How Social Media Can Actually Improve Body Image

A substantial body of research links social media use (especially Facebook and Instagram) to poorer body image among women, particularly those under 25.

With an estimated 90% of people ages 18–29 and 77% of adults ages 30–49 reporting regular social media use, many users remain at risk for lower body satisfaction, and for some, increased vulnerability to disordered eating behaviors or compulsive exercise.

Researchers have also found that exposure to fit or thin “ideals” can encourage people to chase a body type different from their own, lower self-esteem, and negatively affect mood.

At the same time, several studies have identified factors that protect, and even strengthen, body image, mood, and self-esteem.

Chief among them is self-compassion, which involves relating to yourself with acceptance and recognizing that so-called “flaws” or “mistakes” are normal parts of being human.

Women who report higher self-compassion, for instance, tend to report less body shame, fewer comparisons to others, and less overall preoccupation with appearance.

Research also shows a strong inverse relationship between self-compassion and disordered eating behaviors—meaning as one increases in frequency or intensity, the other tends to decrease.

Given self-compassion’s protective role in body image (and the established link between social media use and body dissatisfaction), researchers at the University of the West of England set out to examine whether pairing common social media images with hashtags and slogans that promote self-compassion would buffer women’s self-esteem and body image from being dragged down.

Research

Psychologists Amy Slater, Neesha Varsani, and Phillippa C. Diedrichs recruited 160 women between the ages of 18 and 25 to browse (unbeknownst to them) fictitious instagram accounts displaying several types of images:

• “Appearance-neutral” images (interior design photos)
• “Fitspiration” images (young, lean, toned women in tight workout clothes)
• “Self-compassion” images (quotes encouraging self-acceptance, overlaid on decorative or floral backgrounds)
• “Fitspiration and self-compassion” images (15 fitspiration images followed by five self-compassion images)

Each image contained an appropriate, indicative hashtag (such as #fitspo or #innerbeauty).

Participants were split into several groups: a control group that viewed only appearance-neutral images, and experimental groups that viewed either fitspiration images, self-compassion images, or a mix of fitspiration and self-compassion images. Researchers measured body satisfaction, body appreciation, self-compassion, and negative mood using standardized tools before and after exposure.

Contrary to what Slater and her colleagues expected, exposure to fitspiration images did not produce a statistically significant decrease in body image or mood compared with neutral images. However, viewing fitspiration did lead to a significant drop in self-compassion compared with neutral images.

As Slater and colleagues note, fitspiration images and hashtags often emphasize self-control, discomfort, and “pushing through,” which can introduce guilt-laden messages.

They discuss this in their article published in Body Image, “#fitspo or #loveyourself? The impact of fitspiration and self-compassion Instagram images on women’s body image, self-compassion, and mood.”

Additional Findings

Slater’s team also found that women who viewed self-compassion images reported higher body satisfaction, body appreciation, and self-compassion, along with greater improvements in negative mood by the end of the study, compared to those who viewed neutral images. And compared with women who viewed only fitspiration content, those who saw a mix of fitspiration and self-compassion images reported similar benefits after the viewing session. Notably, this effect emerged even though the combined group viewed far more fitspiration images (15 total) than self-compassion images (only five).

Because self-compassionate slogans encourage a more accepting, caring view of oneself, seeing them after, or woven among, fitspiration posts may soften the self-criticism and comparison these images can trigger.

As Slater and her team conclude, “self-compassion might offer a practical avenue for attenuating the known negative impact of social media on women’s body satisfaction.”

Your Own Social Media Habits

So how does this apply to your own social media habits? If you consistently feel worse about yourself after scrolling through pages of fitter, toner, thinner, and possibly more airbrushed bodies than yours on Instagram, Facebook, or any other platform, take a moment to seek out accounts that share slogans and imagery promoting a more accepting, compassionate view of yourself.

Adding more of that content into your feed may help soften the emotional impact of fit or thin ideals without requiring you to quit social media altogether. If you’re not sure where to start, follow Slater and her colleagues’ lead and try searching hashtags like #selfcompassion and #selflove.

If social media is taking a toll on your mental health or your relationship with your body, you don’t have to navigate it alone. Recovery.com can help you find and compare mental health treatment options so you can find support that fits your needs.