The Perfect Storm: A Developmental–Sociocultural Framework for the Role of Social Media in Adolescent Girls’ Body Image Concerns and Mental Health

Abstract

In this theoretical review paper, we provide a developmental–sociocultural framework for the role of social media (SM) in adolescent girls’ body image concerns, and in turn, depressive symptoms and disordered eating. We propose that the features of SM (e.g., idealized images of peers, quantifiable feedback) intersect with adolescent developmental factors (e.g., salience of peer relationships) and sociocultural gender socialization processes (e.g., societal over-emphasis on girls’ and women’s physical appearance) to create the “perfect storm” for exacerbating girls’ body image concerns. We argue that, ultimately, body image concerns may be a key mechanism underlying associations between adolescent girls’ SM use and mental health. In the context of proposing this framework, we provide empirical evidence for how SM may increase adolescent girls’ body image concerns through heightening their focus on (1) other people’s physical appearance (e.g., through exposure to idealized images of peers, celebrities, and SM influencers; quantifiable indicators of approval); and (2) their own appearance (e.g., through appearance-related SM consciousness; exposure to idealized self-images; encouraging over-valuing of appearance; and peer approval of photos/videos). Our framework highlights new avenues for future research on adolescent girls’ SM use and mental health, which recognize the central role of body image.

Engagement with social media content results in lower appearance satisfaction: An experience sampling study using a wrist-worn wearable and a physical analogue scale

“…In explaining this general finding, it is worth considering that social media content is often appearance-focused and idealised (Brown & Tiggemann, 2020;Simpson & Mazzeo, 2017;Sharp & Gerrard, 2022). More than this, much of social media content also promotes narratives emphasising the importance and value of appearance-perfection (Choukas-Bradley et al, 2022), such as purported connections with health and wellness (Monks et al, 2021), and often uses shame as a motivator for work on the body (Marks et al, 2020). As a consequence, unrealistic norms of appearance are often normalised on social media (Rodgers & Melioli, 2016) and, to the extent that users both internalise and engage in upward social comparisons with such idealised content, it likely results in detriments to body image (Fardouly et al, 2021;Saiphoo & Vahedi, 2019).…”

Why adolescents conform to high‐status peers: Associations among conformity, identity alignment, and self‐esteem

“…Beyond those discussed above, there are several additional gender differences that may account for these disparate findings. First, physical attractiveness is a much more salient feature of popularity for girls than it is for boys (Mayeux & Kleiser, 2020) and girls' digital media interactions tend to involve highly visual social media with a focus on physical appearance (Choukas‐Bradley et al., 2022). The digital interaction simulated in the current study was entirely text based, without images, and thus may not have been able to optimally capture peer influence processes toward high‐status female prototypes.…”

Practical Considerations for Using the Eating Disorder Examination Interview with Adolescents

“… 64 , 65 This includes the ever-increasing exposure to eating norms, body image ideals, and self-expression via social media. 66 , 67 …”