Psychology of Popular Media Quiz

The Impact of Social Media on Body Image

• Social networks have replaced traditional media as the main channel for conveying beauty ideals, often resulting in body dissatisfaction and reduced self-esteem among young users.
• Cultivation theory provides a theoretical foundation for understanding the impact of social media on body image, complementing social comparison theory.
• The study explores the effects of Instagram on young users' body image, differentiating between usage quantity and quality, and finds that only participants' tendency to browse Instagram's public content emerges as a relevant predictor.

Cultivation Theory and Body Image

• Cultivation theory suggests that the frequent exposure to the virtual self-presentation of others on social media can affect the way people perceive and evaluate physical appearances.
• The theory posits that social media platforms like Instagram can create an environment of constant upward comparison, prompting dysfunctional self-perceptions among users.
• By emphasizing the sharing of visual content, Instagram has become a cornerstone to young people's conceptualization of physical beauty.

Instagram and Body Image

• Instagram is the most popular social network among young adults, with a strong focus on fitness, makeup, fashion, and dietary topics.
• Content analyses indicate that Instagram has turned into the main hub for fitspiration and thinspiration content, which glorifies an athletic and healthy, but sometimes alarmingly skinny, appearance.
• Fit- and thinspiration posts tend to have negative effects on young audiences, nudging them toward unattainable beauty standards and disordered eating behaviors.

Limitations of Social Comparison Theory

• Social comparison theory (SCT) is limited by its chief focus on self-related attitudes, failing to acknowledge other potential consequences of social media use, such as the formation of wrong assumptions about society or the adoption of new beliefs about others.

• SCT-based research is often inhibited by its narrow view on affective outcome variables, neglecting the broader implications of social media on body image.### Social Media Effects on Body Image

• Social media use can negatively impact users' body image, particularly through social comparison theory (SCT) and cultivation theory (CT).

• SCT suggests that people evaluate their identity, appearance, and beliefs by comparing themselves to others, leading to various outcomes, including negative effects on self-esteem and body image.

• CT assumes that extensive media use leads to a homogenization of viewer's worldview, resulting in the adoption of problematic beauty ideals and fitness behaviors.

Cultivation Theory

• CT was proposed by Gerbner and Gross (1976) and explains how repeated media exposure can lead to changes in users' cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses.
• The process involves three orders of cultivation:
• First-order effects: changes in users' estimates of real-life frequencies, events, and distributions.
• Second-order effects: transformations of users' attitudes and value systems.
• Third-order effects: changes in users' observable behavior resulting from the first two orders.
• CT has been applied to traditional media, but its application to social media is relatively rare.

Instagram and Cultivation

• Research on Instagram has mainly focused on social comparison theory, with limited attention to cultivation theory.
• The current study aims to explore Instagram as a cultivation system for weight-related cognitions, attitudes, and behavior.
• The study proposes that Instagram use can lead to changes in users' assumptions about the general population, attitudes toward their own body, and adoption of specific dietary rules.

Hypotheses

• Hypothesis 1: Young adults' Instagram use duration and browsing activity negatively predict their estimation of the overweight prevalence in the general population.
• Hypothesis 2: Young adults' Instagram use duration and browsing activity positively predict their estimation of the body satisfaction prevalence in the general population.

Social Media and Homogenization

• Social media platforms, like Instagram, have blurred the line between producers and consumers, leading to a homogenization of content.

• Users tend to align their posts with trending topics or aesthetics, fostering a homogenization of the platform.

• This homogenization can lead to the adoption of problematic beauty ideals and fitness behaviors.### Instagram Use and Body Image

• Researchers investigated the relationship between Instagram use and body image among young adults, exploring whether exposure to manipulated beauty ideals on Instagram affects body esteem and attitudes towards others' bodies.

• The study consisted of 228 participants (171 women, 56 men, 1 unspecified) between 18 and 34 years old, with an average age of 22.5 years.

Hypotheses

• Hypothesis 1: Instagram use negatively predicts own body esteem.
• Hypothesis 2: Instagram use negatively predicts body satisfaction with others' bodies.
• Hypothesis 3: Instagram use positively predicts own body esteem.
• Hypothesis 4: Instagram use positively predicts body satisfaction with others' bodies.
• Hypothesis 5: Instagram use positively predicts dietary restraint.

Methods

• Participants were asked to rate full-body photographs of strangers in terms of weight, with options ranging from "clearly underweight" to "clearly overweight".
• Participants were also asked about their Instagram use, including duration and browsing activity.
• A pretest was conducted with 15 independent student raters to ensure the selected pictures represented a broad spectrum of body shapes.

Results

• The study found a correlation between Instagram use and body image attitudes, with longer Instagram use and more engagement with public content predicting stricter weight norms.
• The study also found a correlation between Instagram use and dietary restraint, with longer Instagram use and more engagement with public content predicting more restrictive eating habits.

Measures

• Instagram use was measured by asking participants about their average weekly usage and browsing activity.
• Body image attitudes were measured by asking participants to estimate the percentage of overweight people in the German population and the percentage of people happy with their own body.
• Body satisfaction was measured by asking participants to rate full-body photographs of strangers.

Conclusion

• The study suggests that Instagram use can have a negative impact on body image and attitudes towards others' bodies, particularly among young adults.
• The study also highlights the importance of considering both quantitative and qualitative aspects of social media use when exploring its effects on body image.