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Research papers on Social media and body image

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  1. A systematic review: the influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents

    Betul Keles, Niall McCrae, Annmarie Grealish · 2019 · International Journal of Adolescence and Youth · 1,786 citations

    While becoming inextricable to our daily lives, online social media are blamed for increasing mental health problems in younger people. This systematic review synthesized evidence on the influence of social media use on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. A search of PsycINFO, Medline, Embase, CINAHL and SSCI databases reaped 13 eligible studies, of which 12 were cross-sectional. Findings were classified into four domains of social media: time spent, activity, investment and addiction. All domains correlated with depression, anxiety and psychological distress. However, there are considerable caveats due to methodological limitations of cross-sectional design, sampl

  2. Social Media Use and Adolescent Mental Health: Findings From the UK Millennium Cohort Study

    Yvonne Kelly, Afshin Zilanawala, Cara Booker, et al. · 2018 · EClinicalMedicine · 730 citations

    BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests social media use is associated with mental health in young people but underlying processes are not well understood. This paper i) assesses whether social media use is associated with adolescents' depressive symptoms, and ii) investigates multiple potential explanatory pathways via online harassment, sleep, self-esteem and body image. METHODS: We used population based data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study on 10,904 14 year olds. Multivariate regression and path models were used to examine associations between social media use and depressive symptoms. FINDINGS: The magnitude of association between social media use and depressive symptoms was larger for girls th

  3. Weight status and body image perceptions in adolescents: current perspectives

    Justine J. Reel, Dana Voelker, Christy Greenleaf · 2015 · Adolescent Health Medicine and Therapeutics · 631 citations

    Adolescence represents a pivotal stage in the development of positive or negative body image. Many influences exist during the teen years including transitions (eg, puberty) that affect one's body shape, weight status, and appearance. Weight status exists along a spectrum between being obese (ie, where one's body weight is in the 95th percentile for age and gender) to being underweight. Salient influences on body image include the media, which can target adolescents, and peers who help shape beliefs about the perceived body ideal. Internalization of and pressures to conform to these socially prescribed body ideals help to explain associations between weight status and body image. The concept

  4. Television Images and Adolescent Girls' Body Image Disturbance

    Renée A. Botta · 1999 · Journal of Communication · 388 citations

    The impact of media images on adolescents' body image and thin ideal endorsement has been consistently asserted in the body image literature, yet has remained inadequately tested. I used social comparison theory and critical viewing with a sample of 214 high school girls to predict adolescents' body-image disturbance and thin ideal endorsement. Media variables accounted fr 15% of the variance for drive for thinness, 17% for body dissatisfaction, 16% for bulimic behaviors, and 33% for thin ideal endorsement. Results suggest that body image processing is the boy to understanding how television images affect adolescent girls' body-image attitudes and behaviors.

  9. Incorporating social media and muscular ideal internalization into the tripartite influence model of body image: Towards a modern understanding of adolescent girls’ body dissatisfaction

    Savannah R. Roberts, Anne J. Maheux, Rowan A. Hunt, et al. · 2022 · Body Image · 149 citations

    The tripartite influence model stipulates that appearance pressures from three sources (family, peers, traditional media) lead adolescent girls to internalize a thin appearance ideal and engage in social appearance comparisons, resulting in body dissatisfaction (Thompson et al., 1999). Social media is a modern source of appearance pressure and, increasingly, adolescent girls desire an appearance that is both thin and muscular. The current study of U.S. adolescent girls (n = 543, Mage = 15.58, 49.17% Latina, 28.18% White, 8.66% Black, 7.55% Asian, 6.45% multiracial/another race/ethnicity) incorporates social media appearance pressures and muscular ideal internalization into the tripartite inf

  10. Processing Body Image on Social Media: Gender Differences in Adolescent Boys’ and Girls’ Agency and Active Coping

    Ciara Mahon, David Hevey · 2021 · Frontiers in Psychology · 118 citations

    Although scholars continue to debate the influence of social media on body image, increased social media use, especially engaging in appearance-related behaviors may be a potential risk factor for body dissatisfaction in adolescents. Little research has investigated how adolescents process appearance-related content and the potential strategies they use to protect body image perceptions on social media. To investigate coping strategies used by adolescents, four qualitative focus groups were conducted with 29 adolescents (23 girls) aged 15–16 years ( M = 15.31, SD = 0.47) in mixed-gender Irish secondary schools. Thematic analysis revealed that adolescents employed many different behavioral st

  11. The Selfie Generation: Examining the Relationship Between Social Media Use and Early Adolescent Body Image

    Ilyssa Salomon, Christia Spears Brown · 2018 · The Journal of Early Adolescence · 114 citations

    Social media use among adolescents continues to increase each year. This cross-sectional study explored how the amount of time spent using social media and the frequency of specific behaviors on social media, namely, behaviors that involve self-objectification, were related to body surveillance and body shame among a sample of early adolescents ( N = 142; 43 boys and 99 girls, [Formula: see text] = 12.44 years, SD age = 0.61). Utilizing self-report measures, three types of social media were examined: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Analyses indicated that greater levels of self-objectifying social media use predicted greater body shame among youth, and this was mediated by an associated in

  13. Mitigating Harms of Social Media for Adolescent Body Image and Eating Disorders: A Review

    Suzanne E. Mazzeo, Madison Weinstock, Taylor Vashro, et al. · 2024 · Psychology Research and Behavior Management · 61 citations

    Social media has negative effects on adolescent body image and disordered eating behaviors, yet adolescents are unlikely to discontinue engaging with these platforms. Thus, it is important to identify strategies that can reduce the harms of social media on adolescent mental health. This article reviews research on social media and adolescent body image, and discusses strategies to reduce risks associated with social media use. Topics covered include interventions aimed at mitigating social media's negative impacts, the body-positivity movement, and policies regulating adolescents' social media use. Overall, this review highlights specific factors (such as staffing, duration, modality, facili

  22. Hubungan Body Image, Intensitas Penggunaan Media Sosial, Kualitas Diet, Aktivitas Fisik dan Status Gizi pada Remaja

    Nazwa Aulia Rahman, Resa Ana Dina · 2025 · Jurnal Ilmu Gizi dan Dietetik · 1 citations

    Masa remaja merupakan periode kritis yang ditandai oleh perubahan biologis yang signifikan serta paparan luas terhadap standar tubuh ideal di media sosial, yang dapat mempengaruhi citra tubuh dan status gizi remaja. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis hubungan antara intensitas penggunaan media sosial, citra tubuh, kualitas diet, aktivitas fisik, dan status gizi pada remaja di SMAN 1 Bogor. Studi ini menggunakan desain cross-sectional dengan 87 siswa yang dipilih melalui purposive sampling. Data dikumpulkan melalui pengukuran langsung, wawancara terstruktur, dan kuesioner. Data persepsi body image diukur menggunakan Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), intensitas penggunaan media sosial d

  23. Impact of Social Media Usage on Body Image Perception among Adolescents in Malawi

    Emmie Hajat · 2024 · American Journal of Arts, Social and Humanity Studies

    Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the impact of social media usage on body image perception among adolescents in Malawi. Materials and Methods: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: Exposure to idealized images and content often leads to body dissatisfaction and lower self-esteem. Adolescents frequently compare themselves t

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