The effect of Instagram "likes" on women's social comparison and body dissatisfaction

Influence of TikTok on Body Satisfaction Among Generation Z in Indonesia: Mixed Methods Approach

BACKGROUND

As social media platforms gain popularity, their usage is increasingly associated with cyberbullying and body shaming, causing devastating effects.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to investigate the impact of social media on Generation Z users' body image satisfaction. More specifically, it examines the impact of TikTok on body image satisfaction among TikTok users aged between 17 years and 26 years in Indonesia.

METHODS

The methodology used mixed-method approaches. Quantitative data were obtained from 507 responses to a questionnaire and analyzed using covariance-based structural equation modeling. Qualitative data were obtained from the interviews of 32 respondents and analyzed through content analysis.

RESULTS

This study reveals that upward appearance comparison is influenced by video-based activity and appearance motivation. Conversely, thin-ideal internalization is influenced by appearance motivation and social media literacy. Upward appearance comparisons and thin-ideal internalization comparisons detrimentally impact users' body image satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study are expected to provide valuable insights for social media providers, regulators, and educators in their endeavors to establish a positive and healthy social media environment for users.

Are diverse models really non-idealized? Investigating body positivity public feed posts of fashion and beauty brands on instagram

Research increasingly explores body positive (BoPo) messaging and diverse model representation in advertising. Fashion and beauty brands are incorporating diverse models in traditional media to address criticisms of promoting narrow appearance ideals, yet their social media communications remain understudied. This content analytical study (n = 460 models, 16 brands) analyzes BoPo messages and diverse model representation in fashion and beauty brands' Instagram posts. Variations according to the brands' reputation, posts' framing, and posts' popularity were considered. Results showed that although diverse models appeared to be prominently featured in the brands' Instagram posts (71.50%; n = 329), the majority of these posts displayed only one aspect of diversity. Racial diversity was the most represented diversity trait (76.29%, n = 251), while body (32.80%, n = 151), facial (12.10%, n = 38), and generational diversity (22.50%, n = 73) were limited. The sexualization frame (88.70%, n = 408) prevailed over the empowerment frame (32.40%, n = 149). Positive changes were noted with the empowerment frame significantly relating to the representation of diverse models. Yet, this study also highlighted that such positive messages still co-occur with negative messages as an empowerment frame co-occurred with a highly prevalent sexualization frame.

Exploring the Relationship Between Instagram Use and Self-Criticism, Self-Compassion, and Body Dissatisfaction in the Spanish Population: Observational Study

BACKGROUND

The widespread use of online social networks, particularly among the younger demographic, has catalyzed a growing interest in exploring their influence on users' psychological well-being. Instagram (Meta), a visually oriented platform, has garnered significant attention. Prior research has consistently indicated that Instagram usage correlates with heightened levels of perfectionism, body dissatisfaction, and diminished self-esteem. Perfectionism is closely linked to self-criticism, which entails an intense self-scrutiny and is often associated with various psychopathologies. Conversely, self-compassion has been linked to reduced levels of perfectionism and stress, while fostering greater positive affect and overall life satisfaction.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigates the relationship between Instagram usage (time of use and content exposure) and users' levels of self-compassion, self-criticism, and body dissatisfaction.

METHODS

This study comprised 1051 adult participants aged between 18 and 50 years, either native to Spain or residing in the country for at least a decade. Each participant completed a tailored questionnaire on Instagram usage, along with abbreviated versions of the Self-Compassion Scale, the Body Shape Questionnaire, and the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire, spanning from January 23 to February 25, 2022.

RESULTS

A positive correlation was observed between daily Instagram usage and self-criticism scores. Participants of all age groups who spent over 3 hours per day on Instagram exhibited higher self-criticism scores than users who spent less than 1 hour or between 1 and 3 hours per day. Contrary to previous findings, no significant relationship was detected between Instagram usage time and levels of self-compassion or body dissatisfaction. Furthermore, content centered around physical appearance exhibited a positive correlation with self-criticism and body dissatisfaction scores. Among younger participants (aged 18-35 years), those who primarily viewed beauty or fashion content reported higher self-criticism scores than those consuming science-related content. However, this association was not significant for participants aged 35-50 years. Conversely, individuals who predominantly engaged with sports or fitness or family or friends content exhibited higher levels of body dissatisfaction than those focusing on science-related content. No significant associations were observed between self-compassion scores and daily Instagram usage or most-viewed content categories.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study underscore the considerable impact of Instagram usage on self-criticism and body dissatisfaction-2 variables known to influence users' psychological well-being and be associated with various symptoms and psychological disorders.

#WhatIEatInADay: The effects of viewing food diary TikTok videos on young adults' body image and intent to diet

The rise of short-form video content has prompted research into its impact on body image; however, little remains known regarding the effects of exposure to food-related content of this type. The present study aimed to fill this gap in the literature by conducting a between-subjects experiment (N = 316) examining the effects of exposure to low-calorie versus high-calorie "What I Eat in A Day" food diary TikTok videos on young adults' body appreciation, body dissatisfaction, and diet intentions. Additionally, this study sought to explore how social comparison and mood might affect participants' responses to these videos. Results indicate that social comparison mediated the relationship between video type (low- vs high- calorie) and positive mood, such that low-calorie videos increased upward social comparison and decreased positive mood, and high-calorie videos increased downward social comparison and increased positive mood. Positive direct effects of positive mood on body appreciation and diet intentions occurred, and a negative direct effect on body dissatisfaction was found. Additionally, positive mood mediated the path from social comparison to diet intentions. These findings highlight the importance of further research into the nuanced impacts of food diary social media content on young adults' body image and behaviors.

Caring for screenagers (Part 1): a pediatrician's primer on popular social media platforms

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Since the inception of social media, children have used platforms in manners unbeknownst to their parents. Just when parents feel they may finally understand what platform is relevant or trend is "in," the landscape evolves, and children shift to something new. It is therefore critical that pediatricians stay informed about what is popular in youth populations. This enables the recognition of the potential dangers of contemporary social media engagement.

RECENT FINDINGS

Short-form content and livestreaming continue to rise in popularity while certain older forms of social media have retained relevancy in youth circles. YouTube is the dominant social media force, with both livestreaming and short-form offerings. Twitch and TikTok provide alternatives to YouTube for livestreaming and short-form content, respectively. Instagram and Snapchat - two social media apps that have existed for over 10 years - remain as the most popular mechanisms for children to interact with their friends online.

SUMMARY

Issues related to body image, attention deficits, cyberbullying, and other potential harms have many parents wary of their child's presence on social media. Social media sites have in-place mechanisms to prevent the likelihood of harm, but pediatricians and parents should still counsel children on best social media practices.

The impact of social network use on adolescent depression: the chain mediation between self-objectification and body satisfaction

Introduction

Adolescents are in the transitional stage from childhood to adulthood, a critical period for individual physical and mental development. With the rapid development of the Internet, social networking has become an integral part of adolescents' daily lives. However, the information that adolescents are exposed to on social networks is often processed and embellished, which may cause them to become physically dissatisfied and lead to emotional problems, such as depression. We investigated the chain-mediating effects of self-objectification and body satisfaction on the relationship between social network use and depression.

Methods

We utilized questionnaire data of 2025 adolescents from two secondary schools and one high school in China.

