The use of social networking sites, body image dissatisfaction and Body Dysmorphic

Disorder: A systematic review of psychological research

Ryding, C. F. & Kuss, D. J. (2019). The use of social networking sites, body image dissatisfaction Formatted: German (Germany)
and Body Dysmorphic Disorder: A review of psychological research. Psychology of Popular
Media Culture. In press. Post-print.

Abstract

The escalation of social networking site (SNS) usage has led to much research examining

both the positive and negative implications SNS can have on well-being. However, whilst

many studies have investigated the relationship between SNS usage and body image, there

remains a paucity of research in regards to SNS usage and Body Dysmorphic Disorder

(BDD). A systematic search was undertaken using Web of Science, PsychInfo and PubMed

databases to identify SNS usage and patterns, SNS features and mediating factors

contributing towards body image dissatisfaction, resulting in 40 studies meeting specific

inclusion criteria. Findings identified passive SNS use and appearance-focused SNS use as

particularly influential. Appearance-based comparisons were also found to be a strong

mediator between SNS use and body image dissatisfaction. Using the current knowledge,

parallels were highlighted in terms of body image dissatisfaction and BDD symptomatology,

suggesting frequent SNS usage as a potential risk factor in the development of BDD

symptoms.

Keywords: Social networking sites; Body image; Body dysmorphic disorder

Public significance statement

Using social networking sites to engage in appearance comparisons may drive the

development and maintenance of Body Dysmorphic Disorder symptoms, and should be

considered as a risk factor in the development of the disorder. This paper highlights that if

social networking site research and recommendations aim to extend into being used in

clinical assessment, a standardised definition of excessive social networking and social

networking site frequency needs to be determined to allow for consistency in both research

and clinical practice.

Introduction

Through the proliferation of smartphones and improved internet connectivity, the use of

social networking sites (SNS) has become an integral part of individual’s lives (Ho, Lwin &

Lee, 2017). Indeed, recent research has indicated that the average time spent on SNS, such as

Facebook, is approximately two hours per day (Fardouly & Vartanian, 2015), compared to

the average time of 45 minutes per day reported almost a decade ago (Tiggemann & Miller,

2010). It has been indicated that 88% of 18-29 year olds use SNS, in comparison to 78% for

those aged 30-49, 64% among those aged 50-64 and 37% for Americans aged 65 and older

(Smith & Anderson, 2018), indicating that young adults are the most active users on SNS. As

a result, there has been increasing concern in the rise of both excessive SNS use and

problematic SNS use, indicating an increased amount of time spent on SNS, preoccupation

with SNS, as well as the inability to control SNS use, which results in a detrimental impact

on the users’ life (Kuss & Griffiths, 2017; Ho, Lwin & Lee, 2017).

Currently, much research documents SNS quantitatively in terms of prevalence, such as

minutes spent online daily, or frequency of checking SNS (Scott, Bay-Cheng, Prince,

Nochajski & Collins, 2017), which arguably may not reflect the subjective meaning of SNS

use for individuals. That is, the way individuals engage on SNS is a dimension of SNS that is

important to understand, particularly with the design of SNS enabling a diversity of modes of

engagement, such as responding to others content, and uploading personal content (Scott et
al., 2017). Indeed, the flexibility of engagement on SNS has been shown to play an important

role in well-being (Chen, Fan, Liu, Zhou & Xie, 2016), indicating the importance of

distinguishing SNS engagement from SNS frequency, including the distinction between

active and passive use, in relation to the impact it may have on users (Young, Kuss, Griffiths

& Howard, 2017).

It has been demonstrated that active use, where SNS users engage and communicate with

other online users through the commenting and liking of posts, is more likely to have a

positive effect on psychological well-being (Ghosh & Dasgupta, 2015). The supportive

interactions that can be maintained through SNS can lead to enhanced feelings of

belongingness and increased self-esteem (Oh, Ozkaya & LaRose, 2014) as it supports social

connectedness and identity expression (Ghosh & Dasgupta, 2015; Weinstein, 2017). In

contrast however, passive use, such as scrolling through profiles, has been demonstrated to be

particularly detrimental to well-being, as often the content encountered through browsing

constitutes the favourable self-presentations of others (Lup, Trub & Rosenthal, 2015;

Weisnstein, 2017). It has been demonstrated that individuals who view attractive images on

Facebook are more likely to be dissatisfied with their own body image, in addition to feeling

more negative emotions afterwards (Haferkamp & Krämer, 2011; Ridolfi, Myer, Crowther &

Ciesla, 2011). Such negative comparison has been found to increase the risk of rumination in

individuals, leading to maladaptive cognitions, such as self-criticism and dysfunctional

attitudes (Nolen-Hoeksema, Wisco & Lyubomirsky, 2008), decreased self-esteem and

experiencing symptoms of depression and addiction (Donnelly & Kuss, 2016), indicating that

the differential outcomes of well-being are dependent on the way SNS users engage with

SNS platforms when online.

