Socialization & Relationship Outcomes
Why don’t I look like her? How adolescent girls view social media and its connection to body image.
Open Access: Yes.
Abstract
Background
Adolescent girls appear more vulnerable to experiencing mental health difficulties from social media use than boys. The presence of sexualized images online is thought to contribute, through increasing body dissatisfaction among adolescent girls. Sexual objectification through images may reinforce to adolescent girls that their value is based on their appearance. This study explored how sexualized images typically found on social media might influence adolescent girls’ mental health, in positive and/or negative ways.
Methods
In-depth interviews were conducted with girls aged 14–17 years (n = 24) in Perth, Western Australia. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
Results
Participants identified body image as a major concern, reporting negative appearance comparisons when viewing images on social media. Appearance comparisons were perceived to exacerbate adolescent girls’ appearance-based concerns. Comparisons also influenced adolescent girls’ efforts to change their appearance and seek validation on social media. The importance of awareness and education from a younger age about social media and its influence on body image was emphasized, as was the need for strategies to promote positive body image and counteract negative body image.
Conclusion
The findings of this study have important implications for professionals working with adolescent girls and for the development of health promotion programs addressing social media use and body image concerns.
Relevance
“While studies have found sexualized images to influence body image among females, participants in this study did not highlight sexualization as a specific concern in relation to body image. The pervasiveness and normalization of sexualized images within social media may help explain why girls participating in this study did not consider such images as distinct from others. However, the four overarching themes of expectation, comparison, striving and validation reported in this study highlighted that adolescent girls largely view their body in relation to their appearance, and suggests self-objectification is a prominent issue when exploring the relationship between social media use and body image.”
“Consistent with previous research, the influence of social media on adolescent girls’ body image was perceived as negative by the participants in this study…Girls found it difficult to identify positive influences of social media on body image.”
“Participants in this study perceived improved social media literacy among adolescent girls from a younger age, taught within the school curriculum, as important to counteracting negative body image.”
Citation
Papageorgiou, A., Fisher, C. & Cross, D. (2022). “Why don’t I look like her?” How adolescent girls view social media and its connection to body image. BMC Women’s Health, 22, Article 261. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-022-01845-4
