The mediating role of body image in the relationship between social media use and communication skills

The aim of this study is to examine the mediating role of body image in the relationship between social media use and communication skills. The research was designed within the framework of the correlational survey model, adopting a quantitative approach. The study group consisted of 301 young adults residing in Istanbul who voluntarily completed the online questionnaire. The participants were administered the Social Media Use Scale, Effective Communication Skills Scale, and Body Image Scale. Data were analyzed using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Analysis, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), and mediation analysis through the PROCESS Macro (Model 4) proposed by Hayes. The findings revealed a significant positive relationship between social media use and communication skills. Moreover, body image was found to have a partial mediating effect in this relationship. Increased levels of social media use were observed to support a positive body image, which in turn strengthened individuals' interpersonal communication skills. These results suggest that, under certain contextual conditions, social media use may enhance communication skills both directly and indirectly. Comparisons based on demographic variables showed that gender, marital status, educational level, and frequency of social media use produced significant differences in the subdimensions of communication skills and body image. Overall, the findings indicate that social media use can influence individuals' communication skills through body image. Accordingly, it is recommended that awareness programs on social media literacy and psycho-educational interventions aimed at improving body image be developed to support interpersonal communication skills.