Does social media fuel or deplete your body image and appetite? Effect of instagram on body dissatisfaction and implicit satiety goals

• Main Author: Kwan, Benetta
• Other Authors: Bobby K. Cheon
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Social sciences::Psychology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/138140
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Instagram is a popular photo-based social media which facilitates users to post body-related images and body talk commentary. Unfortunately, these posts pressure women to conform to the social norm of unrealistic thin bodies. Images of women and body talk are factors usually separately studied in its effects on body dissatisfaction. Therefore, we explore how viewing images (thin/ overweight women) and body talk (negative/ positive comments) as Instagram posts, could reduce or contribute to body dissatisfaction. Additionally, self-discrepancy may serve as a mediator, with greater discrepancy between their actual and ideal body type triggered from Instagram posts, increase body dissatisfaction (vice-versa). Self-efficacy was also investigated to moderate the relationship, with high self-efficacy, or confidence in body image, reduce body dissatisfaction (vice-versa). Further, body dissatisfaction has been associated with restrained eating, but research has yet to understand this in terms of food consumption patterns. Thus, we explore how body image concerns generated from exposure to Instagram posts may reduce satiety goal and portion size selection (vice-versa). Two hundred and one undergraduate women were randomly assigned to one of the four curated image-commentary Instagram post. Findings demonstrate that exposure to Instagram posts had a nonsignificant but unique effect on body dissatisfaction. In addition, self-discrepancy was not significant as a mediator, whereas self-efficacy was promising as a moderator. Moreover, a trend towards a reduced satiety goal was present but nonsignificant. These results suggest that there may be variables unique to social media on body dissatisfaction. Limitations and future directions are further discussed herein.