Introduction
Body Image
Body image is defined as the way in which a person views his or her body, and is part of a person’s identity and sense of self, impacting mental and physical well-being (Dittmar, 2009). Although this construct appears to be broad and multidimensional, most research focuses on the narrower idea of weight dissatisfaction, specifically a desire to be thin (Grogan, 1999). Body satisfaction, therefore, is how satisfied one is with their body and/or body image; consequently, body dissatisfaction is “the experience of negative thoughts and esteem about one’s body” (Dittmar, 2009). Body image disturbance has been linked with low self- esteem, depression, and social anxiety (Cash, 1990), as well as being linked with disordered eating behaviours and dieting (Twamley & Davis, 1999). Low body image can lead to appearance-management behaviors which include attempting to alter the body through behaviors such as restriction of food intake, exercise, choice in clothing, makeup products, and in more severe cases, cosmetic surgery (Rudd & Lennon, 2000). Many factors may have an influence on body dissatisfaction, however internalization of the media body idea and perceived pressure from media to conform to the body ideal (Forbes et al, 2006) were found to be very influential.
Social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954) puts forward the argument that women evaluate their own appearance by comparing themselves with the cultural ideals of beauty and thinness presented in the media. This is more than often an upward comparison, resulting in dissatisfaction with their own appearance and body (Strahan et al, 2006). Support for this is provided by Bessenoff (2006) and Tiggemann and McGill (2004), whereby experimental evidence observed that a negative effect of media exposure on body dissatisfaction is at least partially mediated by engaging in social media comparison, while viewing ‘thin ideal’ images. There are many reasons why social comparison may be particularly pertinent to social networking sites, for example people are able to connect with peers very quickly and easily. Additionally, people are likely to only post images in which they look good or are doing something ‘cool’ (Krämer and Winter, 2008), and all images uploaded are able to be digitally altered.
Media
When looking at the relationship between media and body image concerns, most research has focused on the negative effect that traditional media has on men and women (Barlett et al, 2008). Extensive amounts of correlational and experimental evidence have supported the link between media exposure and body dissatisfaction (Tiggemann & Zaccardo, 2015). These findings have been supported by Heinberg (1996) who stated that the media is one of the most influential transmitters of sociocultural values, particularly in terms of the ideal body shape and size. Societal pressures to be thin and the overexposure of men and women to idealized body images in the media have been shown to be risk factors, which lead to an increased level of body dissatisfaction (Groesz et al, 2002). Social media focuses on the belief that people innately evaluate themselves in an effort to define and improve who they are, and that is done by comparing themselves to others (Festinger, 1956). Studies have shown that individuals who engage in more social media use begin to develop an emotional connection to the site and in turn become more invested in their appearance (Rutledge et al, 2013).
Most recent correlational research has found that there is a similar link between time spent on the internet and body dissatisfaction within adult and adolescent women (Blair et al, 2012). Across the studies there is a reliable small-to-moderate negative effect of thin-ideal fashion magazine or television images on body satisfaction, particularly for those women who already have significant body concerns. However, there has been little experimental research on the effect of newer media formats on body image (Perloff, 2014).
Social networking sites are a newer form of media, which are becoming increasingly popular. These allow users to create public or semi-public personal profiles, to share photos and information, and to interact easily with ‘friends’ in their networks (Tiggemann, 2015). Social media involves different types of people, for example friends and celebrities and it is used for interaction with peers which may lead to appearance comparison, which can then lead to negative body image (Carey et al, 2014). Recent figures in Australia suggest that approximately 69% of adults use some form of social media network, with 46% using such websites daily (Sensis, 2014). The majority of research in this area has focused on Facebook, as this is the most popular form of social network. Research has aimed to examine the multiple components of Facebook, finding that rather than the total time spent on Facebook, it is actually the amount of time spent engaging in Facebook ‘photo activity’, such as posting photos or viewing photos, that was related to body image concerns (Meier and Gray, 2014). In support of this, research conducted by Mabe et al (2014) found that placing greater importance on receiving comments on their photos and more frequent un-tagging of photos of themselves was associated with disturbed body image. Due to this, it can be presumed that image-based social media websites, such as Instagram, may have a stronger association with body image concerns. This supports the social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954), as it states that women evaluate their appearance based on that of others in the media.
Social Media and Body Image in Women
Body dissatisfaction has been found to be a substantial concern among adolescent girls (Barker and Galambos, 2003). There has been an extensive amount of research conducted on body dissatisfaction among women, especially in terms of body shape and weight (Tiggemann, 2015). In general, research findings suggest that women attach greater importance to body image than men, as well as attaching greater importance to body weight as their BMI increases. This finding is supported by Rozin and Fallon (1988), who found that although both adult men and women expressed a desire to lose weight, women showed a greater concern about weight and eating. An explanation for this has been provided by McCabe and Ricciardelli (2004) who stated that losing weight would take adolescent males away from the sociocultural ideal for men, and therefore it is not surprising that such studies demonstrate higher levels of body dissatisfaction in women. On the other hand, Yamamiya et al (2005) concluded that not all women are equally susceptible to these effects. Cash (2002) states that body image is not a stable trait, but more a variable state influenced by specific contextual events. Most research in this area has been carried out using female participants, as females are more susceptible to thin-ideal images than males (Jones, 2011), with research documenting body dissatisfaction among women, which is generally attributed to sociocultural factors, with mass media considered to be the most powerful force (Thompson et al, 1999).
