What is the impact of viewing social media style images in different contexts on body satisfaction and body size estimation?

Ruth Knight; Catherine Preston

doi:10.29329/jsomer.33

Authors

Ruth Knight York St John University, United Kingdom
Catherine Preston University of York, United Kingdom https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7158-5382

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29329/jsomer.33

Keywords:

social media, body image, social comparison, disordered eating

Abstract

Previous research indicates that viewing images of bodies on social media can have an adverse effect on how individuals feel about their own bodies. Prior research has presented stimuli in various contexts, with some studies employing a lab-based approach and others attempting to replicate the social media context. However, there has been little research that considers how seeing these images in different contexts might have different effects. Methodological issues, such as these, have been highlighted as limiting the conclusions we can draw about the impact of social media on various well-being measures, including disordered eating and body satisfaction. In this study, we recruited 230 female participants via a university participation platform and exposed them to social media-style images of bodies, either in the lab or on a social media profile that they viewed on their own device. We then measured body satisfaction and body size judgments before and after this exposure. Results indicate that seeing images in a social media context, specifically in the Instagram app, seems to have a different impact than seeing the same images in a lab setting, such that in a lab setting there were no changes to body satisfaction or size estimation, but when using the smartphone app participants experienced changes in these measures. We also note that the effect of seeing these images is related to individual social media use and underlying disordered eating thoughts and behaviours. Future research should consider in more depth the characteristics of social media platforms that might exacerbate negative effects of seeing content in these contexts.

References

Carey, M., Knight, R., & Preston, C. (2019). Distinct neural response to visual perspective and body size in the extrastriate body area. Behavioural Brain Research, 372, 112063. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112063

Carey, M., Kupeli, N., Knight, R., Troop, N. A., Jenkinson, P. M., & Preston, C. (2019). Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q): Norms and psychometric properties in UK females and males. Psychological Assessment, 31(7), 839. 10.1037/t03974-000

Cash, T. F. (2004). Body image: Past, present, and future. Body image, 1(1), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1740-1445(03)00011-1

Cohen, R., Newton-John, T., & Slater, A. (2017). The relationship between Facebook and Instagram appearance-focused activities and body image concerns in young women. Body image, 23, 183-187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.10.002

Cornelissen, P. L., Johns, A., & Tovée, M. J. (2013). Body size over-estimation in women with anorexia nervosa is not qualitatively different from female controls. Body image, 10(1), 103-111. 10.1038/s41598-017-15339-z

Diefenbach, S., & Christoforakos, L. (2017). The selfie paradox: Nobody seems to like them yet everyone has reasons to take them. An exploration of psychological functions of selfies in self-presentation. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 7. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00007

Engeln, R., Loach, R., Imundo, M. N., & Zola, A. (2020). Compared to Facebook, Instagram use causes more appearance comparison and lower body satisfaction in college women. Body image, 34, 38-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.04.007

Espeset, E. M., Gulliksen, K. S., Nordbø, R. H., Skårderud, F., & Holte, A. (2012). Fluctuations of body images in anorexia nervosa: patients' perception of contextual triggers. Clinical psychology & Psychotherapy, 19(6), 518-530. 10.1002/cpp.760

Fairburn, C. G., & Beglin, S. J. (1994). Assessment of eating disorders: Interview or self‐report questionnaire?. International journal of Eating Disorders, 16(4), 363-370. https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-108X(199412)16:4<363::AID-EAT2260160405>3.0.CO;2-%23

Ferguson, C. J. (2013). In the eye of the beholder: Thin-ideal media affects some, but not most, viewers in a meta-analytic review of body dissatisfaction in women and men. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 2(1), 20. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030766

Fioravanti, G., Bocci Benucci, S., Ceragioli, G., & Casale, S. (2022). How the exposure to beauty ideals on social networking sites influences body image: A systematic review of experimental studies. Adolescent Research Review, 7(3), 419-458

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40894-022-00179-4

Griffiths, S., Castle, D., Cunningham, M., Murray, S. B., Bastian, B., & Barlow, F. K. (2018). How does exposure to thinspiration and fitspiration relate to symptom severity among individuals with eating disorders? Evaluation of a proposed model. Body image, 27, 187-195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.10.002

Guardia, D., Lafargue, G., Thomas, P., Dodin, V., Cottencin, O., & Luyat, M. (2010). Anticipation of body-scaled action is modified in anorexia nervosa. Neuropsychologia, 48(13), 3961-3966. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.09.004

Holland, G., & Tiggemann, M. (2017). “Strong beats skinny every time”: Disordered eating and compulsive exercise in women who post fitspiration on Instagram. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 50(1), 76-79. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22559

Jarman, H. K., McLean, S. A., Marques, M. D., Slater, A., Paxton, S. J., & Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M. (2024). Understanding what drives adolescent social media behaviours: Informing approaches for interventions. Body Image, 51, 101793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2024.101793

Keizer, A., Smeets, M. A. M., Dijkerman, H. C., Van den Hout, M., Klugkist, I., Van Elburg, A., & Postma, A. (2011). Tactile body image disturbance in anorexia nervosa. Psychiatry Research, 190(1), 115-120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2011.04.031

Keizer, A., Smeets, M. A., Dijkerman, H. C., Uzunbajakau, S. A., van Elburg, A., & Postma, A. (2013). Too fat to fit through the door: first evidence for disturbed body-scaled action in anorexia nervosa during locomotion. PLOS One, 8(5), e64602. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0064602

Knight, R., & Preston, C. (2023). Do selfies make women look slimmer? The effect of viewing angle on aesthetic and weight judgments of women’s bodies. Plos one, 18(10), e0291987. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291987

Knight, R., Carey, M., Jenkinson, P., & Preston, C. (2024). The impact of sexual orientation on how men experience disordered eating and drive for muscularity. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 28(2), 210-232. https://doi.org/10.1080/19359705.2022.2118921

