Social media and body image: Relationships between social media appearance preoccupation, self-objectification, and body image

Abstract

Nearly 85 % of emerging adults report using at least one social media site. Research suggests that viewing and internalizing unrealistic body ideals often displayed online may pose harmful effects on young people’s body image. However, studies on the relationships between social media usage and body image have predominantly focused on women’s drive for thinness. We sought to explore the relationships between social media appearance-related preoccupation (SMARP), body shame and surveillance, and drives for leanness, muscularity, and thinness, specifically examining the moderating role of gender within these relationships. Data from 939 undergraduate students (n = 240 men) were analyzed using multigroup structural equation modeling. Surveillance significantly mediated the positive associations between SMARP and drive for leanness for women and men. For SMARP and drive for muscularity, surveillance was a mediator for men only. Shame emerged as a significant mediator of the positive association between SMARP and drive for thinness for women and men. Moderated mediation was supported, such that the indirect effect of SMARP on drive for thinness was significantly stronger for women. These results suggest that for men in particular, SMARP is not necessarily associated with increased drives for leanness and muscularity unless men are also engaging in body surveillance.