Social Media and Body Image Concerns: Current Research and Future Directions

• Social media use is consistently and positively associated with negative body image.
• Longitudinal studies suggest that this association may strengthen over time.
• Brief exposure to Facebook does not appear to negatively impact body image.
• Appearance comparisons are important in the link between social media and body image.
• Research on more diverse samples and other social media platforms is needed.

This paper provides an overview of research on social media and body image. Correlational studies consistently show that social media usage (particularly Facebook) is associated with body image concerns among young women and men, and longitudinal studies suggest that this association may strengthen over time. Furthermore, appearance comparisons play a role in the relationship between social media and body image. Experimental studies, however, suggest that brief exposure to one's own Facebook account does not negatively impact young women's appearance concerns. Further longitudinal and experimental research is needed to determine which aspects of social media are most detrimental to people's body image concerns. Research is also needed on more diverse samples as well as other social media platforms (e.g., Instagram).