In an age where most college-aged students have at minimum a slight addiction to social media, we must ask how the content they are viewing is impacting their stress. Additionally as Bahat (2023) explored, how does social media impact student leaders’ attitudes towards their roles?. Based on a review of literature and personal observations, it is clear that student leaders of today are experiencing uncharted circumstances that contribute to increased levels of stress and anxiety, particularly as they navigate the complex reality of public perception and their digital identity. Compounded with fear of judgement and shame from their peers under the microscope of social media creates a complex experience that will likely be even more pronounced as the digital age progresses further into the 21st century.
The literature review I conducted brought forth a major theme of understanding social anxiety in college students; further review illuminated a variety of sub-themes related to social media, perfectionism, and the fear of negative evaluation. This review will delve deeper into the existing body of literature on the aforementioned topics and identify several theoretical frameworks that may prove useful for both research and practice. This article provides an overview of the most current terminology and definitions related to social media use, perfectionism, and mental health in higher education. I will also share information about developing and foundational theories to ground the present research as well as highlight insights into various methodological approaches and measures that have been used or created through recent scholarship. Finally, I will describe my recommendations for student affairs practitioners to adopt when advising and supporting college students and college student leaders through these experiences
Key Terminology and Concepts
The following section will go over key terminology and concepts that are included in this review.
College-Aged Students
The present research intends to focus on college-aged students as the population of interest. When referring to college-aged students throughout this review, the group being referenced specifically are traditionally aged college students which are defined as ages 18-24 years old (Postsecondary National Policy Institute, 2023).
Perfectionism
As one of the primary focuses of the present research, perfectionism will appear often throughout this review. Perfectionism – specifically unhealthy perfectionism is the concept of setting unrealistic and unattainable goals related to one’s performance and behaviors (Hewitt et al., 1990).
Rumination
Rumination, according to the American Psychological Association (2020) is the cycle of repetitively thinking and dwelling about negative feelings or stressful and unpleasant events, that often contributes to the development of depression and anxiety.
Social Anxiety
Much of what the concepts discussed throughout this review circle around is student mental health, specifically social anxiety. Social anxiety is a form of anxiety disorder that can cause fear and distress for individuals in situations where they might be shamed, negatively evaluated, or judged by others even when that fear may not be rational (National Institute of Mental Health, 2022).
Student Leaders
While leadership as a quality is not defined by whether one holds a position or a title, in the present research, student leaders refers to when college-aged students take advantage of opportunities to take on formal roles within student organizations on a college campus (Haber, 2011).
Foundational Theories and Models
Many of the theoretical frameworks related to this issue are derived from the field of psychology. When looking into issues surrounding the way that people think and behave in response to stimuli, psychology – particularly social psychology – is where the expertise lies. While there have been countless contributors to psychological research throughout history, as the field itself can be dated back to Plato and Socrates in 400 BCE, the concept of social psychology is much newer in comparison, and there is a plethora of work to consider as a foundation to the theoretical approach of this research (Summers, 2017). Further, using previous works as a guide can assist in determining methodology and approach to the present research design.
Bandura’s Work on Self-Efficacy and Social Cognitive Theory
A key foundational work related to how college students experience perfectionism and mistake making, Bandura’s (1977, 1986) works on self-efficacy and social cognitive theory come to the forefront. In the 1970s, Albert Bandura introduced the concept of what is widely known as ‘self-efficacy’ or ‘efficacy expectation’ which he defined as, “the conviction that one can successfully execute the behavior required to produce the desired outcomes” (Bandura, 1977, p. 193). More plainly, self-efficacy is believing that you can accomplish what you aim to do.
Since its first introduction, self-efficacy has been widely researched and applied to various contexts, however, the original work remains sound under the test of time. More than
simply coining the idea itself, Bandura (1977), also spent time elaborating on how self-efficacy impacts behavior. These impacts can be seen both in regard to feelings and coping skills as well as tangible skills related to tasks or accomplishment (Bandura, 1977). Due to general desire to avoid situations in which one feels out of their depth in either of the aforementioned skill sets, self-efficacy can often directly influence whether or not one chooses to participate in certain activities or put themselves in particular situations, all ultimately due to their belief that they cannot succeed in said activity or cope with said situation (Bandura, 1977).
Bandura (1986) also contributed greatly to today’s body of knowledge with his work on Social Cognitive Theory. Originally the ‘Social Learning Theory’ which he coined in the 1960s, Bandura later revised his work and it evolved into what we know today as Social Cognitive Theory (LaMorte, 2022). Bandura changed from Social Learning Theory to Social Cognitive Theory when he published on self-efficacy and incorporated Social Cognitive Theory into his previous work (LaMorte, 2022). Social Cognitive Theory is the notion that social contexts prompt learning and is encompassed by the context of social dynamics, environments, and behaviors (LaMorte, 2022). In other words, individuals learn new things from social settings and environments and those lessons often convert into behavioral changes in the future.
