Video chatting and appearance satisfaction during COVID-19: Appearance comparisons and self-objectification as moderators.

Objective: As video chatting has emerged as a leading form of communication for work, education, and socialization during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to investigate the association between video chatting and appearance satisfaction.

Method: Participants included women from the United States (n = 438; age: M = 31.3, SD = 12.71) who completed measures examining their use of video chatting services, self-objectification, video chatting appearance comparison, and appearance satisfaction.

Results: The total time spent on video chatting services was not associated with appearance satisfaction; however, self-objectification moderated the relationship between total hours of video chatting and appearance satisfaction. In addition, participants who engaged in more video chatting appearance comparisons reported lower face and body satisfaction. Furthermore, video chatting appearance comparison was associated with more frequent usage of certain Zoom features, such as the "touch up my appearance" feature, and more time spent looking at oneself on video calls. Finally, those who spent more time engaged with their families over video chatting services reported greater face and body satisfaction.

Discussion: The results of the current study demonstrate that time spent video chatting is not predictive of appearance satisfaction, but that self-objectification can exacerbate these associations.