One psychological impact of increased SNS use is body image dissatisfaction; the negative

evaluation of one’s physical appearance (Cohen & Blaszczynski, 2015). Previous research
has consistently demonstrated that exposure to media images of the thin ideal in traditional

forms of media (i.e., television and magazines) results in body image concerns and eating

disturbances in women, in addition to body dissatisfaction in men (Daniel & Bridges, 2010;

Tiggemann & Slater, 2013). More recently however, research has investigated the role of

SNS and its relationship with body image dissatisfaction. In particular, with the

multidimensional factors of photo sharing, peer interactions and mobile technology

accessibility, there are many platforms online that promote body image ideals due to the

highly visual environment of SNS (Holland & Tiggemann, 2016). Indeed, a review by

Holland and Tiggemann (2016) investigated the relationship between SNS, body image and

disordered eating, providing evidence that SNS use, in particular appearance-based SNS use,

is associated with increased body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Many studies

exploring this relationship are correlational however (Smith, Hames & Joiner, 2013; Kim &

Chock, 2015), therefore due to the cross-sectional nature of these studies, causal inferences

cannot be drawn and it is likely that a bidirectional relationship exists between SNS

engagement and body image dissatisfaction. Whilst experimental studies have demonstrated

that exposure to the SNS Instagram images results in greater body dissatisfaction (Tiggemann

& Zaccardo, 2015), this indicates that further longitudinal studies and experimental research

are needed to examine this relationship. Nevertheless, such research indicates that SNS

provide users with the probability to engage in increased appearance comparisons,

internalisation of the thin ideal and self-objectification, leading to body dissatisfaction (Chen,

Newton-John & Slater, 2017).

Following this, appearance comparison is one mechanism that has been highly implicated in

the development of body image dissatisfaction. In terms of SNS usage, it has been

demonstrated that women are more likely motivated to use SNS to compare themselves with

others to adapt and develop their own self-image and self-presentation (Haferkamp, Eimler,
Papadakis & Kruck, 2012).Indeed, research has shown that appearance comparisons in

general mediate the relationship between Facebook use and body image dissatisfaction in

females (Fardouly & Varanian, 2015), indicating that SNS use may facilitate the development

of body image concerns. However, it has been highlighted that the direction of comparison

plays a role in mediating body image concerns. Upward comparisons in particular

(comparing oneself with individuals perceived to hold superior positive characteristics) have

been shown to be associated with greater body image dissatisfaction as opposed to downward

comparisons (comparisons to those perceived as inferior to oneself) (Ridolfi, Crowther &

Ciesla, 2011; Kim & Chock, 2015), as individuals are less likely to be satisfied with

themselves when comparing their appearance with perceived ideals (Kim & Chock, 2015).

Furthermore, passive SNS use has also been related to upward social comparison, which is

consequently associated with lower self-evaluation and subjective well-being (Wang, Wang,

Gaskin & Hawk, 2017), as this provides greater opportunities for comparison when viewing

others’ images and posts (Kim & Chock, 2015). Such research surrounding body image

concerns and comparisons however has focussed predominantly on females (Daniel &

Bridges, 2009), and it has been suggested that young women in particular may be more likely

to engage in photo-based activities on SNS, which may consequently reinforce body image

concerns (Perloff, 2014). Exposure to SNS trends surrounding “fitspiration” and

“thinspiration” (whereby images surround the promotion of thinness [losing weight] and

fitness [exercise and health], respectively) have been demonstrated to lead to greater body

image dissatisfaction (Tiggenann & Zaccardo, 2015) and greater internalisation of the thin

ideal (Fardouly, Willburger & Vartanian, 2017), which may be attributed to using these

image types as aspirational targets for thin and more toned body ideals for comparison.

However, it has also been demonstrated that SNS use predicts an increase in male appearance

comparisons (Rousseau, Eggermont & Frison, 2017). Whilst further research is needed to
capture the male experience of body image disturbance on SNS, it has been shown that men

are more likely to have greater internalisation of the muscular ideal when viewing content

associated with fitspiration as opposed to the thin ideal, resulting in greater appearance

comparisons and poorer body satisfaction in comparison to women (Fatt, Fardouly & Rapee,

2019). Such literature suggests that while there may be gender differences in the perception

of idealised body type, the nature of engagement and the features of SNS use may be

associated in the development and maintenance of body image dissatisfaction.

Whilst a number of studies investigate the relationship between SNS use and body image

dissatisfaction, there remains a paucity of research surrounding SNS usage and Body

Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). BDD is currently classified within the Diagnostic and

Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-V, American Psychiatric Association,

2013) as an obsessive compulsive disorder, characterised by excessive concern about

physical appearance, specifically a persistent preoccupation with a perceived defect, which

results in significant distress and the impairment of interpersonal situations (Bartsch, 2007).

Symptoms include safety behaviours, such as seeking reassurance from others and

comparison to others in response to appearance concerns (Kelly, Darymple, Zimmerman &

Phillips, 2013). Such symptomatology is also parallel with the behaviour individuals with

high body dissatisfaction exhibit, which has consequently been shown to lead to further

negative appearance evaluation (Lambrou, Veale & Wilson, 2012). In relation to SNS, this

suggests that those who engage in appearance comparisons online may experience an

increase in negative appearance evaluation and therefore the likelihood of developing BDD

symptomatology through frequent and repetitive SNS use. Moreover, research has indicated

there to be an association between the overuse of SNS and obsessive compulsive disorder

(OCD; Andreassen, Billieux, Griffiths, Kuss, Demetrovics & Mazzoni, 2016), and it has been

suggested that the addictive behaviours displayed in those presenting OCD symptomatology
can be conceptualised as a coping mechanism for the symptoms expressed (Lieb, 2015),

which may be likened to the safety behaviours exhibited in BDD. However, although BDD is

dominantly conceptualised as an obsessive compulsive disorder, there is a dearth of literature

that specifically explores SNS and BDD. This highlights the need for further research in the

relationship between SNS usage and the development of BDD symptomatology.

