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Social media use has swiftly become a normal part of daily life activities and a means of communication for many people, both young and old. It exposes people to lots of images and sets societal body shape standards, which may be unrealistic and affect body images of people, especially women (Behan, 2015). Also, Poorma and Vijaybanu (2016) reported that these body shape standards seen on social media influence healthy eating habits and weight loss journey of people. This study was done to evaluate the sociological impact of social media on body image, and weight loss. It also aims to assess the relationship between social media use and healthy eating.
The research approach used in this study is mixed-method research. The data was collected through an online survey via the administration of questionnaires, to which 135 people responded. Also, open-ended semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 5 participants who had undergone a weight loss and healthy eating journey. As presented in the essay, the collected data was analyzed through quantitative and qualitative methods.
This essay discusses the significance of the study and compares the findings with reports from the literature. Also, it illustrates the implications of the theory, the limitations of the study, and recommendations for future research.
According to the results, the majority of the respondents described that seeing pictures of ideal body shape on social media affects how they view their bodies. They narrated that seeing the popular social media hashtag body goals which people use in posting pictures of the ideal body shape on social media, reminds them of how unpleasant their body looks. The third emergent theme of the qualitative analysis showed that social media contributes to body dissatisfaction, self-consciousness, and low self-esteem. This is in line with Behan (2015) who reported that women felt body dissatisfaction due to constant comparison with images found on social media.
It was observed that even respondents who lost weight felt dissatisfied with their bodies because of the inability to attain the exact body shape as seen on social media. This is consistent with the assertion of Mills et al. (2017) who reported that an individual who fails to meet societal standards of body size and shape can have a negative body image satisfaction irrespective of that persons objective size and shape. The findings of the study may be inferred to mean that social media contributes to negative self-image and lowers self-esteem. This can be unhealthy and affect mental and physical health as documented by Bells (2016). However, negative body image can make people feel motivated and inspired to start a weight loss journey and be consistent with it, as recounted by the participants of this study.
It is imperative to find out how people use social media to meet their specific needs to understand how it affects their behaviors (Lee et al., 2014). The findings show that social media has a positive and negative effect on weight loss journeys. Some of the benefits of social media on weight loss as described by the participants are that it provides them with unlimited access to information about weight loss tips and serves as a means of getting support for people who want to lose weight. Most of the respondents of this study spend an average of more than three hours across their social media handles especially Instagram, going through health goals motivation posts and health tips from weight management influencers, for motivation and assistance on their weight loss programs. While this may be helpful, they narrated that it can be disastrous to their mood and mental health when their outcomes differ from what they see online. This is in agreement with previous studies which reported that social media can negatively influence mood (Johnson et al., 2014) and mental health (Banjanin et al., 2015).
The inability of people on weight loss programs to get similar outcomes to the images on social media could be due to erroneous information and unrealistic tips given by influencers who are not qualified to give weight management instructions (Ashrafian et al., 2014). The relationship between social media and weight loss is both positive and negative, and it can contribute to the success or failure of weight loss journeys. From the findings of this study, it is suggested that people who undergo weight loss programs should get information from credible weight management professionals on social media, without the expectation of getting outcomes similar to the images they see on social media.
Healthy eating refers to the consumption of food that supplies the body with essential nutrients important for maintaining good health (Lean, 2015). Social media use generally has a positive impact on healthy eating according to this study. This is in line with the assertion of Thomas et al. (2016) that the frequent exposure of people to healthy food options through social media can improve their healthy feeding habits and make them eat more fruits and vegetables. A large percent of the respondents stated that they spend hours on social media, visiting food blogs for tips and motivation on healthy eating. Also, the respondents stated that they receive healthy eating tips from healthy eating social media influencers. However, a small percent of respondents argued that social media can be counterproductive to healthy eating due to the display of unhealthy food and snacks as documented by Vaterlaus et al. (2015). It is suggested that people on a healthy eating journey should employ self-discipline from the temptations of unhealthy food.
This study has important implications for social comparison theory. Social comparison theory states that an individual needs to seek information from a group of people to affirm his or her abilities as well as to realize the extent he or she can use these particular abilities and eventually validate other peoples opinions (Wallis and Kozar, 2015). This theory is used to explain body dissatisfaction experienced by women who make constant comparisons with the societal ideal standards of beauty . The results of this study show that the respondents felt self-hatred and negative body image due to comparisons with social media images. This can be related to the upward comparisons in social comparison theory. Social media has made social comparisons easier and according to the results of this study, comparisons are still being made, thereby leading to negative body image.
The lifespan theory can also be related to this study. It explores the development from conception to old age. It explores the pressure that young women undergo in stages of early adulthood to have body shapes and sizes that are considered as beautiful and how they depend on the media and celebrities to gain an understanding of the ideal body shapes (Wallis and Kozar, 2015). The respondents of this study are between 18-25 years and they stated that they spend hours on social media looking through health goals motivation posts and getting frustrated when their outcomes differ from the ideal body shapes . This study shows that young adults are still under pressure and are still vulnerable to what they see on social media as suggested by the theory.
The results of this study also contribute to the objectification theory. The theory was developed by Fredrickson and Roberts in 1997 and was used to explain why and how women are affected by negative body image throughout their life span. The theory shows how women and girls are conditioned to treat themselves in some ways as objects to be assessed and even assume an observer perspective on themself (Behan, 2015). In this study, this is perhaps the reason why the respondents of these study felt frustration and depression when they could not reproduce the outcomes of the images they saw on social media.
This research is limited by sample size. Out of the 200 respondents anticipated to take part in this study, only 135 respondents fully answered the questionnaire questions, which could affect the generalisability of the findings of the study. Nevertheless, this study is consistent with previous literature reports and has contributed to the information on the sociological impact of social media and body image, weight loss, and healthy eating.
This study suggests that healthcare providers and weight loss experts should provide more sources of adequate information about healthy eating and weight loss on social media, as part of weight management interventions. They should also educate people about their body fat dynamics and the importance of getting information from qualified weight management professionals on social media.
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