The Impact of Social Media on Body Image

Social media & body image

Technology and social media appear to be more accessible than ever with the likes of Instagram, Twitter and Facebook available at the click of a button. It has been reported that we pick up our phones every 12 minutes¹ during the day, so could our frequent use of technology, or more specifically social media, have an impact on our body image?

On one hand, social media can be useful platforms to keep in touch with the people you love and to keep updated with topics you are keen on. Research findings² support this idea by showing that overall engagement with social media does not predict body image issues in young women. However, the same research noted that exposure to appearance-related material on social media was related to body image concerns². In 2019, a UK survey³ found that 22% of adults and 40% of teenagers expressed concern over their body image as a result of social media.

What is body

image?

It is the perception you have of your physical self and the thoughts and emotions that result from this perception. This includes your body confidence (appearance satisfaction) and self-worth⁴.

4 important factors that can determine body image⁵:

1. Perceptual body image (how you perceive your body)

2. Affective body image (how you feel about your body)

3. Cognitive body image (how you think about your body image)

4. Behavioural body image (how you behave as a result of your body image)

The role of social media in body image

Social media is a wide platform, providing us with a vast choice of people and brands we can follow. Some influencers and brands use their platforms to promote body positivity and to empower their followers to focus on their own journey, and not to compare themselves with them or peers. However, there is a vast array of negative content we need to address. When we log in on social media we are immediately exposed to content idealising the perfect lifestyle and body. In this context, Instagram has created a perception that external beauty leads to happiness and well-being⁶.

Influencers share their daily life by showing targeted images and using strategic communication, by which they gain our trust⁶. We may then start to internalise and identify with the aesthetic ideals (e.g. thin-ideal)⁷. Some of us may use the images as motivation to improve our body shape and size, trying to achieve the perceived ideal body image and the contentment that supposedly comes with it⁶. This mechanism can become particularly detrimental for our health when we follow influencers promoting strict diets, fitness routines and consumption of different “health” goods, which can lead to poor mental wellbeing and body dissatisfaction⁸. In some cases, the increased exposure to social media promoting aesthetic ideals may lead to the desire to undergo plastic surgery among adolescents in both gender groups⁹.

We have an online petition circulating for the regulation of nutrition information on social media - which you can read more about here and sign the petition here!

How to make

social media a

more positive

place

· Remember that we are all different and we all have different needs (exercise, deficiencies, pregnancy, allergies etc)

· Click the unfollow button on anyone that makes you feel ‘bad’ about yourself

· Even if we were all to eat the same and exercise the same, we would still all be different weights, shapes and sizes

· Focus on yourself and embrace your uniqueness

· Be kind to yourself, ask yourself - how would you speak to your best friend? Would you say the same to yourself?

· How do the people around you make you feel? Are they supportive? Do they make you feel good about yourself?

· Diversify your feed, we are all different. Are you following people of different shapes and sizes?

· Be mindful of how long you are spending on social media, you can set limits on your screen time

· The only detox you should be doing is a digital one, we all need connectivity, but we can find other things to do. Start by weaning yourself off social media.

Follow accounts that are promoting positive body image, such as :

@chessiekingg

@em_clarkson

@megan_rose_lane

@julesvonhep

@bodyposipanda

@sophjbutler

@alexlight_ldn

@gracefvictory

@i_weigh

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