The present paper aims to systematically review the research that has investigated the

influence of SNS use on body image dissatisfaction. In particular, it seeks to advance upon

Holland and Tiggeman’s (2016) systematic review, taking a focus on the impact of excessive

SNS use on body image dissatisfaction and how this may lead to the development and

presentation of BDD symptomatology. The paper also aims to review studies investigating

features of SNS (passive and/or active) and the relationship with body image. Furthermore,

since much research has focussed on body image dissatisfaction in general, it is arguable that

this prohibits the specific awareness and potential diagnosis of BDD, which may

consequently affect prevalence rates. To provide further insight into this issue, this review

also aims to investigate (i) SNS usage frequency and patterns, (ii) the features of SNS that

may contribute to the development of body image dissatisfaction, and (iii) the mediating

factors that may facilitate and maintain body image concerns, to provide further

understanding of the factors of SNS that may result in differential outcomes for well-being,

body image concerns and BDD symptomatology.

Method

The review process was conducted in accordance to the Preferred Reporting Items for

Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis statement (PRISMA; Moher, Liberati, Tetzlaff &

Altman, 2009).To identify papers for review, an extensive search was performed using Web

of Science, PsychInfo and PubMed databases. These databases were searched using a
combination of the following search terms: social networking sites, social media, body

image, comparison, self-esteem, body dysmorphic disorder, Facebook, Instagram and body

dissatisfaction. References of collected articles were also scanned for additional studies.

Studies were included if they (i) included empirical data, made reference to at least one

measure of (ii) SNS use (either general or specific SNS), (iii) features of SNS use (active

/passive), as well as at least one measure of (iv) body image and (v) body dysmorphic

disorder. Since the primary focus of this review was on body image dissatisfaction, articles

that addressed other well-being constructs (e.g. anxiety and self-esteem) were only included

if they also made specific reference to body image. Studies were excluded if they were

written in languages other than English. Reviews, commentaries, book chapters, published

abstracts and articles that have not been peer reviewed (e.g. dissertations) were also excluded.

The title and abstract of each study was screened for eligibility. Full texts of potentially

relevant studies were consequently retrieved and examined for eligibility. The search strategy

is detailed in Figure 1.
 Electronic database searches
Identification

PubMed (n=1766) Duplicates removed

PsychInfo (n=2722)
Web of Science (n=4602) (n=4955)
Total generated (n=9090)
Screening

Titles and abstracts initially Records excluded after title

screened and abstract examination

(n=4135) (n=4059)

Full-text articles excluded

Full text articles assessed for
Eligibility

eligibility Did not measure BI (n=21)

Did not measure SNS usage
(n=76) (n=14)
Reviews (n=6)
Total (n=41)
Included

Studies for review

(n=35)

Figure 1. Search strategy.

Results

A total of 9095 studies (PubMed n=1766; PsychInfo n=2722; Web of Science n= 4607) were

initially identified. Identified duplicates were removed (n=4955), leaving 4140 studies for

evaluation. The title and abstracts of these papers were screened, resulting in the exclusion of

4059 that were of no relevance, and a total of 81studies which were eligible for further

review. A further 41 papers were consequently excluded as they did not contain a
measurement for body image (N=21), did not measure social networking site usage (n=14), or

they were review papers (n=6). Information that was extracted from each study focussed

primarily on (i) sample characteristics (e.g. study size, age, sex and geographical location),

(ii) methodology used, including measures implemented (e.g. measures of SNS use and body

image) and (iii) underlying processes mediating the relationship between variables (e.g.

comparison and self-esteem). A total of 40 studies were consequently identified as relevant

from the literature. These studies are presented in Table 1.

Current SNS usage rates will be presented within the first section of the results, in particular

highlighting the average time spent online, in addition to outlining excessive and addictive

SNS usage. Following this, the relationship between SNS use and body image concerns will

be summarised, in addition to the features of SNS that have been found to mediate the

relationship between SNS usage and levels of body image dissatisfaction. Further mediating

factors in the relationship between SNS use and body image dissatisfaction will be outlined in

the final section.

 Table 1. Overview of included studies.

Author Design and Sample Measures Aims Findings

Choukas-Bradley, Within subjects Self-report on time spent on social media. To examine how Women endorsed high levels of ASMC,
Nesi, Widman & design; survey. frequently women engage which was also associated with higher
Higgins (2018) Items developed to examine ASMC. in Appearance- related body surveillance, body comparison,
Body surveillance subscale of the objectified social media low self-esteem and time spent on social
N=339 females in a body conscious scale. consciousness (ASMC). media.
south eastern United
States university Body Comparison Orientation Scale of the
(mean age 18.35) Body, Eating and Exercise Comparison
Orientation Scale of the Body, Eating and
Exercise Comparison Orientation Measure.

Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults

(BESAA).

13 Item Short Mood and Feelings

Questionnaire (for depressive symptoms).

Cohen & 2x2 mixed design. Facebook stimuli: mock profile images. To determine whether the Type of exposure was not found to
Blaszczynski Between group factor relationship between moderate the relationship between
(2015) was type of Conventional media stimuli: thin ideal appearance comparison appearance comparison and body image.
exposure, within commercial images of models/celebrities with and body image Facebook was found to predict higher
group factor was pre- themes matched to those in the Facebook dissatisfaction would be baseline body image dissatisfaction.
and post-exposure. profiles. stronger for those exposed
Dependent variables Self-report on type of Facebook use and time to social media images
were appearance spent on Facebook. compared to conventional
comparison and body media images.
image dissatisfaction.
 7 item pressure subscale from SATAQ-V3
used to assess pressure from media to attain
N=193 female thin ideal.
university students
from University of Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale.
Sydney (mean
age=19.32, SD= 3.47 The Body Areas Satisfaction Scale (BASS).

