Looks-centric women share more photos online

WASHINGTON, USA: Females who base their self-worth on their appearance tend to share more photos online and maintain larger networks on social networking sites, a study shows.

Michael A. Stefanone from the University of Buffalo, who led the study, said the results suggest that females identify more strongly with their image and appearance, and use Facebook as a platform to compete for attention.

Stefanone co-authored the study with Derek Lackaff and Daven Rosen from the Universities of Texas, Austin and Hawaii, Manoa, respectively, reports the journal Cyberpsychology, Behaviour and Social Networking.

In the study, 311 participants aged 23.3 years - 49.8 per cent of whom were female - completed a questionnaire measuring their contingencies of self worth, among others, according to a Buffalo statement.

Stefanone notes that the women in this study who base their self worth on appearance were also the most prolific photo sharers.

Stefanone says: "It is disappointing to me that in the year 2011 so many young women continue to assert their self worth via their physical appearance - in this case, by posting photos of themselves on Facebook as a form of advertisement."

"Perhaps this reflects the distorted value pegged to women's looks throughout the popular culture and in reality programming from 'The Bachelor' to 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians'."