Early Adolescent Social Media-Related Body Dissatisfaction: Associations with Depressive Symptoms, Social Anxiety, Peers, and Celebrities.
Linda Charmaraman, Amanda M Richer, Cindy Liu and 2 others
PMID 33507043WHAT IT FOUND
Early adolescents who felt down about their bodies after viewing social media checked their accounts more often and reported higher depressive symptoms, online social anxiety, and difficulty making friends.
Female participants and those following celebrities were disproportionately affected.
Key findings
01Adolescents who reported social media-related body dissatisfaction checked social media more frequently and had higher rates of depressive symptoms, online social anxiety, difficulty making new friends, and social isolation compared to those who did not.
02Participants who friended celebrities on social media checked their accounts more often and were more likely to report depressive symptoms and online social anxiety than those who did not.
0319% of the sample reported feeling down about their body image after viewing social media; females accounted for 84% of these reports, and the top cited sources of dissatisfaction were celebrity photos and friend photos.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot determine if social media causes body dissatisfaction or if adolescents with existing mental health struggles are drawn to social media. The sample size for those reporting body dissatisfaction was small (n=70), limiting the ability to analyze gender differences quantitatively. Data relied on self-report and recall, which may be biased. The study did not specify which social media platforms triggered dissatisfaction, only that participants primarily used Instagram and Snapchat.
Declared interests
The study was supported by N.I.H. Extramural and Non-U.S. Gov't grants. No specific conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that social media use causes body dissatisfaction or mental health issues. The study is cross-sectional, meaning it only shows an association. It is equally possible that adolescents with existing anxiety or depression are more likely to use social media frequently and experience body dissatisfaction.