Both of these theories can be widely applied to contexts in higher education and have been many times before. In regard to the present topic, these theories are also commonly used in discussions of college student development, particularly in conversations about students taking on leadership roles and their experiences in them. In other words, if a student feels they will not do well in a leadership role, then they may not attempt to take it on at all. This hesitation is often rooted in concerns over their abilities and the potential for failure (Bandura, 1977) both of which can be amplified by social media and peer comparisons.
However, for educators in higher education, the goal of leadership opportunities is not perfection, but growth and transformative learning (Hodge et al., 2009). Bandura’s works provide grounding understanding of social behaviors in our students, but their broad scope does not address specific factors that may contribute to one’s sense of self-efficacy or social cognition. This means that all of this information can inform practitioner action in terms of supporting students through self-doubt to persist in their leadership experiences.
Perfectionism, Social Comparison, and Mistake Rumination
Delving into the more specific phenomena that pertain to the topics of the present research, an emerging line of scholarship has dominated the field in these particular areas for the past several decades. Hewitt et al., (1990) built off of Adler’s (1956) work about how striving for perfection is an innate, human, developmental need. This work distinguished between how perfectionism is experienced by individuals who set challenging yet realistic goals, versus individuals who set unattainably high goals of superiority in all aspects of their lives (Hewitt et al., 1990). Further, Flett and Hewitt (1990) assert that perfectionism is multidimensional in nature, specifically categorizing types of perfectionism into being self-oriented, other-oriented, or socially-prescribed.
Socially-Prescribed Perfectionism. Any of these three facets of perfectionism can damage one’s mental health and wellbeing. Socially-prescribed perfectionism is a trait in which an individual believes that others around them demand perfection of themselves and thus feel pressured to meet these perceived expectations (Flett et al., 2022). Researchers have gradually expanded their scope into both the contributing factors that create these thoughts in individuals as well as the impacts they have. Scholars have followed a thread through various phenomena and worked to discover how they are connected, the effects of all of them compounded on the mind and health of individuals (Flett et al., 2022). Specifically relevant to the experience of student leaders and social media is scholarship outlining the connections between multidimensional perfectionism and individuals experiencing rumination of interpersonal interactions or mistakes, fear and stress of negative social feedback or evaluation, and maladaptive appraisal of various scenarios (Nepon et al., 2011).
Social Comparison Rumination. In a more recent study, Flett et al. (2024) referenced Festinger’s (1954) theory of social comparison. Festinger (1954) defined social comparison as the process of evaluating the self in the face of feelings of inadequacy about one’s performance or intelligence by comparing these against others. Flett et al., 2024 aimed to test the reliability and validity of their recently developed Social Comparison Rumination Scale (SCRS) as a means to determine the extent to which one compares themselves to others. In addition, the scholars sought to outline the connections between the scale and previously discussed multidimensional perfectionism and fears of negative evaluation or social feedback (Flett et al., 2024). The authors noted that excessive social media use in younger populations today may serve as the creator of a perfect storm where social comparison rumination can thrive (Flett et al., 2024). That said, while the findings of the study showed positive reliability and validity of the SCRS, a limitation for use is its recent establishment as it has yet to be replicated and further validated.
Mistake Rumination. Another recent in this area is the Mistake Rumination Scale (MRS), also developed and tested by Flett et al. (2020). The authors describe mistake rumination as being dominated by thoughts and images of their past mistakes and constantly reviewing these scenarios as a method of attempting to rectify them (Flett et al., 2020). However, this frequent review of one’s errors can lead to significant distress, negative thoughts about self, and incessant feelings of failure (Flett et al., 2020). Like the previously mentioned SCRS, this study on the development of the Mistake Rumination Scale affirmed the measure’s reliability and validity (Flett et al., 2020). However, the authors did not intend for this scale to be used independently, but as a supplemental measure to other scales of perfectionism and rumination (Flett et al., 2022).
Major Themes and Findings
Social Anxiety and Contributing Factors in College Students
As of two years ago, the rate of U.S. college students reporting feelings of overwhelming anxiety was 66.4% (Catalano, 2022). In students determined to be vulnerable to social anxiety, this manifested as a process that included same day fear of negative evaluation (FNE), which was linked to anticipatory processing and post-event rumination (Campbell et al., 2016). The concept of fearing negative evaluation is one of many key traits of social anxiety and has a significant association with suicidal ideation among college students (Preston et al., 2023).
Student leaders of organizations face constant evaluation from professionals, the university itself, and their peers. In my own experience with student leaders, obsessing over public perception of their performance in their role can be quite consuming; even to the extent of being brought to tears over negative feedback that they have seen posted on social media. This, coupled with standard, expected feedback from fellow student leaders and advisors, student leaders today are experiencing an ongoing stream of evaluation of how they are doing from others. Due to this increased exposure, one might suggest that this population is at a higher risk for anxiety associated with FNE.