Results

Our results demonstrated that (1) there are obvious sex differences in the intensity of social network use and active and passive social network use among adolescents, with usage higher among girls than for boys; (2) self-objectification and body satisfaction play a mediating role in the relationship between the intensity of social network use and adolescent depression, as well as the presence of chain-mediating roles; and (3) self-objectification and body satisfaction play an intermediary role in the relationship between active and passive social network use and adolescent depression; there is further a chain intermediary role. The findings suggest that social network use affects adolescents' depression through self-objectification and body satisfaction, which is not only manifested in the general use intensity of social networks but also in their active and passive use modes of social networks.

Conclusion

This study provides theoretical support for the causes and mechanisms behind the influence of social network use on adolescent depression and has practical implications for the prevention and intervention of adolescent emotional problems.

Recent insights in the correlation between social media use, personality traits and exercise addiction: a literature review

Introduction and aim

The excessive involvement in physical activity without stopping in between sessions despite injuries, the continuous thinking to exercise feeling insane thoughts and experiencing withdrawal symptoms are all characteristics of the Exercise Addiction (EA), an addictive behavior. While the primary exercise addiction is directly caused by compulsive exercise, many studies highlighted the relationship between Eating Disorders (ED) and EA, defining the secondary EA. The correlation between EA, social media use (SMU) and other individual traits remains a relatively underexplored domain. Therefore, this review aimed to examine the latest evidence on the relationship between EA, SMU, and some personality traits such as perfectionism and body image.

Methods

Electronic databases including PubMed, Medline, PsycARTICLES, Embase, Web of Science were searched from January 2019 to October 2023, following the PRISMA guidelines.

Results

A total of 15 articles were examined and consolidated in this review. EA was found to be related to different individual traits such perfectionism, body dissatisfaction, depression, obsessive-compulsive personality disorders. While controversial results were found regarding the relationship between EA and SMU.

Conclusion

The interaction between mental health, exercise addiction and social media use is complex. Excessive engagement in these latter may result in negative mental health consequences despite their potential benefits. Understanding individual differences and developing effective interventions is crucial to promoting healthy habits and mitigating the EA risks, ultimately enhancing mental well-being. Further research should focus on the identification of risks and protective factors with the eventual aim of developing and implementing effective prevention strategies.

Towards determining perceived audience intent for multimodal social media posts using the theory of reasoned action

Increasing use of social media has resulted in many detrimental effects in youth. With very little control over multimodal content consumed on these platforms and the false narratives conveyed by these multimodal social media postings, such platforms often impact the mental well-being of the users. To reduce these negative effects of multimodal social media content, an important step is to understand creators' intent behind sharing content and to educate their social network of this intent. Towards this goal, we propose INTENT-O-METER, a perceived human intent prediction model for multimodal (image and text) social media posts. INTENT-O-METER models ideas from psychology and cognitive modeling literature, in addition to using the visual and textual features for an improved perceived intent prediction model. INTENT-O-METER leverages Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) factoring in (i) the creator's attitude towards sharing a post, and (ii) the social norm or perception towards the multimodal post in determining the creator's intention. We also introduce INTENTGRAM, a dataset of 55K social media posts scraped from public Instagram profiles. We compare INTENT-O-METER with state-of-the-art intent prediction approaches on four perceived intent prediction datasets, Intentonomy, MDID, MET-Meme, and INTENTGRAM. We observe that leveraging TRA in addition to visual and textual features-as opposed to using only the latter-results in improved prediction accuracy by up to 7.5 % in Top-1 accuracy and 8 % in AUC on INTENTGRAM. In summary, we also develop a web browser application mimicking a popular social media platform and show users social media content overlaid with these intent labels. From our analysis, around 70 % users confirmed that tagging posts with intent labels helped them become more aware of the content consumed, and they would be open to experimenting with filtering content based on these labels. However, more extensive user evaluation is required to understand how adding such perceived intent labels mitigate the negative effects of social media.

Validation of an adapted Italian-language version of the Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire-3 (SATAQ-3), within a female population: the Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire - Social Media (SATAQ-SM)

Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-Social Media (SATAQ-SM) is a self-administered questionnaire for the evaluation of social media pressure and internalization of beauty standards. This study aims to validate the SATAQ-SM an adapted Italian version of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire third version (SATAQ-3). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to investigate whether the empirical data fitted the four-factor structure of SATAQ-3. Assessment of goodness-of-fit was based on standard model fit criteria: relative χ2 value (χ2/df), Root Mean-Squared Error of Approximation (RMSEA), Comparative Fit Index (CFI) and Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI). Internal consistency was assessed using McDonald's omega. Criterion validity was calculated by correlating the SATAQ-SM factors scores with the total score of the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES) and Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26). Four-hundred and eighty-five females agreed to participate in the study. The four-factor model appears to be confirmed by the fit indices: χ2/df = 3.73, RMSEA = 0.07, CFI = 0.99 and TLI = 0.99. All the items defining the four factors had a factor loading of ≥0.40. McDonald's omega of the entire questionnaire was equal to 0.95 and for the four subscales it did not assume values lower than 0.81. The correlations between the factor score of SATAQ-SM and the RSES were all negative and statistically relevant (p < 0.001); the correlations between the scores of the SATAQ-SM subscales and the total score of the EAT-26 are all positive and statistically significant. SATAQ-SM demonstrated good psychometric properties to assess the influence of social media on body image perception related to social media.

Social media addiction: associations with attachment style, mental distress, and personality

BACKGROUND

Social media bring not only benefits but also downsides, such as addictive behavior. While an ambivalent closed insecure attachment style has been prominently linked with internet and smartphone addiction, a similar analysis for social media addiction is still pending. This study aims to explore social media addiction, focusing on variations in attachment style, mental distress, and personality between students with and without problematic social media use. Additionally, it investigates whether a specific attachment style is connected to social media addiction.

METHODS

Data were collected from 571 college students (mean age = 23.61, SD = 5.00, 65.5% female; response rate = 20.06%) via an online survey administered to all enrolled students of Sigmund Freud PrivatUniversity Vienna. The Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) differentiated between students addicted and not addicted to social media. Attachment style was gauged using the Bielefeld Partnership Expectations Questionnaire (BFPE), mental distress by the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18), and personality by the Big Five Inventory (BFI-10).

RESULTS

Of the total sample, 22.7% of students were identified as addicted to social media. For personality, it was demonstrated that socially media addicted (SMA) students reported significantly higher values on the neuroticism dimension compared to not socially media addicted (NSMA) students. SMA also scored higher across all mental health dimensions-depressiveness, anxiety, and somatization. SMA more frequently exhibited an insecure attachment style than NSMA, specifically, an ambivalent closed attachment style. A two-step cluster analysis validated the initial findings, uncovering three clusters: (1) secure attachment, primarily linked with fewer occurrences of social media addiction and a lower incidence of mental health problems; (2) ambivalent closed attachment, generally associated with a higher rate of social media addiction and increased levels of mental health problems; and (3) ambivalent clingy attachment, manifesting a medium prevalence of social media addiction and a relatively equitable mental health profile.

CONCLUSIONS

The outcomes are aligned with previous research on internet and smartphone addiction, pointing out the relevance of an ambivalent closed attachment style in all three contexts. Therapeutic interventions for social media addiction should be developed and implemented considering these findings.

