An educational presentation

1. Relationships between social media exposure & levels of body dissatisfaction
Helen Nguyen and Andrea L. Paiva, Ph.D.
Introduction Demographic differences
❖ Much research has been done to investigate relationships
between mass media, body image and eating disorders
❖ Conventional mass media includes television,
magazines, advertisements on television, movies,
and music videos
❖ Body dissatisfaction is a major risk factor of eating disorders[1]
❖ Social media is a new form of media that emerged 10 years
ago. This form of media contributes to the thinness ideal
through pro-eating disorder websites, presentation of images
that promote thinness (thinspiration, thinspo, and pro-ana),
and countless advertisements that display thinness
❖ Social media gives users more opportunities for appearance-
based peer comparison
❖ Studies have found that people who use Facebook more were
less satisfied with their appearance[2] and report more
disordered eating[3]
❖ The aim of the current study was to investigate relationships
between social media exposure and levels of body
dissatisfaction through analysis of results from a self report
survey
Hypotheses
Demographics: age, gender, race, Greek organization membership,
relationship status
EDI- 4 questions were selected from the Body Dissatisfaction subscale of the
Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI). The questions were asked using a rating
scale of 1 (Always)- 6 (Never). Reverse scoring was used during analysis when
necessary.
Ex. I think my stomach is too big
BIA- The Body Image Assessment (BIA) is comprised of nine silhouette figures
which range from thin to obese body shapes. The assessment was chosen to
demonstrate correlations between selected measures and silhouettes.
SATAQ- 10 questions were selected from the Social Attitudes Towards
Appearance Scale (SATAQ) and revised in order to focus on social media. The
questions were asked using a rating scale of 0 (Definitely Disagree) – 4
(Definitely Agree). Reverse scoring was used during analysis when necessary.
Ex. I’ve felt pressured from Instagram to look attractive
1. More time spent on social media is related to more body
dissatisfaction
2. Participants who spend more time on social media are
more likely to choose a smaller body frame on the Body
Image Assessment scale
3. Age is a reliable predictor of body dissatisfaction where
the older the person, the more likely they are dissatisfied
with their body
4. Different forms of social media assert different influences
on the user
Results
Body dissatisfaction
Social media use
❖ Everyone in the sample used at least one form
of social media on a daily basis, with the average
amount of time spent on social media being
260.48 minutes per day (over 4 hours per day!)
❖ The majority of participants stated that their ideal body
shape is smaller than the average body shape which
corresponds to silhouette #5.
❖Female- 86.8% chose below avg.
❖Male- 65.2% chose below avg.
❖45.9% of participants reported not being satisfied with
the appearance of their body.
Social media use and body dissatisfaction
Overall satisfaction with appearance
EDI items
❖ There was a significant positive correlation between
minutes of social media use and more often feeling that their
stomach and hips were too big (e.g., as minutes went up, more
often thought that stomach and hips were too big). r = .140,p <
.01 and r = .118, p < .05, respectively.
❖ There was a negative correlation between minutes of social
media use and being satisfied with your body shape (e.g., as
minutes went up, satisfaction goes down) r = -.142, p < .01.
❖ There was no correlation between minutes of social media
use and perception of thigh size.
Gender
Age
Discussion
Measures
❖ Participants who spent more total time on social media per day
also reported being dissatisfied with the appearance of their body
F(1,395)= 9.34, p<.01
❖ In addition, participants who spent more time spent on Facebook,
F(1,394)= 11.59, p<.01, Tumblr, F(1,392)=4.59, p<.05, and
Pinterest, F(1,392)= 4.10, p<.05 also reported being dissatisfied
with the appearance of their body.
❖ On average, females spend more
time on social media than males
EXCEPT for YouTube. Asterisks
show significance in time spent
on different forms of social media
between males and females.
