LProfessor Sophie Desroches, from the School of Nutrition, and doctoral student in nutrition Audrée-Anne Dumas have found that social media has a negative effect on the body image of women, even if in theory they represent an interesting platform for get information or support.
Spending more than two hours a day on teenage girls, the university said, is associated with a higher risk of weight dissatisfaction and a greater desire to lose weight.
Regular use of social media is also associated with greater concern about being slim. The propensity to idealize thinness and to compare oneself to others exacerbates the negative effects of social networks.
“Basically, what we can see is that the use of social networks would be a little more deleterious, either neutral or deleterious, with regard to body image in women,” said Ms. Dumas.
Among adult women, discussions on food and physical activity on social media seem to have more influence than exchanges made orally on the same subjects with relatives. “The opinion of peers in the virtual community seems to be very important,” Sophie Desroches said in a press release.
We can also wonder if social networks are responsible for the body image problems of adolescent girls or young women, or if those who immediately have problems will be more attracted to social platforms.
“The equation would not be as simple as” I use social networks, I have a bad body image, “” warned Audrée-Anne Dumas. It would rather be the type of activity practiced on social networks. If these are activities like posting photos of yourself, arranging photos, it’s very image-focused and it would have a different effect than just looking at a Facebook news feed. ”
“There are also different personality traits that would put us at greater risk, such as comparing ourselves to others or valuing leanness,” she added.
That being said, it is still too early to decide on the usefulness of social media for losing weight and improving one’s body image. Facebook seems to have some potential as an intervention tool, said Dumas, but you really can’t conclude that it would be effective in losing weight in women.
As a general rule, therefore, caution is advised.
“It can be a very rewarding platform, if I’m in the process of losing weight (…) it can be rewarding, it can be reassuring to see other people, we are in the same process together, it can be very motivating, but it can also motivate the wrong way if you have more risky behaviors, ”warned the researcher.
The findings of this study are published in the medical journal Current Obesity Reports.
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