Facebook Involvement, Objectified Body Consciousness, Body Shame, and Sexual Assertiveness in College Women and Men

Abstract

Given the heightened attention to visual impression management on social media websites, previous research has demonstrated an association between Facebook use and objectified body consciousness among adolescent girls and young women in various Western countries, including the U.S. (e.g., Meier & Gray, 2013). The current study aimed to test whether both young women and men using social networking sites are vulnerable to objectified body consciousness, and to extend this line of research to sexual health outcomes. We tested a path model of Facebook involvement, objectified body consciousness, body shame, and sexual assertiveness and examined whether the negative health consequences of objectified body consciousness were greater in magnitude for women than men. Participants in this study were U.S. college students in the Midwest, 467 women and 348 men, who on average reported using social networking sites for 6 years. They completed survey measures assessing their involvement in Facebook, body surveillance, appearance self-worth, and enjoyment of sexualization. They also reported on feelings of body shame and sexual assertiveness. For both women and men, Facebook involvement predicted objectified body consciousness, which in turn predicted greater body shame and decreased sexual assertiveness. The link between objectified body consciousness and body shame was greater in magnitude for women, but no gender difference was found in the association between body shame and sexual assertiveness. We suggest that social media foster a heightened experience of the self from 2 FACEBOOK OBJECTIFIED BODY CONSCIOUSNESS an observer's point of view, which has consequences for body image and sexual agency among women as well as men.

The Relationship Between Body Image Concerns, Eating Disorders and Internet Use, Part I: A Review of Empirical Support

“…Internet exposure has been shown to be associated with body surveillance among female adolescents and pre-adolescents, and male and female college students (Fardouly et al 2015a;Manago et al 2015;Meier and Gray 2014;Slater 2013, 2014), as well as with body shame among young adults (Melioli et al 2015). In addition, in this last study, body shame mediated the relationship between Internet use and bulimic symptoms (Melioli et al 2015).…”

“…Regarding young adults, among US female college students, duration of Facebook use was associated with disordered eating (Mabe et al 2014), and Facebook involvement was found to be associated with objectified body consciousness, which in turn was associated with body shame (Manago et al 2015). Similarly, among a sample of French young women, body image avoidance and disordered eating were associated with social networking website use; however these relationships were not replicated among young men .…”

Sexbots

“…Being perceived as sexual may increase vulnerability to being perceived as lacking in human nature, as focus on women's sexual appearance increases the likelihood that they will be categorised as lacking in warmth, morality and competence (Hellick et al, 2011). Although most research has been carried out on the consequences for women of being treated as sex objects, recent studies demonstrate commensurate ill-effects on men who have been objectified in this way (Manago et al, 2015). Gender stereotypes imposed on female robots may aid sexist objectification (Richardson, 2015;Robertson, 2010).…”

Social Media in the Sexual Lives of African American and Latino Youth: Challenges and Opportunities in the Digital Neighborhood

“…Multiple studies also demonstrate that teens are hyper-aware of the public nature of their social media profiles, with users frequently commenting on sexual attractiveness, or lack thereof, when peers post provocative photos (Manago, Ward, Lemm, Reed, & Seabrook, 2015;Ringrose & Renold, 2012;Stevens et al, 2014). This anticipation of appreciative or negative feedback causes some adolescents to avoid posting photos of themselves, while others post sexually suggestive image to gain "likes," in what Magano deems "self-commodification" online (Manago, Graham, Greenfield, & Salimkhan, 2008;Manago et al, 2015;Stevens et al, 2016).…”

“…This anticipation of appreciative or negative feedback causes some adolescents to avoid posting photos of themselves, while others post sexually suggestive image to gain "likes," in what Magano deems "self-commodification" online (Manago, Graham, Greenfield, & Salimkhan, 2008;Manago et al, 2015;Stevens et al, 2016).…”