Instagram-F(1,391)=7.33,p<.01
Tumblr-F(1,391)=10.59,p<.01
Pinterest-F(1,391)=14.86,p<.01
Total-F(1,391)=4.31,p<.05
❖ More females than males think
their stomach and hips are too big
Stomach- 𝝌2(5)=57.2,p<.001
Hips- 𝝌2(5)=51.97,p<.001
❖ More males than females think
their thighs are the perfect size and
are satisfied with the shape of their
bodies
Thighs: 𝝌2 (5)=28.06,p<.001
Body shape: 𝝌2 (5)=43.53,p<.001
❖ Only 25.3% of females reported
they were satisfied with the shape
of their body
• The purpose of the study was to discover relationships between exposure to social media and body
dissatisfaction.
• The population size was large, P=403, with representation from different races, White, Asian, Latino,
and African American. Therefore this population shows moderate external validity.
• Hypothesis #1- The data of this study supported the hypothesis that more time spent on social media
is related to more body dissatisfaction. A one way ANOVA was performed and the difference
between mean total time spent on social media for participants stating they were satisfied with their
appearance was statistically different from those stating they were not satisfied, F(1,395)= 9.34,
p<.01.
• Hypothesis #2- The results did not support this hypothesis. Significant differences were not found
between minutes of social media use per day and choice of silhouette from the BIA. Ideal body
shape may be a function of society rather than social media use. Majority of the 403 participants
chose body shape #4 or under (81.5%).
• Hypothesis #3- The results showed that mean age was statistically different between participants
who were satisfied with the appearance of their body and those who were not, F(1,397)= 4.49, P<.05.
Older participants are likely to have been exposed to social media for a longer total amount of time
than younger participants, which can be an explanation for the greater rate of body dissatisfaction.
• Future studies should include a wider range of age in the participant population in order to see
whether this hypothesis holds true. The age range of this study was very small, only 4 years (18-24
yrs).
• Hypothesis #4- Through analysis of selected SATAQ items, this hypothesis was supported. A positive
correlation between minutes of social media use and feeling pressured to look attractive was found
to be significant for Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram, but not for Twitter. This shows that different
forms of social media have different influences on the user. An explanation is that Twitter posts are
more text-focused rather than picture-focused which hinders the opportunity for appearance based
peer comparison.
• Future studies can utilize other relatable diagnostic tools such as the Eating Attitudes Test 26 (EAT-
26) and the Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults (BESAA)
Participants who stated they were not satisfied with the appearance of
their body were slightly older (20.01 years of age) than those who were
satisfied with the appearance of their body (19.69 years of age), F(1,397)=
4.49, P<.05
SATAQ items
 There was a positive correlation between minutes of social
media use and more often feeling pressured to look
attractive across all forms of social media (Facebook,
Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter) except for Twitter;
however there was only statistically significant data for the
following:
Facebook: r = .126, p<.05
Instagram: r = .269, p<.001
Tumblr: r = .220, p<.001
403 participants recruited through introductory Psychology classes and other informal recruitment methods
❖ 75.9% female (n=305), 24.1% male (n=98)
❖ 70.5% White, 11.4% Asian, 7.6% Hispanic, 4.0% African American
❖24.7% member of a Greek organization
❖45.3% currently in a relationship
❖Average age=19.83, range =18-24
Participants
References
1. Field, A. E., Javaras, K. M., Aneja, P., Kitos, N., Camargo, C. A., Taylor, C. B., & Laird, N. M. (2008). Family,
peer, and media predictors of becoming eating disordered. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent
Medicine, 162(6), 574–579. doi:10.1001/archpedi.162.6.574
2. Stronge, S., Greaves, L. M., Milojev, P., West-Newman, T., Barlow, F. K., & Sibley, C. G. (2015). Facebook
is linked to body dissatisfaction: Comparing users and non-users. Sex Roles, 73(5-6), 200–213.
doi:10.1007/s11199-015-0517-6
3. Mabe, A. G., Forney, K. J., & Keel, P. K. (2014). Do you “like” my photo? Facebook use maintains eating
disorder risk. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 47(5), 516–523. doi:10.1002/eat.22254
Acknowledgment
The success and completion of this project is owed to the cooperation, dedication, and time of my
project mentor, Dr. Andrea Paiva. I could not have accomplished this project without her exceptional
expertise and advice.
I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to her and also to all the participants of the study, who
were an essential part of this project.