The Perfect Storm: A Developmental–Sociocultural Framework for the Role of Social Media in Adolescent Girls’ Body Image Concerns and Mental Health

Abstract

In this theoretical review paper, we provide a developmental–sociocultural framework for the role of social media (SM) in contributing to adolescent girls’ body image concerns, and in turn, depressive symptoms and disordered eating. We propose that the features of SM (e.g., idealized images of peers, quantifiable feedback) intersect with adolescent developmental factors (e.g., salience of peer relationships) and sociocultural gender socialization processes (e.g., societal over-emphasis on girls’ and women’s physical appearance) to create the “perfect storm” for exacerbating girls’ body image concerns. We argue that, ultimately, body image concerns may be a key mechanism underlying associations between adolescent girls’ SM use and mental health. In the context of proposing this framework, we provide empirical evidence for how SM may increase adolescent girls’ body image concerns through heightening their focus on: (1) other people’s physical appearance (e.g., through exposure to idealized images of peers, celebrities, and SM influencers; quantifiable indicators of approval); and (2) their own appearance (e.g., through appearance-related SM consciousness; exposure to one’s own image; encouraging over-valuing of appearance; and peer approval of photos/videos). Our framework highlights new avenues for future research on adolescent girls’ SM use and mental health, which recognize the central role of body image.

Longitudinal associations between appearance‐related social media consciousness and adolescents' depressive symptoms

“…In contrast, results did not suggest that heightened depressive symptoms at baseline were associated with higher ASMC 1 year later. The current results contribute to a growing body of work highlighting the significant role of adolescents' appearance-related SM experiences, more so than "screen time," in the development of depressive symptomatology (see Choukas-Bradley et al, 2021). Consistent with prior work, ASMC and depressive symptoms were significantly higher among girls in this sample than among boys (Choukas-Bradley et al, 2019, 2020.…”

“…Arguably the most salient feature of SM, the focus on visual content may encourage preoccupation with one's appearance (Choukas-Bradley et al, 2021). This emphasis on physical appearance is especially relevant to adolescents, who are navigating complex new social dynamics such as dating and sexual relationships (Paxton et al, 2005).…”

Associations between sexting motivations and consequences among adolescent girls

“…Another sexting motivation is body-image reinforcement. Adolescent girls experience high rates of body dissatisfaction which has been theoretically linked to how frequently this population engages in sexual self-presentation on social media (Choukas-Bradley et al, 2021). Individuals with increased body-image avoidance make efforts to avoid, suppress, or modify negative body thoughts (Timko et al, 2014).…”

The Role of Digital Media in Adolescents’ Body Image and Disordered Eating

“…However, scholars have recently identified features of social media directly implicated in the development of body image disturbances. The transformation framework argues that widespread adoption of social media among today's adolescents has fundamentally changed the ways in which they are interacting with one another (Choukas-Bradley et al, 2021;Nesi et al, 2018aNesi et al, , 2018b. Here, we discuss three of the seven specific features of the transformation framework that are most relevant to understanding social media's effects on body image: visualness, publicness, and quantifiability.…”