Internalization of the media ideal and perceived pressure to conform to the ideal have been found to be direct predictors of body dissatisfaction in female preadolescents and adolescents (Cafri et al, 2005). According to Groesz et al (2002), women have increased levels of body dissatisfaction after being exposed to ‘thin’ and ‘beautiful’ media images, versus average size, over sized or non-body images. Cusumano and Thompson (1997) concluded that just by being exposed to message from the media did not predict body dissatisfaction in women. However, awareness of societal pressures was found to be a significant predictor, with internalization of social standards of appearance being the strongest predictor of body dissatisfaction among women. With regards to the new ‘fitspiration’ trend, Tiggemann (2015) found that women who were shown fitspiration images within the study were significantly inspired to improve their fitness regime and improve their healthy eating habits than those who viewed control travel images. Additionally, exposure to fitspiration images led to lower state appearance self-esteem than travel images.
Social Media and Body Image in Men
Research into male body dissatisfaction is a recent topic and therefore not widely implemented. McCabe and Ricciardelli (2004) state that men are under just as much pressure to conform to the physical ideals of society as women. Keel et al (1997) found that body dissatisfaction was related to disordered eating in males, therefore showing the significant effects that body dissatisfaction can have on an individual. Body dissatisfaction was also found to be related to binge eating behaviours in adolescent boys (Johnson et al, 1999). With regards to the media, research has found that men who have been exposed to television adverts showing the ‘ideal’ representation of the male body, became significantly more depressed and recorded higher levels of muscle dissatisfaction, in comparison to those exposed to neutral television adverts (Algiata et al, 2004). Additionally, a systematic review conducted by Holland and Tiggemann (2016) supported the findings of previous research that had been implemented with female participants. This review found that social networking websites were positively related to male’s body image concerns and eating disorders. In support of this, Ricciardelli et al (2000) found that the media and peers played the most significant role in adolescent boy’s body dissatisfaction.
The relationship between social media use and body dissatisfaction has been investigated by De Vries et al (2015), who conducted a longitudinal study with Dutch adolescent boys between the ages of 11-18. From this experiment, it has been found that longer periods of time spent on social media networks predicts increased levels of body dissatisfaction in such individuals at an 18 month check up point. De Vries et al (2015) concluded that social media use has the same impact on males as it does on women. The minimal research that has been carried out in this area has been done so using young or adolescent boys primarily. Parkinson et al (1998) conducted a study using 575 boys between grades 4 to 8 at school. The findings of this study show that younger boys desired a larger body than their current state, while older boys desired a leaner body. This may suggest that sociocultural ideals become more apparent as males get older, and the pressure to have the ‘correct’ body shape is much greater. Adolescent studies have found, however, that only 27% of boys wanted to lose weight (Nowak et al, 1996).
Instagram/Fitspiration
Instagram is a media-based social network which was created in October of 2010 (Instagram, 2014) and therefore has limited studies associated with it. From such limited research, it has been shown that Instagram comparison is significantly correlated with greater body dissatisfaction (Villalobos, 2015).
‘Fitspiration’ is an online trend designed to inspire viewers towards a healthier lifestyle, by promoting exercise and healthy food (Tiggemann, 2015). As of January 2017, when the hashtag ‘fitspiration’ is searched for on Instagram, it returns more than 10.5 million images. The majority of fitspiration images are of women exercising or in exercise gear, sometimes with inspirational quotations marked over the top, such as “strong beats skinny every time” (Holland and Tiggemann, 2016). There are many concerns with the ‘fitspiration’ trend, as there is a repeated representation of only one body type; lean and toned. This ideal image is unattainable for most women, as is primarily appearance related, rather than for the benefit of people’s health (Tiggemann, 2015). In a study by Holland and Tiggemann (2016), findings showed that women who posted fitspiration images scored higher on a subscale for ‘drive for thinness’. These results show that fitspiration images posted to such social networking sites have a negative impact on women’s body image satisfaction. This research evidence shows despite the apparent “healthiness” of fitspiration, these women scored higher on measures of disordered eating, drive for muscularity, and compulsive exercise than those women who post travel images.
Therefore, the present study that I am carrying out will aim to investigate the impact of exposure of ‘fitspiration’ images on Instagram on male’s body image dissatisfaction, in participants between the ages of 18 and 25. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between viewing ‘fitspiration’ images and body dissatisfaction, mood and self esteem levels. As a result of the findings of Tiggemann (2015), it is hypothesised that male’s will have an increased level of body dissatisfaction after viewing ‘fitspiration’ images, in line with the findings of that for females.