The effects of Fitspiration on young female’s self-esteem and body-satisfaction

Abstract

Past literature suggests that regularly viewing Instagram and fitspirational imagery, causes increased body dissatisfaction in 18-24-year old women (Carrotte, Vella and Lim, 2015). Specifically, Instagram attracts young women more than other sources of social media. Young females are also most at risk for body image issues, as this is when their body has changed dramatically (Clay, Vignoles and Dittmar, 2005). Self-esteem has been correlated with an addictive use of social media (Andreassen, 2015). If a person, thinks that they are unlikable then they make evaluations about themselves to fit in with their friends on social media (Andreassen, Pallesen and Griffiths, 2017). The aim of this project was to find out what predicts body dissatisfaction the most in young females, looking at self-esteem and social media use in particular. Females aged 18-24 took part in this study, in which they completed three questionnaires regarding body dissatisfaction, self-esteem and social media use. This was done to establish if either self-esteem or social media use and fitspiration, were significant predictors of body dissatisfaction. The data was analysed using a multiple regression and found that self-esteem predicted body dissatisfaction. Yet contrary to much prior research, social media use did not predict body dissatisfaction in the young females. This was a new finding and has added to the current literature regarding body dissatisfaction. Limitations were considered and directions for future research have been discussed.