Digital social evaluation: Relationships between receiving likes, comments, and follows on social media and adolescents' body image concerns

A defining feature of social media is its social interactivity, but limited research has investigated how various aspects of digital social evaluation (i.e., likes, follows, comments) may be related with users' body image concerns. This study investigated the relationships between aspects of digital social evaluation and body image concerns in adolescents. Australian adolescents (N = 245, 58.4 % male, Mage = 13.79, SD = 1.11) completed online surveys measuring digital social evaluation frequency (likes, follows, positive and negative comments about appearance and non-appearance), perceived importance (likes, number of followers), body dissatisfaction, restrictive eating attitudes, and drive for muscularity. Adolescents reported frequently receiving digital social evaluation, with females receiving more positive, but not negative, comments than males. All aspects of digital social evaluation were positively correlated with at least one aspect of body image concern. Controlling for other factors, all three aspects of body image were associated with receiving more frequent positive appearance-based comments, greater restrictive eating attitudes and body dissatisfaction were also associated with greater importance of likes, whilst greater drive for muscularity was associated with less frequent likes and comments. Digital social evaluation should be considered in future longitudinal or experimental research, and media literacy interventions.

Experimental research on non-idealized models: A systematic literature review

Current literature on non-idealized models seems to offer mixed evidence on whether such models generate a positive body image and increase advertising effectiveness. To closely investigate this claim, we conducted a systematic review to summarize the empirical findings on the effects of non-idealized models on body image, well-being, and advertising outcomes among men and women. To contextualize these results, we also synthesized (1) the conceptualization of a non-idealized body size (i.e., labelling and operationalization), (2) the message accompanying the model (i.e., medium type and marketing intent), and (3) individual traits of participants tested as potential moderators. Three databases in different disciplines (i.e., ProQuest Psychology, Communication and Mass Media Complete, and Web of Science) were searched, and 86 unique studies were included in the review. While most studies found positive or null effects of non-idealized models on body image, well-being, and advertising outcomes, a small number of studies obtained negative results. These inconsistent findings could be explained by the large variety of labels and unclear operationalizations identified within our review. The conclusions of this review call for a clearer definition and measurement of non-idealized models.

'I wish my body looked like theirs!': How positive appearance comments on social media impact adolescents' body dissatisfaction

Despite robust research evidence for the role of attractive-body portrayals in body image, the effect of positive appearance comments that endorse them on social media remains unclear. Therefore, using a between-subject experimental design and the data from 613 Czech adolescents (52% girls) aged 13-18 (M = 15.5, SD = 1.7), the present study examined exposure to positive appearance comments on body dissatisfaction, and the moderating roles of media-ideal internalization, appearance schematicity, body appreciation, and gender. Our data supported the presumed intensifying effect of the positive appearance comments on post-exposure body dissatisfaction, but only for adolescent girls. The impact of positive comments was not moderated by the media-ideal internalization, appearance schematicity, or body appreciation. However, the exploratory results showed that the displayed bodies' perceived attractiveness intensified the positive comments' effect on body dissatisfaction, which makes it a potentially important factor to target for the prevention of negative social media effects on body image. Furthermore, the individual characteristics that moderated the exposure to attractive images in the prior research may not determine the effects of the positive comments. Future research may need to capture factors that specifically influence the processing of such comments, such as susceptibility to peer feedback on physical appearance.

#waistgangsociety: Black Women's Health Information-seeking Behaviors Concerning Body Modification Products Advertised on Instagram

The purpose of this project is to determine the health information-seeking behaviors of Black women who use self-modification devices advertised on Instagram, and how they identify and negotiate risk factors related to these products. Forty-two interviews with Black women reveal that in seeking health risk information related to the devices, the women initially explored social media comments about the devices, replied with questions to the commenters, sent direct messages to people who indicated they bought the devices, and searched hashtags. They further clarified information beyond social media by searching Google, browsing websites like WebMD and Healthline, and reviewing accessible peer-reviewed sources. The health risk information was further confirmed with word-of-mouth firsthand experience or by testing the product on their own. Participants developed their own modification barometers to gauge what health impacts they were willing to accept in order to get the desired physical outcome. Advertisers or promoters can provide explicit and accurate details about the health risks of products, to provide transparency and valuable health information to consumers as they navigate their own modification barometers.

[Social networks use and risk factors for the development of eating disorders: A systematic review]

OBJECTIVE

Review the available scientific literature on the relationship between the use of social networks and risk factors for the development of eating disorders, such as low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction and/or idealization of thinness, in the Spanish population.

DESIGN

A systematic review of scientific literature published between 2010 and 2022 was carried out.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science.

SELECTION OF STUDIES

Only original articles were included, published in Spanish or English, that measured at least one variable of use of social networks and at least one risk factor for eating disorders in the Spanish population.

DATA EXTRACTION

The PRISMA 2009 statement was used as a guide. The quality of selected articles was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist.

RESULTS

Twelve cross-sectional studies that met the inclusion criteria were identified. Evidence suggests that the use and frequency of use of social networks is significantly associated with body dissatisfaction (p≤0,01), drive for thinness (p≤0,001), and low self-esteem (p≤0,05) in adolescents and young adults in the Spanish population.

CONCLUSIONS

Users of social networks, mainly those based on images, are exposed to factors that could increase their risk of developing an eating disorder.

Comparing and self-objectifying: The effect of sexualized imagery posted by Instagram Influencers on women's body image

Influencers are prominent figures on social media with a large number of followers who promote products, companies, and/or lifestyles. Some Influencers endorse lingerie and bikini products and there is growing concern about the overtly sexualized nature of the imagery they post to social media. This study aimed to experimentally examine the impact of exposure to images of female Influencers dressed in either fashionable clothes (fashion condition) or in lingerie/bikini garments posed in a suggestive manner (sexualized condition) on women's negative mood and body dissatisfaction relative to control (fashion products). Young women (N = 230, aged 17-25years) were recruited online and randomly allocated to one of the conditions. They completed pre/post state measures of mood and body dissatisfaction, as well as measures of state appearance comparison and self-objectification. Planned comparisons revealed that viewing images of Influencers led to greater negative mood, body dissatisfaction, self-objectification, and appearance comparison than viewing control images. Viewing sexualized images also led to greater negative mood, body dissatisfaction, and appearance comparison than did viewing standard fashion images. State appearance comparison was found to mediate these differences. The findings highlight the negative impact of sexualized images on social media and the need for enhanced regulation in relation to Influencer advertising.

Body Positivity or Humorous Parody? The Impact of Instagram Imagery on Body Image Concerns

Research has shown that Instagram imagery can affect women's body image. However, it remains unclear how Instagram images are perceived, and which type of images can have a positive impact on body image. In this study (N = 170), we examined whether exposure to body positive and humorous parody (vs. body ideal) imagery would be perceived as critiques of thin body ideals, would elicit photo-based activity in the form of "likes", and would positively affect women's body image. Results showed that both body positivity and humorous parody images elicited more "likes" and were perceived as critiquing thin body standards more than body ideal images. Moreover, women's body satisfaction and positive mood were higher after exposure to body positivity and humorous parody compared to exposure to body ideal images. Women exposed to humorous parody also reported a lower drive for thinness. These findings demonstrate that both body positivity and humorous parody can be considered critiques that improve body image.

