Down the rabbit hole of sexting: How sexting behavior in dating applications influences social avoidance of people with social appearance anxiety via body surveillance and self-disillusionment

While prior research has noted that online dating can influence the well-being of psychologically vulnerable populations, the specific role of sexting in this context remains underexplored. Drawing on the social compensation and enhancement hypotheses, we established a serial mediation model to examine how the well-being of people with social appearance anxiety was influenced by sexting behavior in dating applications. Using data from an online survey of 451 Chinese adults, we highlighted the chain mediation effect of sexting in dating applications, body surveillance, and self-disillusionment on the positive relationship between social appearance anxiety and social avoidance (social enhancement route). However, the findings failed to show the significant and negative effect of sexting on self-disillusionment and social avoidance (social compensation route). This study extends the existing research on the social compensation and social enhancement effects of online dating into the specific realm of sexting. It contributes valuable insights into the risks of sexting and its detrimental effects on body image and well-being in modern dating contexts. • Social compensation and enhancement effects of sexting in online dating were investigated. • Social appearance anxiety (SAA) positively related to body surveillance via more sexting. • SAA positively related to self-disillusionment through heightened body surveillance. • SAA related to social avoidance via more sexting, body surveillance, and self-disillusionment. • Social enhancement hypothesis confirmed; social compensation hypothesis was not.