Hey – remember in high school, when we were smacked over the head with the message that billboards, bus stop ads and full-page spreads in magazines (when those still existed) were photoshopped to shit and back and therefore Not Real Life™, in an effort to stop us comparing our hormone-ravaged bodies with supermodels?
Well, now the problem is Instagram, and it’s not just supermodels you have to worry about, but your friends, friends-of-friends, and people you know that toe the line between being ‘Instafamous’ and just ‘really aggressive with hashtags’.
A new study of 150 female undergraduates by The Conversation found that Instagram and other photo-heavy platforms are far more likely to harm our self-esteem than traditional media.
They were asked over five days if they’d compared their appearance to someone else’s, and whether they made that comparison after looking at social media, traditional media or in person.
From The Conversation:
Women mostly thought others looked better than them on social media. This is likely due to women selectively posting the most attractive images of themselves on social media and enhancing those images to look like images in magazines, which are routinely edited.
Comparisons made between their own appearance and attractive others on social media were particularly harmful for women in our study.
Women reported being in the worst mood after social media comparisons relative to other comparisons. When women made social media comparisons, they also reported being unhappier with their appearance and more motivated to start unhealthy weight-loss activities, like going on a diet, than when they made comparisons in person.
The Conversation has a few ideas on how to reduce the negative impact of social media, but uh – they might need some working on.
But tbh, the #1 scientifically proven best way to body image-proof your Instagram feed is to ensure you follow no accounts except memes, dogs, and memes about dogs.
Photo: Instagram / Pia Muehlenbeck; Tash Oakley.