"I wanna look like the person in that picture": Linking selfies on social media to cosmetic surgery consideration based on the tripartite influence model

Based on the tripartite influence model, the present study linked investment in others' selfies on social media to facial dissatisfaction and cosmetic surgery consideration. We also tested the mediating role of appearance comparisons and general attractiveness internalization in these relationships. Additionally, potential gender differences in the proposed model were examined. A sample of 884 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 16.80 ± 0.92, ranging from 14 to 19 years old) completed self-reported measures of investment in others' selfies, appearance comparisons, general attractiveness internalization, facial dissatisfaction, and cosmetic surgery consideration. Results showed that investment in others' selfies was positively associated with facial dissatisfaction and cosmetic surgery consideration. Path analysis further revealed that investment in others' selfies was associated with appearance comparisons and general attractiveness internalization, which in turn were associated with facial dissatisfaction, and then facial dissatisfaction was related to cosmetic surgery consideration. Additionally, there were indirect associations between investment in others' selfies and cosmetic surgery consideration via general attractiveness internalization and facial dissatisfaction respectively, but not via appearance comparisons. No gender difference was found in the proposed model. Findings of the present study provide preliminary support for the tripartite influence model in the context of investment in others' selfies on social media and cosmetic surgery consideration and enrich the literature on body image and cosmetic surgery in the Chinese context.

Is (Disordered) Social Networking Sites Usage a Risk Factor for Dysfunctional Eating and Exercise Behavior?

BACKGROUND

Research over the past years has shown that exposure to thin and beauty ideals in the media can be associated with disordered eating and related variables. Nowadays, interactive media, such as social networking sites, have gained growing popularity and represent a major part of people's lives. It is therefore crucial to investigate how far users might be negatively influenced by social networking sites regarding eating pathology or excessive exercise behavior and if there are particular links to social media use disorder.

METHODS

Data were collected by an online-survey encompassing questions on regular social networking site use, eating disorders, and excessive exercise behavior.

RESULTS

Analyses showed that disordered social networking sites use was significantly related to eating pathology and a poorer body image in men and women. The frequency of active or passive social networking sites usage however was not associated with exercise behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results confirm that disordered social networking sites use represents a risk factor for body image dissatisfaction and associated eating disorders.

Association between physical activity and online sexual objectification experience: The mediating role of body-image depression

Objective

With the popularization and development of online media technology, more and more women are paying attention to their body image and physical behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of online sexual objectification experience on the physical activity of female college students and verify the mediating role of body-image depression between them.

Methods

A cross-sectional convenient sample of 882 female college students from four universities in Hubei Province completed an online survey, and the Online Sexual Objectification Experience Scale (OSOES), the Body-Image Depression Questionnaire, and the Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS) were used to collect the data. The mediating effect of the association between online sexual objectification experience and physical activity, was examined using the process procedure in SPSS and the bootstrap method.

Results

Online sexual objectification experience was significantly positively correlated with physical activity (r = 0.420, p < 0.01). Body-image depression was significantly negatively correlated with online sexual objectification experience and physical activity (r = -0.484, p < 0.01; r = -0.569, p < 0.01). Online sexual objectification experience can affect physical activity directly (β = 6.49, p < 0.001, effect value 44.97%) and also indirectly through body-image depression (β = 7.95, p < 0.001, effect value 55.03%); there were significant differences between major and education-level categories in body-image depression and physical activity.

Conclusion

Both online sexual objectification experience and body-image depression can promote physical activity among female college students, and body-image depression has a mediating effect between online sexual objectification experience and physical activity.

#SexyBodyPositive: When Sexualization Does Not Undermine Young Women's Body Image

Research suggests that exposure to social networking sites portraying a thin and often sexualized beauty ideal reduces young women's body satisfaction, while exposure to body-positive content improves it. However, it is unclear whether sexualization could impair the beneficial effects of body-positivity messages. Young Italian women were exposed to one of three experimental conditions showing sexualized beauty ideals, sexualized body positivity, or non-sexualized body positivity that appeared either on Instagram (Study 1, N = 356) or TikTok (Study 2, N = 316). Across the two studies, results showed that, regardless of sexualization, exposure to body positivity increased body satisfaction and positive mood compared with pre-exposure measures, while exposure to sexualized beauty ideals reduced it. Participants in the sexualized beauty ideal condition also engaged in upward appearance social comparison whereas body positivity elicited downward comparison. Problematic social networking sites' use moderated the effects of condition on body satisfaction, appearance social comparison, and positive mood, while downward comparison mediated the relation between condition and body satisfaction and positive mood. Our results highlight both beneficial and critical aspects of body positivity that should be taken into consideration when designing body image interventions and policymaking.

A sense of commitment to activity on Facebook: Evidence from a web-based paradigm

The present study was designed to test whether actions on Facebook such as commenting on others' posts can create a sense of commitment to continue performing similar actions in the future. Across four online experiments, we found evidence that regularly commenting on others' Facebook posts generates a sense of commitment to commenting on similar posts in the future, leading people to feel worse about not commenting on a post if they have done so regularly in the past than if they have not done so, and leading them to expect a Facebook friend to be more disappointed if they do not comment when there has been this previous history of commenting. These findings may contribute to illuminating the feelings associated with social media use, including its compulsive aspects and its effects on well-being.

Images of bodies in mass and social media and body dissatisfaction: The role of internalization and self-discrepancy

Introduction

The study examines the influence on body dissatisfaction of viewed images of bodies transmitted over mass media and social media, as mediated by the internalization of body ideals through media and self-discrepancy (the difference between the perceived actual self and the perceived ideal self).

Method

In this study, the images of bodies individuals view in their everyday media diet are estimated using a newly developed pictorial scale for women (thinness) and men (muscularity). For participants, the perceived body image is formed through mass media (magazines, TV) and social media (Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat). The self-discrepancy theory is then used to explain the effect of images of bodies in the media on the internalization of these body ideals and body dissatisfaction.

Results

Results show that Facebook and YouTube shape body ideals perceived to be prevalent in the media, negatively influencing internalization and self-discrepancy. Self-discrepancy, in turn, increases body dissatisfaction. However, for males, the perceived body ideals in the media did not affect body dissatisfaction, internalization, or self-discrepancy.

Discussion

These results emphasize the importance of combining and comparing mass and social media and differentiating between female and male concerns regarding body image.

The associations between photo-editing and body concerns among females: A systematic review

Emerging research has raised concerns about the growing prevalence of photo-editing behaviour and how this may negatively interact with body-related concerns among females. This review aimed to systematically examine the current evidence relating to the associations between photo-editing behaviour and female body concerns, including body image, body dissatisfaction and body modification. Six databases were searched for studies investigating associations between photo-editing and body concerns in female social media users. Empirical studies published in English were included if they quantitatively measured the association between photo-editing and at least one of the body-related outcomes, and included female participants. A narrative synthesis of the 22 studies meeting these specific criteria was completed. This review revealed mixed findings in relation to the associations between photo-editing and body concerns. The findings indicate there may be a more complex relationship between both concepts that is influenced by alternative factors. The findings also revealed considerable heterogeneity in measurement approaches for both photo-editing behaviour and body-related outcomes. Future research should focus on developing a gold-standard approach to the measurement of various body-related concerns and conducting in-depth analyses in order to further understand the complex relationship between photo-editing and female social media users' body concerns.

TikTok on the clock but the #fitspo don't stop: The impact of TikTok fitspiration videos on women's body image concerns

Fitspiration is a popular social media trend that aims to inspire individuals to improve their health and fitness through diet and exercise. However, viewing fitspiration content on Instagram has been identified as a contributor to negative body image, especially for young women. With the growing popularity of the video sharing platform TikTok and concerns over its content, the present study aimed to experimentally examine the effect of exposure to fitspiration TikTok videos on young women's body dissatisfaction, appearance comparison and mood. The roles of state appearance comparison as a mediator and trait fit ideal internalisation as a moderator were also considered. Young women (18-25, N = 120) from Australia were randomly allocated to view a set of fitspiration videos or a set of art control videos from TikTok. Results indicated that exposure to fitspiration TikTok videos increased state appearance comparison and state negative mood relative to art TikTok videos but did not directly increase state body dissatisfaction. State appearance comparison significantly mediated the effect of TikTok videos on body dissatisfaction and mood, however, there was no moderating effect of trait fit ideal internalisation. These findings highlight the importance of state appearance comparison in relation to viewing fitspiration content on TikTok.

