“Why don’t I look like her?” How adolescent girls view social media and its connection to body image
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.
RAS ID
51746
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
12-1-2022
Volume
22
Issue
1
Funding Information
Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation (Healthway) Scholarship (file number: 24235) / Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship at the University of Western Australia / National Health and Medical Research Council Research Fellowship (GNT1119339)
PubMed ID
35761231
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences
Grant Number
NHMRC Number : GNT1119339
Grant Link
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1119339
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Publisher
Springer
Comments
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, 22, 261. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-022-01845-4