Images of “ideal” bodies and faces can lead to eating disorders in women
The researchers said filters allowed features to be enhanced to unrealistic levels
According to a study, watching social media influencers flaunt their bodies can cause women to have a negative impact on their mental health for as little as 90 seconds.
The images of toned legs, flat stomachs, full lips and flawless faces have an almost immediate – and detrimental – effect on the viewer’s own body image.
It has long been known that images of “ideal” bodies and faces can make women feel worse about themselves and can lead to mental health and eating disorders.
However, the researchers wanted to find out whether this also applies to exposure to short TikTok and Instagram videos.
“Content that idealizes appearance can pressure women to look a certain way that is unrealistic or completely unattainable,” said Dr. Jasmine Fardouly, lead author of the study.
Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner are among the biggest social media influencers in the world, with 364 million and 380 million Instagram followers respectively, and millions more on TikTok
It has long been known that images of “ideal” bodies and faces can make women feel worse about themselves and can lead to mental health and eating disorders
The images of toned legs, flat stomachs, full lips and flawless faces have an almost immediate – and detrimental – effect on the viewer’s own body image
“We know this starts early, with girls as young as six years old reporting being unhappy with their bodies, wanting to look thinner and even going on a diet to lose weight.”
Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner are among the biggest social media influencers in the world, with 364 million and 380 million Instagram followers respectively, and millions more on TikTok.
The team from the University of New South Wales in Australia showed 211 women aged 17 to 28 images and videos selected from the Instagram and TikTok accounts of female social media influencers. They were then asked about their mood and their own body image.
The team found that the women compared their bodies to those in the “look ideal” content and invariably found themselves less attractive. Dr. Fardouly added: “The total exposure time was only a minute and a half, and we found that was enough to cause harmful effects.”
The researchers said another problem is that technological filters allow social media participants to increase their features to unrealistic levels, causing their audiences to be “more vulnerable to negative social comparisons.”
