Investigating the Relationship between Frequent use of Instagram and Body Image Issues in Young Women
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55712/ijsri.v7i1.71Keywords:
Instagram use, body-image issues, social comparison, young femalesAbstract
Body image is a subjective mental representation that an individual creates about themselves. It may be an unlikely representation of reality. The study aimed to investigate if there is a relationship between frequent use of Instagram and body image issues among young Maldivian women. An online survey questionnaire was shared with 100 Maldivian women aged 19 to 25 who used Instagram. The findings revealed a strong relationship between the use of Instagram and Body image issues r (98) = .765, p<001. Additionally, analysis of Body Checking Questionnaire subscales: idiosyncratic checking rituals, checking specific body parts, comparing overall appearance and frequency of Instagram use showed a positive relationship between all three variables and frequency of Instagram use. The study’s findings suggest that frequent use of Instagram negatively impacts the body image of young Maldivian women. Data also showed that usage of Instagram at an addictive level was exceedingly high, at 57%. The study findings have serious implications since international research demonstrates that viewing and uploading edited photos on Instagram can harm young people’s perceptions of their body image. Once beauty ideals have been internalised, women self-objectify themselves, focusing on the aesthetics of their body image, for an outside observer, instead of attending to the functionality of their body. The study also highlights the need for understanding the pervasive and complex ways social media influences emerging adults’ health and wellbeing and identifies the need for policy intervention to develop young people’s awareness of the impact of social media posting habits on self-image.
References
Rasheed, A. A., & Nafiz, A. (2022). Factors Influencing the Adoption of Social Media Marketing by Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) of the Maldives and its Impact on MSME Performance. International Journal of Social Research & Innovation, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.55712/ijsri.v6i1.50
Alberga, A. S., Withnell, S. J. & von Ranson, K. M. (2018). Fitspiration and thinspiration: a comparison across three social networking sites. Journal of Eating Disorders, 6(39) https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-018-0227-x
Alleva, J. M., Martijn, C., Breukelen, G. J. P. V., Jansen, A., & Karos, K. (2015). Expand your horizon: A programme that improves body image and reduces self- objectification by training women to focus on body functionality. Body Image, 15, 81–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. bodyim.2015.07.001
Akram, A. & Shahid, A. (2020). Social Media Use and Impact during Maldivian Travelers’ Holiday Planning. International Journal of Social Research and Innovation, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.55712/ijsri.v4i1.20
Aparicio-Martinez, P, Perea-Moreno, A. J., Martinez-Jimenez, M. P., Redel- Macías, M. D, Pagliari, C., & Vaquero-Abellan, M. (2019) social media, Thin-Ideal, Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating Attitudes: An Exploratory Analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(21):4177. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16214177.
Baker, N. (2018). Focusing on college students’ Instagram use and body image. Master’s thesis, University of Rhode Island. DigitalCommons@URI. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses/1243/
Banfield, S. S., & McCabe, M. P. (2002). An evaluation of the construct of body image. Adolescence, 37(146), 373-93.
Burnette, C. B., Kwitowski, M. A., & Mazzeo, S. E. (2017). “I don’t need people to tell me I’m pretty on social media:” A qualitative study of social media and body image in early adolescent girls. Body Image, 23, 114–125. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.09.001
Broz, M. (July 19, 2022). 28 Selfie Statistics, Demographics, & Fun Facts (2023). https://photutorial.com/selfie-statistics/
Burns, M. (2018). Self-Objectification, Body Shame and Instagram Use, And the Moderating Effect of Active Commitment to Feminism. Research Paper submitted for BA Hons in Psychology at Dublin Business School, School of Arts, Dublin.
Calado M., Lameiras M., Sepulveda A. R., Rodríguez Y., Carrera M. V. (2010). The mass media exposure and disordered eating behaviours in Spanish secondary students. European Eating Disorders Review, 18, 417–427. doi: 10.1002/erv.1024.
Cataldo, I., De Luca, I., Giorgetti, V., Cicconcelli, D., Bersani, F. S., & Imperatori, C., Abdi, S., Negri, A., Esposito, G., & Corazza, O. (2021). Fitspiration on social media: Body-image and other psychopathological risks among young adults. A narrative review. Emerging Trends in Drugs, Addictions and Health, 1 (100010), 1-6. doi.org/10.1016/j.etdah.2021.100010
Chatzopoulou, E., Filieri, R., & Dogruyol, S. (2020). Instagram and body image: Motivation to conform to the “Instabod” and consequences on young male wellbeing. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 54(4), 1270-1297. https:// doi.org/10.1111/joca.12329
Choukas-Bradley, S., Nesi, J., Widman, L., & Higgins, M. K. (2019). Camera-ready: Young women’s appearance-related social media consciousness. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(4), 473–481. https://doi. org/10.1037/ppm0000196
Cheng, C., Lau, Y. C. , Chan, L. , & Luk, J. W. (2021). Prevalence of social media addiction across 32 nations: Meta-analysis with subgroup analysis of classification schemes and cultural values. Addictive Behaviors, 117, 106845. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.106845.