3 Item Extent Thoughts Questionnaire used for

appearance comparison.

The Eating Attitudes Test-26 used for ED risk.

Cohen, Newton- Within subjects The Facebook Questionnaire. To identify the specific Appearance focussed SNS use, rather
John & Slater design; survey. SNS features that relate to than overall SNS use was related to
(2017) The Internalisation-General subscale of the body image concerns in body image concerns in young women.
Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance young women. Greater engagement in photo activities
Questionnaire-Version 3 to measure thin ideal on Facebook, but not general Facebook
N=259 Australian internalisation.
women (mean age use was associated with greater thin deal
22.97, SD=3.89) The Physical Appearance Comparison Scale. internalisation and body surveillance.
Instagram was associated with thin ideal
The Appearance Evaluation subscale of the internalisation, body surveillance and
Multidimensional Body Self-Relations drive for thinness, whereas appearance
Questionnaire Appearance Scales neutral accounts was not associated with
any body image outcomes.
The Body surveillance Subscale of the
Objectified Body Consciousness Scale.

The Drive for Thinness Subscale of the Eating

Disorder Inventory-3.
Daniel & Bridges Within subjects Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance To examine the Internalisation of media ideal was the
(2010) design; survey. Questionnaire. applicability of strongest predictor for the drive for
objectification theory to muscularity and BMI
Self-Objectification Questionnaire men, taking account
N=244 male college Objectified Body Consciousness Scale internalisation of media
students from standards and its effects
Southern US (mean Drive for Muscularity Scale. on male body image, in
age 21.35, SD=3.81) terms of male drive for
muscularity

Eckler, Kalyango, Cross sectional Self-report on time spent on Facebook and To examine the More time on Facebook was relate to
Yusuf & Paasch study; within activities on Facebook. relationship between time more frequent body and weight
(2017) subjects design. spent on Facebook and comparisons, more attention to the
Self-report on history of eating behaviour. body image, using the physical appearance of others and more
Comparison was measured by questions asking social comparison theory. negative feelings about their bodies.
N=770 women from about comparison on own body to those of
Midwestern friends.
university in the US
(mean age 23.83, Attention to physical appearance-asked how
SD=7.26) much attention paid to dress and body.

Body Shape Questionnaire.

26 Item Eating Attitudes Test.

Fardouly & Survey; within 2 questions regarding time spent during the To investigate the Frequency of Facebook usage showed a
Vartanian (2015) subjects design. day, and amount of time checking Facebook relationship between the positive association with body image
were used to assess Facebook usage. frequency of Facebook concerns, which was mediated by
usage and body image appearance comparisons in general.
N=227 young adult concerns among female
females from university students, and to
examine whether
 Australian university 3 statements from Physical Appearance appearance comparisons
(mean age 19.13, Comparison Scale (modified for comparison in general or to target
SD=2.21) on Facebook). groups on Facebook
account for this
Frequency and direction of appearance relationship.
comparisons measured on likert scale of 5 and
6 respectively.

2 subscales of the Eating Disorder Inventory

were used to assess individuals concerns with
body weight and shape: the body
dissatisfaction subscale and drive for thinness
subscale.

Fardouly, 2 part study with Computer based visual analogue scales (VAS) To investigate the effect Individuals who spent more time on
Deiedrichs, between subjects used to measure state negative mood and body of Facebook usage on Facebook reported more negative mood
Vartanian & experimental design. dissatisfaction both before and immediately women’s mood and body than those who spent time on the control
Halliwell (2015) after browsing assigned website. image, and whether these website. Women high in appearance
Time 1 participants effects differ from an comparison tendency reported more
randomly assigned to State version of self-discrepancy index (SDI) online fashion magazine, facial, hair and skin related
one of 3 conditions used to measure weight and shape related and whether appearance discrepancies after Facebook exposure.
of which they were appearance discrepancy, as well as face, hair comparison moderates
asked to browse one and skin related appearance. these effects.
of the following
websites for 10 mins: The Upward and Downward Appearance
their own FB Comparison Scale.
account, a fashion
magazine website or
an appearance *Naturalistic study.
neutral control
website.
 Time 2 participants
completed an online
survey containing a
trait measure of
appearance
comparison
tendency.

N= 112 female and

staff members from
UK university (mean
age 20.46, SD= 1.71)

Fardouly, Dierichs, Cross-sectional Participant asked to report how often they use To examine the Facebook usage and magazine usage
Vartanian & design with online a variety of different media types (e.g. relationship between the were positively correlated with self-
Hallowell (2015) questionnaire. Facebook; TV). usage of different media objectification and these relationships
types (online and were mediated by appearance
The Upward and Downward Appearance traditional) and self- comparisons in general. The relationship
Comparison objectification; whether between Facebook use and self-
N=150 female
university students Participants asked how often they compared appearance comparison objectification was mediated by
and staff in the UK their appearance to female target groups when tendencies in general comparisons to one’s peers on
(mean age 20.52, looking at images on Facebook. mediated any observed Facebook.
SD= 1.73) relationships; whether
The Self-Objectification Questionnaire. appearance comparisons
to specific types of
women on Facebook
mediated any relationship
between Facebook usage
and self-objectification.
Ghosh & Dagupta Survey; Within General Health Questionnaire To examine the difference Facebook users were more extravert and
(2015) subjects design. between Facebook users open, while non-users were more
Facebook Intensity Scale; measures active and non-users with conscientious. Facebook users also had
engagement and emotional connection respect to personality, high self-esteem and low interaction
N=120 Hindu NEO Five-Factor Inventory; brief measure of attachment style, social anxiety than non-users.
participants from the five domains of personality. interaction anxiety and
Kolkata (18-35 self-esteem to explore the
years; 50% female) Relationship Scales Questionnaire type of people who are
more likely to use
Social Interaction Anxiety Scale Facebook.