Knight, R., & Preston, C. (2023). Exploring the effects of gender and sexual orientation on disordered eating: an EFA to CFA study of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire. Journal of Eating Disorders, 11(1), 100.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-023-00821-z

Ladwig, G., Tanck, J. A., Quittkat, H. L., & Vocks, S. (2024). Risks and benefits of social media trends: The influence of “fitspiration”,“body positivity”, and text-based “body neutrality” on body dissatisfaction and affect in women with and without eating disorders. Body Image, 50, 101749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2024.101749

Lonergan, A. R., Mitchison, D., Bussey, K., & Fardouly, J. (2021). Social media and eating and body image concerns among men and boys. In Eating disorders in boys and men (pp. 307-316). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Mahon, C., & Hevey, D. (2021). Processing body image on social media: Gender differences in adolescent boys’ and girls’ agency and active coping. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 626763. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.626763

McComb, C. A., Vanman, E. J., & Tobin, S. J. (2023). A meta-analysis of the effects of social media exposure to upward comparison targets on self-evaluations and emotions. Media Psychology, 26(5), 612-635. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2023.2180647

Meier, A., & Johnson, B. K. (2022). Social comparison and envy on social media: A critical review. Current opinion in psychology, 45, 101302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101302

Nuss, K., Coulter, R., & Liu, S. (2024). Content of social media fitspiration and its effect on physical activity-related behavior: A systematic review. Psychology of Popular Media, 13(3), 353-362, https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000489

Orben, A. (2020). Teenagers, screens and social media: a narrative review of reviews and key studies. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 55(4), 407-414. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-019-01825-4

Peters, M., Rhodes, G., & Simmons, L. W. (2007). Contributions of the face and body to overall attractiveness. Animal Behaviour, 73(6), 937-942. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.07.012

Powell, J., & Pring, T. (2024). The impact of social media influencers on health outcomes: Systematic review. Social science & medicine, 340, 116472. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116472

Preston, C., & Ehrsson, H. H. (2014). Illusory changes in body size modulate body satisfaction in a way that is related to non-clinical eating disorder psychopathology. PloS One, 9(1), e85773. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0085773

Preston, C., & Ehrsson, H. H. (2016). Illusory obesity triggers body dissatisfaction responses in the insula and anterior cingulate cortex. Cerebral Cortex, 26(12), 4450-4460. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhw313

Preston, C., & Ehrsson, H. H. (2018). Implicit and explicit changes in body satisfaction evoked by body size illusions: Implications for eating disorder vulnerability in women. PloS One, 13(6), e0199426. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0199426

Pryde, S., Kemps, E., & Prichard, I. (2024). “You started working out to get a flat stomach and a fat a $$”: A content analysis of fitspiration videos on TikTok. Body image, 51, 101769. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2024.101769

Robinson, L., Prichard, I., Nikolaidis, A., Drummond, C., Drummond, M., & Tiggemann, M. (2017). Idealised media images: The effect of fitspiration imagery on body satisfaction and exercise behaviour. Body image, 22, 65-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.06.001

Stice, E. (2002). Risk and maintenance factors for eating pathology: a meta-analytic review. Psychological bulletin, 128(5), 825-848, 10.1037//0033-2909.128.5.825

Stice, E., & Shaw, H. E. (2002). Role of body dissatisfaction in the onset and maintenance of eating pathology: A synthesis of research findings. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 53(5), 985-993. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3999(02)00488-9

So, B., & Kwon, K. H. (2023). The impact of thin-ideal internalization, appearance comparison, social media use on body image and eating disorders: A literature review. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 20(1), 55-71. https://doi.org/10.1080/26408066.2022.2117582

Swami, V., Salem, N., Furnham, A., & Tovée, M. J. (2008). Initial examination of the validity and reliability of the female photographic figure rating scale for body image assessment. Personality and Individual Differences, 44(8), 1752-1761. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.02.002

Swami, V., Stieger, S., Harris, A. S., Nader, I. W., Pietschnig, J., Voracek, M., & Tovée, M. J. (2012). Further investigation of the validity and reliability of the Photographic Figure Rating Scale for body image assessment. Journal of Personality Assessment, 94(4), 404-409. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2012.660293

The jamovi project (2025). jamovi (Version 2.6) [Computer Software]. Retrieved from https://www.jamovi.org

Tiggemann, M., & Zaccardo, M. (2015). “Exercise to be fit, not skinny”: The effect of fitspiration imagery on women's body image. Body image, 15, 61-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2015.06.003

Vandenbosch, L., Fardouly, J., & Tiggemann, M. (2022). Social media and body image: Recent trends and future directions. Current Opinion in Psychology, 45, 101289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.12.002

Veldhuis, J., Alleva, J. M., Bij de Vaate, A. J., Keijer, M., & Konijn, E. A. (2020). Me, my selfie, and I: The relations between selfie behaviors, body image, self-objectification, and self-esteem in young women. Psychology of Popular Media, 9(1), 3-13, https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000206 Verbeij, T., Pouwels, J. L., Beyens, I., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2021). The accuracy and validity of self-reported social media use measures among adolescents. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 3, 100090. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2021.100090

Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P., Roberts, L. R., & Eckles, K. (2014). Social comparison, social media, and self-esteem. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 3(4), 206-222, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000047

Wang, R., Yang, F., & Haigh, M. M. (2017). Let me take a selfie: Exploring the psychological effects of posting and viewing selfies and groupies on social media. Telematics and Informatics, 34(4), 274-283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.07.004

Xu, Y. (2024). Fitspiration, related risks, and coping strategies: Recent trends and future directions. Psychology of Popular Media, 13(4), 748-754, https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000491