Exploring Correlates of Fitspirational Social Media Use: The Role of Social Media in Body Image and Excessive Exercise Among Young Women

• In Event: Body Image, Idealized Image, and Media

Abstract

Recent content analyses of social media revealed a new type of content: fitspiration. Although fitspiration messages are said to inspire women towards an empowered body image, concerns about exposure to these messages have been raised, without accompanying empirical data. Using data from 359 women (18 - 28 years), we investigated how four types of fitspirational social media messages were related to body image. Additionally, we examined the role of individual difference variables (IDVs) in this relationship. Findings indicated that IDVs differentially predict exposure to types of fitspirational content, and differentially moderate the relationship between exposure and body image. Thus, although overall fitspirational social media use is negatively related to body image, this is not the case for all women. Overall, this study emphasizes that the relationship between fitspirational social media use and body image involves a complex interaction of social media user characteristics and the exact content that they consume.

Authors

• Sindy Sumter, U of Amsterdam

• Drew Cingel, U of California -- Davis

• Danielle Antonis, U of Amsterdam