Both Facebook users Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

and non-users: those
with Facebook were
included if they had
used it for 1+years
and was of high-
average use

Haferkamp, Within subjects; 23 items were selected based on the uses and To assess user’s motives Women tend to be more likely to use
Eimler, Papadakis survey gratifications scale, with a focus on SNS use. for participating in SNS in SNS for comparing themselves with
& Kruck (2012). general and their use of others and for searching for information,
Motivations to join SNS groups were measure specific profile elements whilst men are more likely to look at
by an 18 item self-constructed scale. or self-presentation in other people’s profiles to find friends,
N=106 members of
SNS StudiVZ Participants asked about perception of other particular. Women also tend to use group names for
(German equivalent people’s profiles using 17 items with 5 point self-presentation and prefer adding
of Facebook)(mean likert scale. portrait photos to their profiles, in
age23.12, SD=3.12; comparison to men who choose full-
49% female) body shots.
 Hanna, Ward, Within subjects Self-report on amount of time spent using To examine social Social comparison and self-
Seabrook, Jerald, design; survey Facebook. Passive and Active Facebook use comparison and self- objectification meditate the relationship
Reed, Giaccardi & assessed via scale between 0-5. objectification as between Facebook use and self-esteem,
Lippman (2017) mediators between mental health and body shame.
Surveillance subscale of the Objectified Body Facebook use and
N=1167 University Conscious Scale-Youth.
students from depressive symptoms,
Michigan (mean age Enjoyment of Sexualisation Scale. anxiety, body shame and
19.27; 718 females) self-esteem.
Sexual Appeal self-worth scale.

State Self Esteem Scale

Iowa Netherlands Comparison Orientation

Measure.

Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) for depression

and anxiety.

Hawi & Samaha, Within subjects; Social Media Addiction (derived from To examine addictive use Addictive use of social media had a
2017 survey Facebook Intrusion Questionnaire) of social media in relation negative association with self-esteem,
Questionnaire to self-esteem and whilst self-esteem had a positive
satisfaction with life. association with satisfaction with life.
Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale Self-esteem also mediated the effect of
N= 364 university
students in Lebanon Satisfaction with Life Scale social media addiction on satisfaction
(mean age = 21.1, with life.
SD= 2.3; 52.2% male

Hawi & Samaha, Within subjects; Internet Addition Test (IAT) To investigate the Commonalities outnumbered
2018 correlational; survey relationships between differences, which is in line with the
Social Media Addiction Questionnaire personality characteristics significant high correlation between IA
(SMAQ) and both IA and SM and SMA. SE, agreeableness,
addictions, to identify conscientiousness, openness to
 N= 512 university Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (RSES) similarities and experiences, emotional stability, Internet
students, Lebanon differences between the 2 usage and SM predicted both types of
(mean age = 21.23, The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SwLS) addictions addiction.
SD= 2.47; 55.8% The Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI)
male) Gender predicted SM but not IA
The Self-Construal Scale (SCS)

Hendrickse, Apran, Survey; within Instagram photo activity index (adapted from To examine the potential Engaging in appearance related
Clayton & subjects design. Meier and Gray) to assess extent to which association between the comparisons on Instagram was
Ridgway (2017) users are exposed to ideal images of others appearance related associated with a more intense drive
whilst on Instagram. comparisons made on towards thinness and greater body
N=185 young Instagram and college dissatisfaction. However, photo related
3 items (adapted) from the Physical women’s body image, and activities on Instagram were not
females from United Appearance Comparison Scale.
States (mean age to determine whether positively associated with outcome
21.04, SD=3.55) Intrasexual Competition Scale. individual differences variables (but related through
moderates the influence appearance comparisons).
Eating Disorder Inventory (one subscale used of Instagram photo based
to measure drive for thinness and another for activity on appearance
body dissatisfaction). related comparisons in the
prediction of body
dissatisfaction.

Jang, Park & Song Survey; within Facebook use measured using questions To examine the There was a positive association
(2016) subjects design surrounding frequency of posting/looking at associations among between Facebook use and SCOF and
post and usage. Facebook use, social perceive social support, but not
comparison orientation on significantly associated with mental
Iowa Netherlands Comparison Orientation Facebook (SCOF) and health. There was a negative association
N=313 college Measure used to measure SCOF.
students from private psychological outcomes between SCOF and mental health, and
university in Seoul Perceived social support measured by represented by perceived self-esteem and impression management
(mean age 21.17, statements surrounding help from friends.
 SD= 1.95; 70% RAND Mental Health Inventory used to assess social support and mental were both positively associated with
female) mental health. health. SCOF.

Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale

Impression management measured using

statements derived from measures of self-
promotion and ingratiation self-impression
management scale

Kalpidou, Costin & Within subjects Facebook Intensity Scale. To investigate how Number of Facebook friends hinders
Morris (2011) design; survey Facebook use and academic adjustment, and spending a lot
Number of Facebook friends reported. attitudes relate to self- of time on Facebook is related to low
5-statement to assess how Facebook is used to esteem and college self-esteem. Number of Facebook
N= 70 undergraduate make new connection. adjustment. friends is negatively associated with
students from emotional and academics adjustment in
Catholic, liberal arts Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale. first year students.
institution in Student Adaption to College Questionnaire
northeast America
(mean age 19.61;
67% female)

Marengo, Within subject Self-report on daily use of Facebook and To investigate the Individuals reporting frequent use of
Longobardi, Fabris design; survey HVSM. association between time HVSM (>2h/day) reported significantly
& Settanni (2017) spent on Highly Visual higher body image concerns and
Body Shape Questionnaire (Italian version). Social Media, body image internalising symptoms than peers
N=523 adolescents Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire to concerns and internalising reporting no use of HVSM. There was
between grades 6-11 assess internalising symptoms (Italian version). symptoms. also a positive link between use of
from two secondary HVSM and internalising symptoms to
schools in Northern be mediated by participants body image
Italy (mean age concerns.
 14.82, SD=1.52; 54%
female)

Meier & Gray Within subjects Facebook Questionnaire (FBQ). To identify specific It is not the total time spent on FB or the
(2014) design; survey Facebook features that are internet, but rather amount of FB time
5 Item Sociocultural Internalisation of the associated with body allocated to photo activity that is
Appearance Questionnaire for Adolescents image disturbances in associated with greater thin ideal
(SIAQ-A). girls internalisation, self-objectification,
N=103 adolescent
female students Physical Appearance Comparison (PACS). weight dissatisfaction and drive for
from public high thinness.
school in New York 8 item Weight Satisfaction subscale of the
body esteem scale for Adolescents and Adults. Higher overall Fb use did not correlate
State (mean age with higher body image disturbance.
15.4) The 7 Item Drive for thinness subscale of the
eating disorder inventory.

The 10 tem self-objectification Questionnaire.

Total Internet and Facebook use was measure

by the FBQ developed by authors. This also
assessed the frequency of user activity on
specific FB features

Muench, Hayes, Within subjects Time spent on Facebook and tome accessing To examine the Neither time spent on Facebook, nor
Kuerbis & Shao design; survey Facebook assessed using self-report item independent relationship Facebook checking was significantly
(2015) specific to last 30 days. of a brief Facebook associated with either self-esteem, fear
addiction scale, time spent of negative social evaluation or social
Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Subscale on Facebook, and comparison, whilst SNS addiction
N=489 participants used to measure fear of negative evaluations.
recruited through Facebook checking on symptoms were each independently
Amazon MTurk Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. positive and negative associated with Facebook usage. Neither
system- based in social domains, while time spent on Facebook nor SNS
 U.S.A (modal age Social Comparison and FOMO measures. controlling for self-esteem addiction symptoms were associated
23-29; 66% female) and social desirability with positive social relationships.
Facebook Addiction Scale (adapted with 3
additional items) surrounding interference in
social life and activities, and difficulty
controlling usage.

Murray, Maras & Within subjects Generalised Problematic Internet Use Scale. To examine the degree to Body esteem indicators mediate the
Goldfield (2016) design; survey which body image relationship between SNS use. Greater
Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. concerns mediate the use of SNS was associated with more
Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and relationship between severe weight and appearance
N= 383 Adults. excessive time on SNS dissatisfaction.
undergraduate and disordered eating
university students behaviours.
from University of
Ottawa (mean age
23.08; 70.2% female;
SD=3.09)

Ridolfi, Myer, Within subjects Personal Data Assistant (PDA) was used to To examine the The process of making appearance
Crowther & Ciesla design. notify participants to complete questionnaires association between focused social comparisons is associated
(2011) and to complete diary entry (over 5 days). young women’s naturally with disturbed body image and affect in
occurring appearance a variety of domains.
Assessment of Body Image Cognitive focused social
N= 93 females from Distortions. Social comparisons to media images and
a large Midwestern comparisons to peers and
media images and body peers were associated with more
university(mean age The Body Shape Questionnaire. frequent body checking and more
19.51, SD=3.31) image dissatisfaction and
The State Self-Esteem Scale (SSES). body checking. negative feeling.

The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule- Generally however, not found to
Expanded Form (to measure emotions. increase body dissatisfaction.
 Following data collection, participants were When analysis focused on upward
asked to rate to what degree completing comparison, appearance focused
questionnaire about social comparisons made cognitive distortions appearance focused
them more aware of these behaviours cognitive distortions moderated the
throughout the day. relationships between media/peer
comparisons and body checking.

Rodgers & Chabrol Survey (all Body Shape Questionnaire used to assess body To explore the Media pressure, anxiety and self-esteem
(2010) questionnaires in dissatisfaction. moderating effect of self- revealed direct effects in the prediction
French Translation); esteem, anxiety and social of body dissatisfaction. However, only
within subjects The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards phobia on media pressure the interaction between social phobia
design Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ-3) used to on media pressure and and media pressure was a significant
assess media influences on appearance. body dissatisfaction predictor of body dissatisfaction.
Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale
N= 200 female
students from France Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.
(mean age 21.7, SD= The Social Phobia Inventory to assess social
2.0) anxiety.

