The More You Are Connected, the More You Compare. The Role of Agreeableness, Passive Social Media Use, and Comparison-based Behavior

Social comparison on social media is an increasingly studied phenomenon, particularly in relation to its emotional and behavioral implications as they vary across different usage patterns. This study explores how the personality trait of agreeableness influences social comparison on social media, particularly through passive usage (content consumption without interaction). A moderated mediation model was tested where passive use mediates the link between agreeableness and comparison behaviors, and positional thinking (evaluating oneself relative to others) moderates this relationship. Using data from 476 Italian participants, the findings reveal that higher agreeableness is associated with less comparison-based social media use, and that this association is fully mediated by lower levels of passive, consumption-based use. The hypothesized moderating effect of positional thinking on the direct path was not supported, although conditional total effects suggested that the overall negative association between Agreeableness and comparison-based use may be stronger at medium and high levels of positional thinking. Overall, the results highlight the combined impact of personality and cognitive style on social media experiences, offering insights into how individual differences shape online behavior.