The Perfect Storm: A Developmental-Sociocultural Framework for the Role of Social Media in Adolescent Girls' Body Image Concerns and Mental Health

In this theoretical review paper, we provide a developmental-sociocultural framework for the role of social media (SM) in adolescent girls' body image concerns, and in turn, depressive symptoms and disordered eating. We propose that the features of SM (e.g., idealized images of peers, quantifiable feedback) intersect with adolescent developmental factors (e.g., salience of peer relationships) and sociocultural gender socialization processes (e.g., societal over-emphasis on girls' and women's physical appearance) to create the "perfect storm" for exacerbating girls' body image concerns. We argue that, ultimately, body image concerns may be a key mechanism underlying associations between adolescent girls' SM use and mental health. In the context of proposing this framework, we provide empirical evidence for how SM may increase adolescent girls' body image concerns through heightening their focus on (1) other people's physical appearance (e.g., through exposure to idealized images of peers, celebrities, and SM influencers; quantifiable indicators of approval); and (2) their own appearance (e.g., through appearance-related SM consciousness; exposure to idealized self-images; encouraging over-valuing of appearance; and peer approval of photos/videos). Our framework highlights new avenues for future research on adolescent girls' SM use and mental health, which recognize the central role of body image.

Self-esteem and socialisation in social networks as determinants in adolescents' eating disorders

Eating disorders are mental health illnesses that are influenced by various individual, family and social factors. The present study aimed to examine the influence of self-esteem and socialisation through social networks on eating disorder behaviours in adolescence. The sample was made up of 721 secondary school students (49.1% girls). The sample age ranged between 12 and 18 years (M = 13.89, SD = 1.37). Participants completed the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) to measure disordered eating attitudes and behaviours, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the ESOC-39 scale, which measures socialisation through social networks, in addition to a brief initial sociodemographic survey. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were carried out with MANOVA. Low self-esteem was shown to increase behaviours linked to eating disorders globally. Likewise, high socialisation through social networks was also associated with a general increase in eating disorders during adolescence. The findings of the study provide empirical support for the need to develop prevention strategies that address the improvement in self-esteem and adequate socialisation through social networks during adolescence. The development of effective interventions along these lines could be helpful to treat the behaviours and attitudes that are observed in eating disorders.

#Fitmom: an experimental investigation of the effect of social media on body dissatisfaction and eating and physical activity intentions, attitudes, and behaviours among postpartum mothers

BACKGROUND

Research has shown that body dissatisfaction is higher during the postpartum period compared to other periods of life, and strongly associated with disordered eating behaviours, which can lead to adverse health outcomes. While results from cross-sectional studies suggest that social media may play an important role in body dissatisfaction among postpartum mothers, causal inference is limited due to the observational nature of the existing research. The objective of this study is to experimentally test the effect of body-focused social media on the body dissatisfaction and eating and physical activity intentions, attitudes, and behaviours of postpartum mothers.

METHODS

Postpartum mothers of infants 0-6 months (n = 132) were randomly assigned to view either body-focused social media posts (n = 65), or a control set of infant feeding tips (n = 67). ANCOVA was used to examine differences between the intervention and control group on levels of body dissatisfaction, eating and physical activity intentions, attitudes, and behaviours. There were two follow-up time points, immediately post intervention and 1-month post intervention to measure potential sustained effects of intervention.

RESULTS

Exposure to body-focused social media posts resulted in higher levels of body dissatisfaction, mean difference 1.54 (p = 0.002); poorer body image, mean difference 0.41 (p = 0.007); eating attitudes, mean difference 2.26 (p = 0.025); and higher levels of restrained eating behaviours, mean difference 0.39 (p < 0.001) among the intervention group post intervention. Mothers in the intervention group also reported higher levels of inspiration to be active, mean difference 0.48 (p = 0.021) post intervention. A sustained effect was found for restrained eating, mean difference 2.03 (p < 0.001) and poorer eating attitude, mean difference 0.29 (p = 0.001) at 1-month follow-up. No sustained effects were found for any other outcomes at 1-month follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Social media exposure to body-focused social media posts negatively affect postpartum mothers' body dissatisfaction and health behaviours. Further experimental research that includes an interactive social media component is needed among this population.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT05181280, Study ID Number: 054798. Registered 06/01/2022. Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05181280 .

Lack of Awareness, Body Confidence and Connotations of Sex: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Barriers Affecting the Decision to Attend Initial Cervical Cancer Screening

This study sought to understand how cervical cancer screening (CCS) awareness, sexual connotations and body image influenced the likelihood of CCS uptake in women yet to attend. Eleven females, aged 23–24, yet to attend CCS, were purposefully sampled. Interview transcripts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, generating three superordinate themes: (1) building screening expectations, (2) confronting sexual connotations and (3) growing pains. Findings demonstrated how a lack of awareness of CCS and the sexual connotations implicit in CCS acted as a barrier to attendance, exacerbated by negative body image comparisons between oneself and online or social media-based images. The perceived sexual connotations of CCS, and the resulting embarrassment, bolsters the case for self-screening, removing the need to attend clinic screening appointments. Reconceptualising screening using a theoretical model of the relationship between body image disturbances and body-focused screening behaviours among women, could lead to the development of pro-screening social media interventions.

The time spent in Instagram is associated with greater dissatisfaction with body image, lower self-esteem and greater tendency to physical comparison among young adults in Spain: an Observational Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND

Instagram is a social media platform based on photos and videos that encourages interaction and comparison between users. Its growing popularity, especially among young people, has generated interest in the impact its use can have on users´ mental health, specifically on their self-esteem and degree of satisfaction with their own body image.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to analyze the relationships between the use of Instagram, both the hours of daily use and the type of content viewed, and self-esteem, tendency to make physical comparisons, and satisfaction with body image.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 585 participants aged between 18 years and 40 years. Individuals who were interested in participating but had a personal history of eating disorders or had previously been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder were excluded. The assessment tools consisted of (1) a questionnaire that collected sociodemographic data and Instagram use variables and was created by the research team specifically for this study; (2) the self-esteem scale by Rosenberg; (3) Physical Appearance Comparison Scale-Revised (PACS-R); and (4) Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ). The recruitment and evaluation processes were carried out in January 2021.

RESULTS

Of the participants, 234 (234/585, 40%) used Instagram less than 1 hour a day, 303 (303/585, 51.8%) used Instagram between 1 hour and 3 hours a day, and 48 participants (48/585, 8.2%) used it more than 3 hours per day. We found statistically significant differences (P<.05) between the 3 groups in the scores obtained on the self-esteem test by Rosenberg, PACS-R, and BSQ. Participants who spent more time on Instagram had higher levels of body dissatisfaction, greater comparisons of physical appearance, and lower self-esteem. Moreover, we analyzed the relationship between the score obtained on the different scales and the types of content viewed, with no differences between those who mainly viewed professional content and those who primarily consumed fashion and beauty or sport and nutrition content.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study indicate that the use of Instagram is associated with poorer body image satisfaction and self-esteem, mediated by the tendency to compare physical appearance in relation to the daily duration of Instagram use.