BMI calculated and participants asked about

ideal weight

Rousseau, 2 wave panel data Self-report on average Facebook use. To examine the Passive Facebook use predicted an
Eggermont & with an interval of 6 relationships between increase in boys’ comparisons.
Frison (2017) months. Satisfaction with Life Scale to assess life passive Facebook use, Comparison was also associated with
satisfaction. social comparison and higher body dissatisfaction. Body
Data was from larger body dissatisfaction. dissatisfaction also increased
longitudinal panel Passive Facebook Use Subscale of the
Multidimensional Scale of Facebook Use. comparison on Facebook, and
study on Facebook comparison was also related to more
use and well-being.
 Comparison on Face as assessed by question “I passive use on Facebook, but less
often compare myself with other on Facebook passive use over time.
Ntime1=1621 when I am reading news feeds or checking
participants, others’ photos”.
randomly selected
from 15 high schools The Body Dissatisfaction Subscale of the Body
in northern Belgium Attitude Test
(mean age 14.76,
SD=1.41)

Rutledge, Gillmore Within subjects Facebook Intensity Scale; separate items as To examine the link Individuals more connected to the site
& Gillen (2013) design; survey. opposed to composite scale. between Facebook more emotionally were more oriented
friends, emotional towards their appearance. However also
Body image: 2 subscales from investment in Facebook found that individuals who spent less
Multidimensional Body Self Relations and time spent on time on Facebook were more concerned
N=255 students from Questionnaire: Appearance orientation
northeaster United Facebook with body with their looks.
subscale and Appearance evaluation subscales. image.
States (mean age No connection between time on
19.27, SD = 1.35; Facebook and evaluation of appearance.
54% female)

Sherlock & Within subjects. P1: The 20 item Centre for Epidemiologic To address the link Instagram correlated with psychological
Wagstaff (2018) Studies Depression Scale. between Instagram use well-being outcomes. Social comparison
Consisting of 2 parts. and range of had a mediating effect on relationship
The Heatherton Self-Esteem Scale- measures psychological variables between Instagram use, depressive
P1- correlational state self-esteem.
design including depressive symptoms, general anxiety, physical
The State Trait Anxiety Inventory for general symptoms, self-esteem, appearance anxiety, self-esteem and
anxiety. general anxiety, physical body image disturbance.
attractiveness, body
P2 2X4 mixed The Physical Appearance State and Trait dissatisfaction and
method Anxiety Scale
 physical appearance
anxiety.
N= 129 women who P2: Instagram stimuli selected from public
currently used accounts in relation to beauty, fitness and Self-rated physical
Instagram (mean age travel. attractiveness was rated
24.60, SD = 4.54) by 2 questions: perception
Measures from P1 were then completed again of own physical
in randomised order. attractiveness compared
to same sex peers and
perception of own
physical attractiveness
compared to general
population.

The Body Image

Disturbance
Questionnaire.

Iowa-Netherlands
Comparison Orientation
Scale.

Instagram use measured

using questions derived
by researchers

Stapleton, Luiz & Non-experimental 11 item Iowa-Netherlands Comparison To examine the impact of Social comparison on Instagram
Chatwin (2017) survey sample; Orientation Measure. exposure to social media- mediated the relationship between
within subjects based social comparison contingent self-worth and self-esteem.
design. Facebook Intensity Scale adapted for information on self-
Instagram (by replacing term “Facebook”). esteem Self-worth contingent on approval from
other moderated the relationship
 N=237 young adults Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale. between intensity of Instagram use and
recruited through social comparison on Instagram.
Facebook (mean age 35 item Contingencies of Self Worth Scale
23.12, SD=2.17; 60%
female).

Stratton, Donovan, Within subjects Media subscale from Perceived Sociocultural To examine the Tripartite Strong relationship between body
Bramwell & design. Influences on Body Image and Body Change Influence Model in comparisons and drive for muscularity
Loxton (2015) Questionnaire to measure media influence. understanding male body behaviours through muscle
image issues and drive for dissatisfaction.
Male friends subscale of SICCQ used to muscularity. Also to
3 exercise groups: measure influence of male peers. Media influence was positively related
examine the influence of
Cardiovascular media in body image to muscular ideal internalisation and
The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards indirectly related to muscle
trainers Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ) modified issues and muscularity.
dissatisfaction through internalisation.
Weight trainers for males- more emphasis on muscularity than
thinness.
Low level exercisers
Body Comparison Scale.

The Somatomorphic Matrix used to provide

N =307 Australian ratings of muscle dissatisfaction (modified).
males (mean age
27.05, SD= 6.25 ) The Behaviours subscale of the 15 item Drive
for Muscularity Scale used to measure
behaviours aimed at increasing muscularity

Stronge, Greaves, Within subjects- Body satisfaction assessed by single item To examine the link For both men and women, Facebook
Milojev, West- focused on cross developed for longitudinal study. Also asked if between Facebook usage users reported significantly lower body
Newman, Barlow sectional data they had a Facebook profile, and time spent and body dissatisfaction. dissatisfaction than non-users-
& Sibley (2015) collected in 2012. online. particularly middle aged women.
 Men reported higher body satisfaction
than women.
N=11,017 sampled
from New Zealand
electoral roll (mean
age 49.23, SD=
15.12; 62% female)

Tiggeman & Between subjects Stimulus constructed containing Instagram To investigate the effect Exposure to fitspiration images resulted
Zaccardo (2015) with 2 levels of the images (fitspiration and travel sets) sourced of exposure to fitspiration in greater body dissatisfaction and lower
independent variable from public profiles. images on women’s body appearance self-esteem than control
image type image. (travel images).
(fitspiration/travel). Participants asked general questions to
establish SNS use.
Dependent variables:
mood and body Visual analogue scales to measure mood and
dissatisfaction, state body dissatisfaction.
appearance self- State Self Esteem Scales (SESS).
esteem and
comparison. Inspirational goals assessed by 3 item
construction.

