JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Selfies combine several appearance-related activities into a single routine: taking photographs, choosing among them, editing selected images, and deciding whether to post. Research has linked some of these activities, particularly comparison and editing, to poorer body image, while posting and supportive feedback can have different associations. Less is known about how the reasons people use a platform relate to this routine, or where body appreciation fits within those relationships on Chinese social media.

Objective:

This study examined the direct and indirect associations between four UGT-derived motivations for social media use (information seeking, social interaction, entertainment, and status seeking), body appreciation, and selfie engagement among young Chinese women who use Rednote (Xiaohongshu).

Methods:

A cross-sectional, self-administered web-based survey was distributed via Rednote and WeChat and hosted on Wenjuanxing in June 2026, following a May 2026 pilot (n=72). Eligible respondents were Chinese women aged 18 to 35 years who were active Rednote users. Of 567 submissions, 21 failed eligibility screening, and 94 were classified as straight-lined in the study's cleaning record, leaving 452 analyzable responses. Motivations were measured with a 12-item, 4-dimension UGT scale; body appreciation with the Body Appreciation Scale-2; and selfie engagement with the 15-item Selfie Engagement Scale, modelled as a reflective-formative higher-order construct comprising preoccupation, selection, editing, and posting. Partial least squares structural equation modelling used 5000 bootstrap resamples.

Results:

The measurement model met the prespecified criteria (Cronbach αlpha, 0.707-0.917; average variance extracted 0.574-0.697; all heterotrait-monotrait ratios <0.90). All four motivations were positively associated with body appreciation, jointly explaining 65.4% of its variance: social interaction (β=.310, P<.001), information seeking (β=.300, P<.001), entertainment (β=.233, P<.001), and status seeking (β=.124, P=.01). Three were directly associated with selfie engagement: information seeking (β=.222, P<.001), status seeking (β=.221, P<.001), and social interaction (β=.139, P=.02). Entertainment was not (β=.068, P=.07). Body appreciation had the largest standardized coefficient in the selfie engagement equation (β=.291, P<.001; R²=0.623). All four statistical indirect effects through body appreciation were significant (β=.036-.090; all bias-corrected 95% CIs excluded zero). Entertainment showed an indirect-only association; the other three were complementary

Conclusions:

In the fitted model, body appreciation accounted for a modest part of the association between each motivation and selfie engagement. Entertainment showed an indirect association only. The positive association between status seeking and body appreciation resembles an earlier finding from Korea, but culture was not measured and should not be treated as the explanation. The results support closer study of positive and negative body image processes together, using longitudinal data and measures that distinguish selfie selection, editing, and posting Clinical Trial: Not Applicable