Cragg, D. N, Mulgrew, K. E, & Kannis‐Dymand, L. (2017). Can disclaimer labels or Dove Evolution commercial mitigate negative effects of thin‐ideal exposure? Journal of Health Psychology. 24(7), 918–928. http://doi. org/10.1177/1359105317690037
Dumas, T. M., Maxwell-Smith, M., Davis, J. P., & Giulietti, P. A. (2017). Lying or longing for likes? Narcissism, peer belonging, loneliness and normative versus deceptive like-seeking on Instagram in emerging adulthood. Computers in Human Behaviour, 71, 1–10. doi: 10.1016/j. chb.2017.01.037.
Engeln, R., Loach, R., Megan N. Imundo, M. N., & Zola, A. (2020). Compared to Facebook, Instagram use causes more appearance comparison and lower body satisfaction in college women, Body Image, 34, 38-45, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.04.007.
Evens, O., Stutterheim, S. E., & Alleva, J. M. (2021). Protective filtering: A qualitative study on the cognitive strategies young women use to promote positive body image in the face of beauty-ideal imagery on Instagram. Body Image, 39, 40-52. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.06.002
Fardouly, J., Willburger, B. K., & Vartanian, L. R. (2018). Instagram use and young women’s body image concerns and self-objectification: Testing mediational pathways. New Media & Society, 20(4), 1380–1395. https:// doi.org/10.1177/1461444817694499
Grabe S, Ward, L. M., & Hyde, J. S. (2008). The role of the media in body image concerns among women: A meta‐analysis of experimental and correlational studies. Psychological Bulletin, 134:460–476. http://doi. org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033‐2909.134.3.460
Jerónimo, F, & Carraça, E. V. (2022). Effects of fitspiration content on body image: a systematic review. Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 27(8), 3017- 3035.
Jiang, S., & Ngien, A. (2020). The Effects of Instagram use, social comparison, and self- esteem on social anxiety: A survey study in Singapore. Social Media + Society, 6(2), 1-10. https://doi. org/10.1177/2056305120912488
Jin, S. V, & Ryu, E. (2022). “A Streetcar Named Instagram Desire”: Evolutionary Psychological Perspectives on the Multifarious Human Desires That Shape Instagram Selfie-and-Groupfie Cultures. Behavioral Sciences, 12(10):396. doi: 10.3390/bs12100396.
Mills, J. S., Shannon A., & Hogue J. (2017). Beauty, body image, and the media. In Levine, M. P. (Ed.). (2017). Perception of Beauty. InTech. doi: 10.5772/66021
NapoleonCat. (2022). Instagram users in Maldives. https://napoleoncat.com/ stats/instagram-users-in-maldives/2022/05/
Reas, D. L., Whisenhunt, B. L., Netemeyer, R., & Williamson, D. A. (2002). Development of the body checking questionnaire: A self-report measure of body checking behaviors. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 31, 324–333. doi:10.1002/eat.10012
Robinson, L., Prichard, I., Nikolaidis, A., Drummond, C., Drummond, M., & Tiggemann, M. (2017). Idealised media images: The effect of fitspiration imagery on body satisfaction and exercise behaviour. Body Image, 22, 65-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.06.001
Rodgers, R. F. (2016). The relationship between body image concerns, eating disorders and internet use, part II: An integrated theoretical model. Adolescent Research Review, 1(2), 121–137. doi:10.1007/s40894-015- 0017-5
Shahnawaz, M. G., & Rehman, U. (2020). Social networking addiction scale. Cogent Psychology,7(1), https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2020.183 2032
Schettino, G., Miriam Capasso, M., & Caso, D. (2023). The dark side of #bodypositivity: The relationships between sexualised body-positive selfies on Instagram and acceptance of cosmetic surgery among women, Computers in Human Behavior, 140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. chb.2022.107586.
Sharifi, S. M., Omidi, A., & Marzban, B. (2016). The impact of Instagram use on body image concerns among Iranian University female students: A phenomenological approach. International Journal of Academic Research in Psychology. 3(1), 26- 36. http://dx.doi.org/10.46886/IJARP/v3-i1/2280
Statista (July 27, 2022). Number of monthly active Instagram users from January 2013 to December 2021. https://www.statista.com/statistics/253577/ number-of-monthly-active-instagram-users/
Tiggemann M., & Velissaris V. G. (2020). The effect of viewing challenging “reality check” Instagram comments on women’s body image. Body Image. 2020; 33:257–263. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.04.004. [
Tiggemann, M., & Zaccardo, M. (2015). “Exercise to be fit, not skinny”: The effect of fitspiration imagery on women’s body image. Body Image, 15, 61–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2015.06.003
Tiggemann, M. (2012). Sociocultural perspectives on body image. In T. F. Cash (Ed.), Encyclopedia of body image and human appearance (pp. 758– 765). Elsevier Academic Press.
Wheeler, L., & Miyake, K. (1992). Social comparison in everyday life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 760-773
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2023 International Journal of Social Research & Innovation
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
