Social Media Effects on Lifestyle Satisfaction

Arizona State University (ASU)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Social Media; Control Group

Treatments: Behavioral: Effects of Instagram Exposure on Lifestyle Satisfaction

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04253041

Socia Media and Body Image

Details and patient eligibility

About

From magazines to Miss America, the media has consistently contributed to the spread of sociocultural beauty standards for decades. While initial research on the effects of media on body image primarily focused on magazine and television, recent research has shifted towards exploring the effects of social media due to its rapid and constant accessibility. Current research has associated the promulgation of the thin-ideal with bulimia, dieting, supplement use, negative affect, and body dissatisfaction. Literature related to thin-ideal media (thinspiration), decreased body dissatisfaction, and negative mood is robust with a common understanding that thin-ideal media instigates increased appearance comparisons to seemingly unattainable beauty standards. Literature has also suggested that depression and anxiety have increased with the growth of social media and pressure to achieve unattainable beauty. The fit-ideal, often referred to as Fitspiration, was created as an "antidote" to thin-ideal beauty standards. However, research has found that though well intended, fitspiration content continues to promote the thin-ideal and has been associated with similarly detrimental outcomes of body dissatisfaction and negative mood. Over the last decade, body image research has shifted the focus on body disturbance to examining concepts related to positive body image. However, to date there are no known studies examining the impacts of fit-ideal content versus body positive content on women's body appreciation, body satisfaction, and state mood. The purpose of the present study is to experimentally examine the impact of exposure to body positive and fitspiration Instagram content on the body satisfaction, body appreciation, and mood of undergraduate women at Arizona State University. Participants will be 90 female undergraduate students (18-29 years old) currently attending Arizona State University. Participants will be randomly allocated to view either fitspiration, body-positive, or appearance neutral Instagram images. Dependent variables including state body appreciation, state body dissatisfaction, and state mood will be measured using Visual Analogue Scales. Trait thin-ideal internalization and trait social comparison will also be measured as moderators using the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-4 and the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale-Revised. We hypothesize that viewing body positive content from Instagram will result in greater state body satisfaction, greater state body appreciation, and greater state positive mood compared to participants exposed to fitspiration and appearance neutral content. We also hypothesize that viewing fitspiration content from Instagram will result in greater state body dissatisfaction, decreased state body appreciation, and greater state negative mood compared to participants exposed to body positive and appearance neutral content. Short answer qualitative interview questions will also be included as an exploratory aim of this study where we intend to fill a gap in the literature regarding the specific aspects of each content topic that elicit the observed quantitative outcomes.

Enrollment: 98 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 18 to 29 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Female
• Enrolled as part or full-time undergraduate students at Arizona State University
• 18-29 years old
• Access to computer and internet
• Able to read, speak, and understand English
• Willing to be randomized into one of three treatment groups

Exclusion criteria

• History of a clinical diagnosis or treatment for body dysmorphic disorder, disordered eating, anorexia, bulimia or clinical depression
• Pregnant

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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98 participants in 3 patient groups

Control

Experimental group

Description:

The control group will be exposed to 15 different appearance-neutral images of interior design, with a manipulation checkpoint between every other image asking participants a basic question (such as what color was most prevalent in the previous image?) regarding characteristics of the last image they were exposed to.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Effects of Instagram Exposure on Lifestyle Satisfaction

Fitspiration

Experimental group

Description:

Participants assigned to the Fitspiration condition (n=30) will be exposed to 15 different fitspiration images, with a manipulation checkpoint between every other image asking participants a basic question (such as what color was the swimsuit of the model in the previous image?) regarding characteristics of the last image they were exposed to.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Effects of Instagram Exposure on Lifestyle Satisfaction

Body Positive

Experimental group

Description:

Participants assigned to the Body Positive condition (n=30) will be exposed to 15 different body positive images, with a manipulation checkpoint between every other image asking participants a basic question (such as what color was the swimsuit of the model in the previous image?) regarding characteristics of the last image they were exposed to.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Effects of Instagram Exposure on Lifestyle Satisfaction