The Effects of Instagram Influencers and Appearance Comparisons on Body Appreciation, Internalization of Beauty Ideals and Self Esteem in Women

The current study investigated how exposure to thin bodies on different (social) media platforms affect body appreciation, internalization of beauty ideals, and self-esteem in female and non-binary participants. The participants (N=116) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: exposure to content from a) Instagram influencers, b) models in magazines, or c) peers. Participants completed an online survey, answering questions about their feelings towards the women depicted in the media content as well as appearance comparison tendencies, body appreciation, self-esteem, internalization of body ideals, and BMI. Overall, significant differences between groups were found for the internalization of body ideals and how attainable participants believed the body of the depicted women to be. No significant differences between conditions were found for self-esteem, appearance comparisons, or body appreciation