Photo Activity on Social Networking Sites and Body Dissatisfaction: The Roles of Thin-Ideal Internalization and Body Appreciation

Objective: According to sociocultural theory, media is associated with detrimental effects on body image. Due to the popularity of social networking sites (SNS) and the prevalence of body image disturbance among young women, the association between them is worth further exploration. This study examined the relationship between photo activity on SNS and body dissatisfaction (BD) and the roles of thin-ideal internalization (TII) and body appreciation (BA) in this relation. Materials and Methods: A total of 746 Chinese female undergraduate students (mean age 20.34 ± 1.47 years) completed a questionnaire measuring SNS photo activity, TII, BD, and BA. Results: (1) Photo activity on SNS was positively associated with BD (r = 0.10, p < 0.01), and TII could mediate this relation (β = 0.07, 95% CI = [0.04, 0.10]). (2) Both the direct effect of SNS photo activity on BD (β = −0.08, p < 0.05) and the mediating effect of TII (β = −0.09, p < 0.01) were moderated by BA. Specifically, these associations were more pronounced for students with lower BA. Conclusion: People exposed to ideal photos or images can shape women’s body image perception via TII, whether in the age of traditional media or the Internet, and BA did not buffer the effect of ideal photos on internalization. Our findings could provide practical suggestions for rational photo activity on SNS and the intervention for BD.

The Effects of Acute Social Media Exposure on Body Dissatisfaction and Eating Behavior of Male and Female Students

Introduction: Experimental research has examined the effect of social media on body dissatisfaction, but little attention has been given to the impact on eating behavior. Across two studies, we tested the causal relationship between acute social media use, body dissatisfaction and eating behavior. Methods: In Study 1, 80 female participants (age: M = 20.75 years; BMI: M = 21.3) viewed their own Facebook account or a news website before completing a portion size selection task. In Study 2 (pre-registered), 148 participants (81 females; age: M = 20.92 years; BMI: M = 22.19), viewed their own or an experimenter-curated Instagram profile before consuming potato chips ad-libitum. Results: In Study 1, body dissatisfaction was significantly higher in participants who viewed Facebook (compared to a news website) and significantly mediated the effect of condition on portion size selection. In Study 2, regardless of condition females reported significantly smaller ideal body sizes and higher body dissatisfaction compared to males. When females reported a thinner body size as ideal, females in the personal Instagram consumed significantly less potato chips than those in the control Instagram condition. When males reported a smaller actual body size, males in the personal Instagram condition consumed significantly less potato chips than males in the control Instagram condition. Discussion: Findings suggest brief bouts of social media use may produce immediate disruptions to body image of both sexes, and restrained snack intake of females endorsing thin ideals.

Body Weight, Weight Self-Perception, Weight Teasing and Their Association with Health Behaviors among Chinese Adolescents-The Shanghai Youth Health Behavior Survey

Weight-related status has been associated with the physical and psychological health of adolescents. This cross-sectional study evaluated three different kinds of weight-related statuses (Body Mass Index (BMI), weight self-perception and weight teasing from others) among Chinese adolescents and identified their associations with health risk behaviors (lack of healthy dietary behavior, unhealthy dietary behavior, binge eating behavior, lack of physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviors (SB) and sleep disturbance). A stratified random cluster sampling method was used to select 10,070 students aged 11−18 years old from schools in Shanghai. Self-reported questionnaires were collected, weight-related statuses were divided into three categories and six specific health risk behaviors were classified into two groups: positive or negative. Overall, 27.82% of the adolescents were classified as being overweight and obese (35.61% of boys and 18.21% of girls), 43.45% perceived themselves as too heavy and 30.46% experienced weight teasing in the past. Among overweight or obese participants, 50.55% have been teased about their weight, and 77.48% perceived themselves as too heavy. Weight perception and weight teasing were significantly associated with health risk behaviors rather than the actual body weight status based on BMI, especially regarding binge eating behavior (body weight status (BMI): p > 0.05, underweight perception: OR = 1.18, 95%CI 1.03−1.34; weight teasing for more than once a year: OR = 2.00, 95%CI 1.76−2.27). In addition, weight perception and weight teasing were significantly associated with health risk behaviors, mainly in normal and overweight/obese groups but not in underweight groups. Weight teasing and weight self-perception play an independent and stronger role than actual body weight in the health behaviors of adolescents. This calls for more attention and intervention to reduce peer bullying and stigmas on weight among adolescents.

The body image "problem" on social media: Novel directions for the field

Social media is a highly popular and interactive environment which has many benefits, but research has shown that its use is also associated with body image concerns. Leaked internal survey findings in September 2021 from Instagram provide some support for negative impacts on body image of teenage girls especially. In this short communication, we discuss the complexities of moderating social media platforms which aim to protect users from potentially harmful body image focused content. Several strategies have been employed and we specifically examine the moderation of pro-eating disorder hashtags (e.g., #thinspiration) and hiding of "Like" counts on Instagram in particular. We find that both are quick technical "fixes" that do not effectively address these long-standing and complex issues on social media. We provide suggestions for novel avenues of research, including that body image researchers are excellently positioned to propose specific suggestions for content moderation strategies that may actually be effective. Social media companies know that they have a major problem on their hands, as the leaked findings demonstrate, and so they may be more receptive than they have ever been to novel research findings from our community.

The Dark Side of Social Media: Content Effects on the Relationship Between Materialism and Consumption Behaviors

This study contributes to the emerging literature on the negative effects over consumption that social media users may develop as a consequence of being engaged on social media platforms. The authors tested materialism's direct and indirect impacts on compulsive, conspicuous, and impulsive buying, adding two novel mediators: attitudes toward social media content (SCM) and social media intensity (SMI). The study uses a convenience sample of 400 Thai social media users analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results confirmed the well-established positive relationships between materialism and each of the three-negative consumption behaviors also in the social media domain. A novel finding showed the important role played by SMI which was found to be a strong predictor of each of the three negative consumption behaviors and it was also found to significantly mediate the relationship between materialism and the three-negative consumption behaviors. An additional contribution of the study was found on the role of attitudes which, contrary to what is commonly believed, were often not significant in predicting any negative behavior.

How Do You Like Me Now? The Influence of "Likes" and Followers on Social Media in Plastic Surgery

BACKGROUND

The number of "likes" and followers on social media is a surrogate marker for peer acceptance and popularity, but the influence of likes and followers on prospective plastic surgery patients has not been studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the number of followers or likes on social media has an impact on perceived surgeon competence or likelihood of recruiting new patients.

METHODS

A fictitious Instagram page was created with different permutations displaying different numbers of followers on the page. Similarly, fictitious Instagram posts were created displaying before-and-after results of ideal and suboptimal breast augmentation and gynecomastia surgery results, with the number of likes being the only variable. Using a crowdsourcing platform, survey responders rated surgeon competence and likelihood of patient recruitment based on the Instagram post.

RESULTS

A total of 4284 responses were collected. The number of followers or likes did not impact perceived surgeon competence or patient recruitment scores. Optimal surgical results consistently scored higher than suboptimal results, regardless of the number of likes. Almost half the responders were unable to identify the American Board of Plastic Surgery as the appropriate board certification for performing aesthetic breast or body surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

A high number of followers or likes, by itself, is unlikely to translate into higher likelihood of recruiting new patients. Overall, aesthetic results seem to be the most important driving force in receiving high competence scores and recruiting new patients, rather than social media presence or board certification.

