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Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and co.: body image and social media

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conference contribution
posted on 2016-11-23, 00:00 authored by Genevieve PepinGenevieve Pepin, Natalie Endresz
Evidence linked exposure to internet appearance-related sites to weight dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, increased internalisation of thin ideals, and body surveillance with Facebook users having significantly higher scores on body image concern measures (Tiggemann & Miller, 2010, Tiggemann & Slater, 2013). This study explored the impacts of social media on the body image of young adults aged 18-25 years. A total of 300 students from a Victorian university completed a survey including questions about the use of social media and 2 measures of body image: The Objectified Body Consciousness and both female and male version of the Sociocultural Attitudes towards Appearance Questionnaire 3. Results showed participants mostly used Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family. While using social media, they felt pressure to lose weight, look more attractive or muscular, and to change their appearance. Correlations were found between Instagram and concerns with body image and body surveillance, between Pinterest and body shame and appearance control beliefs and between Facebook and Pinterest and perceived pressure. Findings contribute to the growing body of knowledge about the influence of social media on body image and new information for the development of social media literacy programs addressing negative body image.

History

Volume

3

Location

Surfers Paradise, Qld.

Open access

  • Yes

Start date

2015-08-21

End date

2015-08-22

Publication classification

E3.1 Extract of paper

Title of proceedings

Riding the waves to recovery : Proceedings of the 2015 Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders Conference

Event

Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders. Conference (2015 : Surfers Paradise, Qld.)

Issue

S1

Publisher

BioMed Central

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