<![CDATA[Abstract. The increasing use of Instagram among university students encourages social comparison, a process in which individuals evaluate themselves by comparing with others. This process may influence how individuals construct and present themselves (self-presentation) on social media. This study aimed to examine the effect of social comparison on self-presentation among Instagram-using university students, with self-esteem as a mediating variable. A quantitative approach with a cross-sectional correlational design was employed. The participants consisted of 150 active Instagram users aged 18–25 years in Bandung City, selected using purposive sampling. Data were collected using the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (INCOM), the Self-Presentation Strategies via SNS Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Data were analyzed using path analysis with JASP version 0.19. The results indicated that social comparison had a significant negative effect on self-esteem (β = −0.201, p < .001). Furthermore, social comparison had a significant direct effect only on the supplication dimension of self-presentation (β = −0.071, p = .036), while no significant effects were found on the ingratiation and enhancement dimensions. Self-esteem also significantly predicted only the supplication dimension (β = −0.286, p < .001) and partially mediated the relationship between social comparison and supplication. These findings suggest that the influence of social comparison on self-presentation among Instagram users varies across different dimensions of self-presentation. Abstrak. Penggunaan Instagram yang semakin tinggi di kalangan mahasiswa mendorong terjadinya social comparison, yaitu proses individu membandingkan dirinya dengan orang lain. Proses tersebut berpotensi memengaruhi cara individu menampilkan dirinya (self-presentation) di media sosial. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji pengaruh social comparison terhadap self-presentation pada mahasiswa pengguna Instagram dengan self-esteem sebagai variabel mediator. Penelitian menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dengan desain korelasional cross-sectional. Partisipan penelitian berjumlah 150 mahasiswa aktif pengguna Instagram berusia 18–25 tahun di Kota Bandung yang dipilih menggunakan teknik purposive sampling. Data dikumpulkan menggunakan Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (INCOM), Self-Presentation Strategies via SNS, dan Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Analisis data dilakukan menggunakan path analysis melalui perangkat lunak JASP versi 0.19. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa social comparison berpengaruh negatif signifikan terhadap self-esteem (β = −0,201; p < 0,001). Selain itu, social comparison hanya berpengaruh langsung terhadap dimensi supplication pada self-presentation (β = −0,071; p = 0,036), sedangkan tidak berpengaruh signifikan terhadap dimensi ingratiation maupun enhancement. Self-esteem juga hanya berpengaruh signifikan terhadap dimensi supplication (β = −0,286; p < 0,001) dan berperan sebagai mediator parsial pada hubungan antara social comparison dan dimensi supplication. Temuan ini menunjukkan bahwa pengaruh social comparison terhadap self-presentation pada mahasiswa pengguna Instagram bergantung pada dimensi self-presentation yang ditampilkan.]]>