Psychosocial Factors in Adolescence and Risk of Development of Eating Disorders

Background: current findings in the etiopathogenesis of eating disorders (ED) do not allow the formulation of a unique causal model. Currently, the main hypotheses about the etiopathogenesis are based on a multifactorial approach, considering both genetic and environmental factors. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between sociodemographic and behavioral factors, as well as self-esteem, in students of the first cycle of middle school and the probability of belonging to the risk group of eating disorders (ED) measured through the EAT-26 scale. Methods: The study target population consists of students of the first cycle of middle school. The instruments applied to the population consisted in: (1) a survey of sociodemographic data and behavioral variables; (2) Rosenberg’s self-esteem test; and (3) EAT Test (Eating Attitudes Test 26). Results: Of a total of 656 students belonging to eight educational centers in Madrid who were offered to participate in the study, 88.6% (n = 579) answered the whole questionnaire. The mean age of the participants was 13.7 years old. Of the participating adolescents, 57.3% were male and the remaining 42.7% (n = 260) were female. A significant relationship was observed between self-esteem and belonging to an ED risk group, with an OR = 0.910 (CI 95% 0.878−0.943). Hence, each one-point increase on the self-esteem dimension decreased the risk of belonging to an ED risk group by 9.5%. In the variables considered in the area of dysfunctional feeding patterns, the variables ‘number of meals’ (p < 0.01), ‘dieting’ (p < 0.01), and ‘drug consumption to lose weight’ (p < 0.01) were found to be related to the risk of belonging to the ED group. Conclusions: The results obtained in our research can help to establish explanatory models that include the understanding of the interaction of the different factors that influence the appearance and development of EDs. Therefore, these should be taken into consideration when developing ED preventive programs.

Critical measurement issues in the assessment of social media influence on body image

Progress towards understanding how social media impacts body image hinges on the use of appropriate measurement tools and methodologies. This review provides an overview of common (qualitative, self-report survey, lab-based experiments) and emerging (momentary assessment, computational) methodological approaches to the exploration of the impact of social media on body image. The potential of these methodologies is detailed, with examples illustrating current use as well as opportunities for expansion. A key theme from our review is that each methodology has provided insights for the body image research field, yet is insufficient in isolation to fully capture the nuance and complexity of social media experiences. Thus, in consideration of gaps in methodology, we emphasise the need for big picture thinking that leverages and combines the strengths of each of these methodologies to yield a more comprehensive, nuanced, and robust picture of the positive and negative impacts of social media.

Broad conceptualisations of beauty do not moderate women's responses to body positive content on instagram

Body positive content on Instagram may act as an antidote to the frequent depictions of thin and digitally modified images of women. Body positivity challenges narrow ideals by promoting diverse appearances and encouraging body appreciation. We examined the effects of congruent body positive messaging (unedited images of a diverse range of women presented with and without body acceptance captions) on state body image. This was the first study to investigate the moderating role of trait broad conceptualisation of beauty; a core component of body positive content and theories. Women 18-30 years (N = 233) were randomly assigned to view Instagram images of diverse women (e.g., varied body sizes, shapes, skin colour), either presented with or without body positive captions, or cityscape images. Pre- and post-test measures were taken of state body appreciation, appearance satisfaction, and positive mood, in addition to social comparison measures. Body appreciation and positive mood increased in all conditions. Appearance satisfaction only increased in the body positive conditions, with a larger effect size in the caption condition. Holding broad conceptualisations of beauty did not moderate findings. Captions did not change direction or amount of social comparison. Findings suggest that congruent body positive content may increase appearance satisfaction in viewers.

Instagram Use and Body Dissatisfaction: The Mediating Role of Upward Social Comparison with Peers and Influencers among Young Females

BACKGROUND

Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms among young females. Idealized body images shared on the platform have been associated with lower levels of body satisfaction in this population, likely due to social comparison processes. In the present study, we tested a mediation model linking Instagram use (i.e., browsing through others' profiles, commenting on others' looks, posting one's own photos or stories) to body dissatisfaction (i.e., body image discrepancy and lack of body appreciation), mediated by upward social comparison with close peers, distant peers, and social media influencers.

METHODS

We applied structural equation modeling to self-report cross-sectional data collected from 291 female adolescents and young women (M_age = 19.8, SD = 4.6; 94.8% Italian).

RESULTS

Our final model results show that browsing on Instagram was associated with lower levels of body appreciation, fully mediated by upward social comparison with social media influencers, not close or distant peers. Commenting on others' looks and posting own content were not associated with body dissatisfaction. Being an adolescent female (compared to a young woman) and having a higher BMI were associated with worse body appreciation.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight the need for public health interventions to raise awareness about the posting practices of social media influencers and to strengthen a positive body image among young females susceptible to social comparison processes.

#Instacomparison: Social Comparison and Envy as Correlates of Exposure to Instagram and Cyberbullying Perpetration

Instagram is a popular social networking site (SNS) among adolescents that allows them to share visual content about their lives quickly and easily, increasing social connection, acceptation, and entertainment among others. Nevertheless, SNS exposure can also lead to negative counterparts such as judgments, envy, social comparison, or cyberbullying perpetration. This research aimed to analyze the possible psychosocial factors associated with Instagram use (i.e., social comparison and envy) that could lead to the perpetration of cyberbullying towards peers. The sample consisted of 254 adolescent students aged between 15 and 18 years-old (Mage = 15.77, SD = 0.74). The results indicated that high connection time to Instagram, high levels of social comparison and malicious envy were associated with an increased tendency to carry out cyberbullying perpetration's behaviors. Likewise, the main finding showed that a high connection time to Instagram was associated with increased social comparison, which in turn was associated with malicious envy, and consequently with an increased tendency to carry out cyberbullying perpetration's behaviors. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the psychosocial processes that might precede to perpetrate cyberbullying's behaviors -among peers, as well as to promote the development of educational programs intend to encourage the responsible use of SNSs during adolescence.

Does the Number of Likes Affect Adolescents' Emotions? The Moderating Role of Social Comparison and Feedback-Seeking on Instagram

Instagram is a social networking site (SNS) that facilitate the social-comparison and feedback-seeking (SCFS) processes, which are particularly relevant during adolescence. Likes represent numeric evaluative feedback and seem to be considered as a form of social reward. In this research we examine some psychosocial factors that could influence the Instagram usage intensity (i.e. SCFS and motivations) and analyze the moderating role of SCFS in the relationship between the number of likes on posts and adolescents' emotions. The sample consisted of 182 adolescent students aged between 13 and 18 years (M = 15.35 years, SD = 1.11). The results show that the social interaction, storage, and gossip motivations mediate the relationship between SCFS and Instagram usage intensity, and that the influence of the number of likes on emotions depended on the degree of SCFS. The discussion of the findings emphasizes that likes have a special social and affective relevance for adolescents with high SCFS, who might become more emotionally susceptible to the feedback they received from their audience on Instagram. This research could be a precedent to future research and the development of intervention programs based on the responsible use of SNSs in an educative context.

