breaking down large-scale learning goals into smaller and achievable levels can increase student motivation, reduce anxiety, make goals more attainable, and provide clearer signals of progress (Locke & Latham, 2002), which encourages students to reflect on their progress (Beachboard, 2024). While in the process of learning, they are able to segment their goals into doable steps and achieve them step by step, rewarding themselves constructively after every achievement in a bid to enhance their perception of self-efficacy as well as self-esteem and reduce anxiety.
Limitations and Future Directions
This study has some limitations. First, when studying social comparison, this study did not specify the direction of social comparison. As highlighted in previous studies, social comparison could be categorized into three dimensions, including upward, lateral and downward social comparison. When examining this variable in the context of social media users’ interaction with online influencers, this study did not narrow down the study scope to one social comparison dimension, the accuracy of selected measurement scale requires further improvement. Future studies are suggested to include this into youth-related studies, and further expand the research insights about how social media feed created by online influencers affects youth’s mental health through different levels of social comparison. Second, learning bloggers are one unique type of online influencers. Their social media feed is educational and achievement-oriented content saturated with messages about self-improvement, attainability, and future possibility. Future research is suggested to further examine whether variables tailored for this type of online influencers and their social media feed (e.g. aspirational media exposure and academic hope) operate alongside social comparison process. Third, cross-sectional design is limited in the verification of cause-effect relationship. Future studies are suggested to implement experimental design to test the proposed research model and verify if causality effect occurs in the context of learning bloggers’ communication with student audiences. Fourth, non-probability sampling method was applied, limiting the potential of result generalizability. In the future, random sampling method is suggested to be employed. Besides, to better measure college students’ anxiety level, it is suggested to consider the timing to collect data. In this study, we collected the data before the regular exam period of most universities in China. Future studies are needed to examine if the findings are consistent during the exam period when students’ anxiety level might elevate.
Ethical considerations
Ethics approval was obtained from the Research Ethic Committee of Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University, China (Approval No. REC-2025-27). This survey study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and our institutional regulations. All participants were 18 years old or above. An electronic version of consent form, highlighting the confidentiality for data protection as well as voluntary participation and the right to withdraw, was shown to the potential respondents before the survey. Only individuals who provided electronic consent were shown the full version of the questionnaire design for voluntarily participation.
PDF Links
PubReader
ePub Link
XML Download
Full text via DOI
Download Citation
Print