Fear of Negative Evaluation
Fear of negative evaluation in college students may often be exhibited through frequent overthinking and avoidance in college students due to worry of being judged by others (Busch et al., 2023). Further, scholars note that this anxiety can be heightened when students are faced with feedback related to their performance given to them in-the-moment (Lipton et al., 2020). Today, feedback – both positive and negative – about campus activities and decisions may be posted online in digital public spaces from anonymous and known accounts (Black et al., 2016). This results in increased FNE for individual leaders and student organizational members.
Impact on Student Leadership
Stress, anxiety, and burnout are not new experiences associated with college students holding leadership roles in organizations (DiPaolo, 2009), but factors contributing to these experiences have evolved alongside the evolution of technology. Obsessive social media use and social media addiction are linked positively to the development of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) (Farid et al., 2022). Taking into account platforms like Sidechat and the relaunched Yik Yak, freedom of anonymity provides room for dangerous rhetoric that impacts student perception of campus climates (Armstrong et al., 2017). If this is the norm, how might posts of this nature regarding campus activities impact anxiety felt by student organization leaders?
Gaps in Literature
With each generation come more students dealing with issues like anxiety and depression, it is important to stay on top of research on this in order to best care for and approach how we manage and advise student populations (Catalano, 2022).
What the literature lacks, are connections made between these experiences, and the experiences of college-aged student leaders. Based on this review, it is apparent that the impact of social anxiety and perfectionism have the potential to be detrimental to the mental health of college students in general and college student leaders more specifically. Additionally, literature on student leadership in college coupled with independent observations show that student leaders are an at-risk population for social anxiety that may harmfully impact their overall well-being.
Implications for Student Affairs Practice
As an advisor to a prominent student organization on campus, the students I work with are prime examples of leaders who find themselves often in the public eye and experiencing increased pressure to perform perfectly. Further, as a new professional who was in their shoes not long ago, I can relate to the fears that they experience from my own collegiate experience in addition to having some of that stress transfer to my job performance. Observing them and having my own experiences inspired me to seek out answers on whether this concept might be impacting more than just me and the students I work with. If so, what can we do about it? While I have yet to reach the finish line with this research, the following are my current recommendations for student affairs practitioners with students facing these challenges.
Facing Fears
There is power in naming instigators of fear and stress. A critical method of support is to facilitate open discussions about fears that student leaders are facing and maintain an open and ongoing dialogue. At an officer retreat, ask them what apprehensions they may have about taking on their new role and walk them through what might happen in a ‘worst-case scenario’. Be open about what failure looks like and be clear about steps taken to remedy mistakes. By calling out these fears and explaining processes and support measures, the uncertainty surrounding fear fades. While talking may not eliminate their fear entirely, it can help students avoid snowballing anxiety and panic. Throughout the year, take time to check in one on one and re-open the discussion when needed.
Modeling the Way
No one is immune from mistakes whether it be a student or an advisor. What is important for everyone is how we react to others’ mistakes and our own. Modeling the way as an advisor means exhibiting healthy work-life balance, prioritizing self-care, and setting boundaries (like refusing to download Yik Yak). However, it is also modeling personal accountability. For students to feel safe making mistakes in their learning environment, advisors must show them what it looks like to fail, what it looks like to own up to a mistake, and what it looks like to learn from it and move on. Student leaders today can be paralyzed by the fear of messing up, and they often hold themselves to impossible standards. Advisors are in a position where students look to them for guidance so it is imperative that staff exhibit healthy processes of failure and learning, so students can follow their lead when they too make a mistake.
Conclusion
Students entering college today experience a heightened demand for perfection from others and from themselves (Curran & Hill, 2019). Perfectionism, often considered a strength, is often detrimental to one’s mental health and wellbeing, especially when it is related to social settings (Flett et al., 2022). Students may experience socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) which may ultimately lead to frequent maladaptive appraisal of social interactions (Laurenti et al., 2008). This pattern of cognition is not unique to college-aged students, as this irrational thinking is exhibited among adolescents as well (Molnar et al., 2023). These adolescents will be attending higher education institutions. Additional stress and anxiety may be perpetuated through patterns like mistake rumination (finding oneself overthinking the same instance constantly) in fear of imperfection (Flett et al., 2020). The aforementioned factors alone are enough to create significant psychological distress for students, not taking into account other external
contributors. Student affairs practitioners are uniquely positioned to provide direct support to college students as a whole but specifically to college student leaders. By deepening understanding of these experiences, practitioners will be equipped to provide targeted support on these topics and adapt leadership development strategies in response to evolving student environments and experiences.
Author Bio
Allison Weihe (she/her/hers) is a new student affairs professional serving as the Assistant Director for Student Activities and Traditions at the University of Southern Indiana (USI) where her primary role is advising the student-run programming board. She is a current doctoral student in the USI Educational Leadership program and holds a Master of Education in Student Affairs from Clemson University (2023).
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