According to research published in the Journal of Psychology, advertising on Instagram can have a significant impact on how teenage girls perceive their bodies, potentially leading them to pursue appearance-altering measures.
This particular study focused on teenage girls aged between 17 and 19, revealing that exposure to advertisements featuring either slim or curvaceous models on Instagram could lead female users to develop feelings of physical inadequacy.
The findings of this research validate the outcomes of prior studies that have emphasized how exposure to idealized body types in media can result in body dissatisfaction and even unhealthy behaviors.
The study itself involved 284 young women within the 17-19 age range, all of whom were enrolled in a psychology course at an Australian university. Participants were chosen from a research pool and had to meet specific criteria, such as being regular Instagram users and not having diagnosed eating disorders or body dysmorphia.
The primary objective of the research was to gain insight into how exposure to Instagram advertisements featuring both slim and curvaceous models influenced these participants.
To gauge the impact of this exposure, the researchers employed various measures, including participants’ body image preferences (i.e., whether they favored slender or curvaceous body types), the frequency with which they compared themselves to these idealized images, their level of contentment with their own bodies, and their willingness to take actions aimed at achieving a thinner or curvier physique.
The results of the study indicated that participants who had greater exposure to advertisements featuring slim or curvaceous models on Instagram were more likely to favor those specific body types. This suggests that Instagram ads have the potential to shape people’s preferences for particular body ideals.
Moreover, the research unveiled that exposure to these body ideals correlated with a heightened willingness to pursue specific actions to attain them. Those who favored slim bodies were more open to undertaking actions such as dieting or surgery to reduce their waist size, while those who preferred curvaceous bodies were more inclined to consider procedures to augment their breast and buttocks size.
The research also underscored that dissatisfaction with their own bodies played a pivotal role in influencing teenagers to make decisions about altering their appearance.
Study author Jannatul Shimul Ferdousi, a PhD student in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University, emphasized the necessity for updated policies and government intervention to combat this issue.
Ferdousi stated, “This highlights the need for updated policies and interventions so that they take into account the impact of newer advertising platforms and body ideals on body image.”
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