*Disclaimer: Please note that parts of this English blog were automatically translated.*
You often hear around you that social media can be negative for your body image. But is this really true? Do you have this feeling yourself or is it not so bad? Perhaps it depends on the content you view. Recently, researchers tried to answer these questions with a study of young women.
You may have seen it passing by on Instagram, for example, #bodypositivity or #fitspiration content. This seems innocent and positive at first, but it remains to be seen whether it really has a positive effect on people. Are you curious about what these types of posts do to body image? Then be sure to read on about Fioravanti and colleagues’ study (2023)!
Core
- Fitspiration content focuses on encouraging physical activity and getting muscular. In posts, it specifically shows women exercising or wearing sports outfits, along with inspirational quotes. Because there is an emphasis on appearance and weight loss, for example, that can also be bad for your well-being.
- Body positive content focuses on showing more different bodies to ensure more body appreciation and acceptance among women. Thus, posts often show women with somewhat larger body types or without filters.
- The results of the study showed that by viewing body positivity images daily, you can get a better mood and higher body satisfaction.
- Viewing fitspiration images daily, compared to body-positive images, causes you to have a worse mood and to compare your appearance more with others.
- So if you want to improve your body image, mainly watch body-positive content and avoid #fitspiration content!
Research Method
What?
The goal was to use an experiment to investigate the effect of viewing one of three Instagram trends (body-positive, fitspiration, or neutral content) daily for one month on four psychological variables (positive and negative mood, body satisfaction and appearance comparison).
How?
The researchers created three Instagram profiles: 1) with body-positivity photos, 2) with fitspiration photos and 3) with neutral photos (about animals, plants, landscape, travel and cities, for example).
Participants were randomly assigned to the body-positive, fitspiration or neutral group. They had to follow the created profiles and the most popular associated hashtags (e.g. #BodyPositive, #fitmotivation or #nature) for one month.
During the same month, participants answered a series of questions each day. Negative mood was measured as to what extent they felt depressed, anxious and angry. Positive mood as to what extent they felt confident and happy. Body satisfaction was measured with questions about how satisfied they were with their bodies. It was also measured the extent to which they compared their appearance to that of others.
Fun fact: The method used is an intensive, longitudinal measurement method, also called an experience sampling method (ESM) or daily diary study.
Who?
122 Italian Instagram users participated. They were women with an average age of 22, the majority of whom were students.
Discussion results
- All women showed an increase in positive mood (self-confidence/happiness), this increase was strongest among women in the body-positive group.
- Although positive mood increased in all groups, it was striking that the women who followed the fitspiration content also expressed more negative feelings (depressed, anxious, angry) compared to the body-positive group. There was no difference with the neutral group.
- In terms of body satisfaction, an increase was also seen in all groups, it was strongest in the body-positive and neutral groups.
- Appearance comparison with others increased in all groups. The fitspiration group showed the strongest increase in this regard.
- The researchers did not expect an increase in body satisfaction in the fitspiration group given previous studies. It could be that some people became motivated by the fitspiration images instead of judging themselves (negatively) by the images.
- It was striking that the women in the body-positive group also showed an increase in comparisons. So actually any focus on the body, positive or negative, can cause comparison with others.
Conclusion: Body positive content (focused on showing “real” bodies) seems better for your body image and mood than fitspiration (focused on motivation to exercise and eat healthy), but with any type of content there is the risk of comparing yourself (negatively) to others.
Important: This study has now only been done with Italian women, so it is not sure if this is true in other countries and groups. In addition, the women could still follow other content, so women who were in the body-positive group may also have seen fitspiration content during the month and vice versa. So plenty to investigate further!
Details
Fioravanti, G., Svicher, A., Ceragioli, G., Bruni, V., & Casale, S. (2023). Examining the impact of daily exposure to body-positive and fitspiration Instagram content on young women’s mood and body image: An intensive longitudinal study. New Media & Society, 25(12), 3266-3288.
https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211038904
This sci-fly was written by Aafke Swinkels (Radboud University) for RAD-blog, the blog on smoking, alcohol, drugs and diet.