Does Influencers Popularity Actually Matter? An Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Influencers on Body Satisfaction and Mood Among Young Chinese Females: The Case of RED (Xiaohongshu)

Many studies have linked idealized body image on social media to negative psychological well-being among young females. However, social media influencers’ imagery has not attracted much research attention in either the Western or the Asian context. This study aimed to experimentally investigate the impact of high versus low popular social media influencer images on young Chinese females’ body satisfaction and mood. The participants were 420 female RED users (aged 18–35) who were randomly assigned to three groups: (1) the influencer-high group (idealized imagery alongside high engagement metrics); (2) the influencer-low group (the same idealized imagery adjusted for low engagement metrics); or (3) a control set of nature images. The results revealed that the groups exposed to influencer imagery had lower body satisfaction and more negative mood than the control group (nature images). Notably, this comparison showed no significant difference between the low-influencer and high-influencer groups in body satisfaction and mood. Additionally, this effect was moderated by individuals’ self-discrepancy between personal ideals and their own bodies. That is, exposure to idealized body images does not always produce harmful effects. For those with lower self-discrepancy, idealized body posts somewhat positively affected their body satisfaction. The current research contributes to the media effect literature by providing critical new insights into the study of body image in the context of China.

Photo manipulation as a predictor of facial dissatisfaction and cosmetic procedure attitudes

Photo manipulation (editing photos prior to sharing them) has become increasingly popular on social media. While intended to enhance a photo's quality, this behaviour has been linked to heightened body image concerns. The present study investigated whether social media photo manipulation predicts facial dissatisfaction, attitudes towards cosmetic procedures, and intentions to undergo facial cosmetic procedures in young women, and the moderating role of self-discrepancy therein. Australian women (N = 227, 17-25 years) completed an online cross-sectional questionnaire. Social media photo manipulation was associated with greater facial dissatisfaction, cosmetic procedure attitudes/intentions, and appearance-based self-discrepancy. Photo manipulation was a significant predictor of cosmetic procedure attitudes and intentions, but not of facial dissatisfaction. Appearance-based self-discrepancy significantly moderated the relationship between photo manipulation and facial dissatisfaction, whereby the relationship between photo manipulation and facial dissatisfaction was stronger for those with lower self-discrepancy. Results highlight a key role for photo manipulation and appearance-based self-discrepancies in relation to facial dissatisfaction for young women. They also provide insight into predictors of cosmetic procedure intentions and attitudes. This signals a pressing need to develop effective intervention and prevention programs to help young women limit their appearance-based photo manipulation behaviours for use on social media.

Social media, body image, and the question of causation: Meta-analyses of experimental and longitudinal evidence

This article presents four meta-analyses that can inform causality in the relationship between social media and body image; 24 experimental samples comparing the effect of appearance-ideal social media images to non-appearance-related conditions (n = 3816); 21 experimental samples examining the effect of contextual features (e.g., comments and captions) accompanying appearance-ideal social media images (n = 3482); 14 experimental samples investigating the effect of appearance-ideal images versus other appearance images on social media (n = 2641); and 10 longitudinal samples on social media use and body image (n = 5177). Social media appearance-ideal images had a moderate negative effect on body image (Hedges' g = -0.61, p < .01), were more damaging in higher- than lower-risk contexts (Hedges' g = -0.12, p < .01), and were moderately more impactful than other social media appearance images (Hedges' g = -0.68, p = .05). These effects were smaller but significant with outliers removed. Social media use had a very small, negative correlation with body image longitudinally (Fisher's Z = -0.08, p < .001). No significant moderators emerged. Clinicians should consider approaches to managing social media use, particularly exposure to appearance-ideal imagery, in case conceptualisation and psychoeducation for clients at risk of, or experiencing, body image disturbance.

#facialtraumasurgery: Educational Content of Instagram as a Social Media Source for Facial Trauma Surgery

ABSTRACT

With an uprising influence of social media platforms like Instagram during the last decade, medical and healthcare related posts have accumulated majorly. In particular the head and face characterizes and signifies each individual's human character, which may be the reason why numerous posts are shared on social media platforms. The purpose of this investigation was to assess the content associated with facial trauma surgery and evaluate its educational quality.The authors performed a retrospective investigation on 550 Instagram posts by #facialtraumasurgery due to number of "likes," comments, type of post, language, its purpose, and source. Furthermore, posts were evaluated due to their educational quality by 3 examiners of different educational levels.The majority of posts showed 0 to 50 "likes" and 0 to 5 comments in English language. The major post type were single photographs (289; 52.5%), multiple photographs (188; 34.2%), videos (73; 13.3%) and predominantly case reports (233; 42.4%). The source was 322 (58.5%) posts by surgeons, followed by 185 (33.6%) clinic posts. Only 10% to 18% of the posts were rated "excellent." Interrater reliability between all 3 examiners presented a high concordance with 89% (P = 0.000).Our study presents an analysis of quantity and quality of social media content according to facial trauma surgery. It supports the deduction that most of the content on Instagram is shared by patients and unclear sources and thus is limited informative. Nevertheless, influence of social media on medical information is increasing and practitioners have to face its effect on their patients.

The Ideal Body: A Social Construct? Reflections on Body Pressure and Body Ideal Among Students in Upper Secondary School

Several studies show that young people today are negatively impacted by body image ideals in social media. We studies young people's reflections on body image and body pressure. More precisely: How does a selected group of third-year upper secondary school students understand their body images and body pressures through social media? Eight third-year students, four of each gender, were interviewed from two upper secondary schools in a medium-sized city in Norway. An interesting find was that body pressure was not experienced solely as one-sided pressure exerted externally by media sources, but that they also personally influenced others through their own active use of social media channels like Facebook and Instagram. They reported having experienced body pressure in their own lives and in their immediate environment, and that both genders are affected. The study builds on sociocultural body theory based on Foucault's ideas and work, but also uses more recent media theory for the analysis and discussion. A BOPS model developed by the researchers was used for the operational parameters that is centered around the concepts of panopticon, synopticon and omniopticon.

No likes, no problem? Users' reactions to the removal of Instagram number of likes on other people's posts and links to body image

In the age of social media, "likes" are increasingly considered a numerical indicator of popularity and a measure of self-worth. Using an online questionnaire, Australian women (N = 291) aged 18-55 years self-reported their reaction to Instagram removing the visibility of the number of likes from other people's posts, and completed measures of comparison and body image. Findings showed that the majority of participants were in favour of the removal (66.7 %), followed by those who were unsure (23.4 %). Interestingly, those who did not support the removal made significantly greater appearance comparisons based on likes than those who were in favour of the removal of the number of likes. Internalization of the thin ideal mediated the relationship between investment in and comparison with likes and body dissatisfaction. Results also demonstrated that women believe removing the visibility of the number of likes may facilitate a reduction in negative self-focus (comparisons and competitiveness) and improve mental health. Future research is needed to further investigate how the visibility of likes affects women's mental health and body image outcomes in other cultural contexts and across other social media platforms.

The effects of self-disclaimer Instagram captions on young women's mood and body image: The moderating effect of participants' own photo manipulation practices

The current experiment investigated the impact of attaching self-disclaimer captions (i.e., captions about whether photos had been edited) to thin-ideal Instagram photos on young women's body image and mood. Participants were 311 undergraduate students aged 18-25 years. Participants were randomly assigned to view images of a thin woman on Instagram with no captions, or with a generic, specific, or warning self-disclaimer caption, and completed pre and post measures of body image and mood and a questionnaire about their own photo-editing practices. Across all conditions, exposure to the images resulted in decreased body satisfaction, likelihood to compare one's body to another's, happiness, confidence, and anxiety. There was no significant effect of disclaimer type on body image or mood, and therefore no type of self-disclaimer had an ameliorating effect. However, specific disclaimers were superior to the other disclaimers at reducing likelihood to compare one's body to another's, for women high on photo manipulation. Future research should be conducted in adolescent girls and men.