State appearance comparison scale

N= 130 female
undergraduate Physical appearance comparison scale.
students in South
Australia (mean age
= 19.91, SD = 2.80).
Tiggemann & Within subjects; List of magazines to rate, and frequency of To examine the Internet appearance exposure was
Miller (2010) survey. watching TV programmes. relationship between associated with weight dissatisfaction
media exposure and body and drive for thinness.
Questions were developed to measure internet image in adolescent girls
appearance exposure; participants asked how Modal time spent on internet was 2-
N= 156 adolescent long on average they spent on the internet each 3hours a day. It was indicated 40%
female high school day, what they use the internet for, and to rank Facebook members spent around 45 min
students from South in order what they spent most time on. per day there
Australia (mean
age=14.87, SD=1.39) Internalisation of thin ideal was measured by
the Sociocultural Internalisation of Appearance
Questionnaire-Adolescents.

Appearance comparison measured by PACS.

Weight satisfaction measured by the Weight

Satisfaction Subscale of the Body Esteem
Scale for Adolescents.

Drive for Thinness subscale of the Eating

Disorder Inventory.

Tiggemann & Within subjects Self-report on average time spent on the To examine the Internet exposure was associated with
Slater (2013) design. internet daily. relationship between internalisation of thin deal, body
internet exposure and surveillance and drive for thinness.
Attitudes Toward Appearance Questionnaire. body image concern in
N=1087 adolescent Objectified Body Consciousness Scale-Youth. adolescent girls
girls recruited from
18 schools in South
 Australia (mean age
13.7, SD=0.7)

Tiggemann & Survey; within Magazines and television programmes listed; To investigate the Internet exposure was associated with
Slater (2013) subjects design likert scale to measure the frequency of which relationship between internalisation of the thin ideal, body
they read/watched media. internet exposure and surveillance, dieting and reduced body
body image concerns in a esteem.
Questions were developed to measure internet group of primary school
N=189 females in exposure, which included time spent on the Facebook users scored significantly
primary school in aged girls.
Internet, and websites used including specific higher on all indicators of body image
South Australia questions on MySpace and Facebook usage. concern than non-users. Time spent of
(mean age 11.5, both Facebook and MySpace were
SD=0.5) Sociocultural Internalisation of Media Ideals **This age is too young associated with higher levels of
Scale to measure internalisation of ideals. for a Facebook account, internalisation of the thin ideal, body
yet was found despite this surveillance, dieting and lower body
Body surveillance Scale of the Objectified it was still used.
Body Consciousness Scale-Youth. self-esteem.

Body Esteem Scale for Children.

Questions also asked in regards to dieting

behaviour.

Tiggemann & Longitudinal study; Self-report on how much time they spent on To examine the Facebook involvement increased
Slater (2017) within subjects Facebook and “friends” they had. relationship across time substantially over the two year time
design. between Facebook use period. Body image concerns also
Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance and body image concern increased. Internalisation and body
Questionnaire. in adolescent girls surveillance predicted the number of
Participants were a Objectified Body Consciousness Scale-Youth. Facebook friends.
subset of a larger
cross-sectional Drive for Thinness Scale of the Eating
sectional study. Disorder Inventory.
 Questionnaires
completed again 2
years later (Time 2)

N=438 girls from

South Australia
(mean age 13.6 SD=
0.7)

Wang, Wang, Within subjects Passive SNS use measured by 3 questions To examine whether Social comparison orientation
Gaskin & Hawk, correlational; survey. surrounding viewing: other’s photos, updates upward social comparison moderated the association between
2017 and comments. and self-esteem mediate passive SNS use and user’s upward
the association between social comparison, and more
Social Comparison Orientation Scale to SNS usage and user’s specifically, social comparison
N=696 Qzone and measure social comparison
WeChat users (mean subjective well-being, and orientation strengthened the association
age=19.43, SD=1.65; Upward comparison was measured by the whether the association between passive SNS usage and upward
77% female) Negative Social Comparison Affect Scale between SNS use and social comparison.
upward social comparison
Self-esteem was measured by the Rosenberg is moderated by users’
Self-Esteem Scale (Chinese version) social comparison
orientation.
Subjective well-being measured by summing
standardised scores of life satisfaction and
positive effect, and then subtracting a
standardised score of negative effect. Life
satisfaction was assessed by the Satisfaction
with Life Scale. Positive and negative effect
 was measured by the Chinese version of the
Positive and Negative Affect Scale.

Won Kim & Chock Within subjects Facebook use for social grooming measured by To examine the Higher levels of social grooming
(2015) design. revised version of SNS for grooming scale- relationship between the behaviours on Facebook were positively
modified for Facebook features. drives for thinness and associated with greater drive for thinness
muscularity (body image and appearance comparison. Grooming
Facebook exposure measured by time spent of concerns) in young men behaviours associated with body image
N= 186 young adults Facebook per day.
from Northeastern and women’s Facebook concern, but not overall Facebook
university (64% Physical Appearance Comparison Scale. use. exposure was not.
female; mean age
19.75, SD=2.06) Drive for Thinness 7-tem subscale of Eating
Disorder Inventory.

Drive for Muscularity Scale.

Social Networking Site Usage

Time spent on SNS was identified in 17 studies (Tiggemann & Miller, 2010; Kalpidou,

Costin & Morris, 2011; Rudtledge, Gillmore & Gillen, 2013; Tiggemann & Slater, 2013;

Meier & Gray, 2014; Cohen & Blaszczynski, 2015; Fardouly, Deiedrichs, Vartanian &

Halliwell, 2015; Fardouly & Vartanian, 2015; Muench, Hayes, Kuerbis & Shao, 2015; Jang,

Park & Song , 2016; Murray, Maras & Goldfield, 2016; Eckler, Kalyango, Yusuf & Paasch,

2017; Hawi & Samaha, 2017; Marengo, Longobardi, Fabris & Settanni, 2017; Tiggemann &

Slater, 2017; Choukas-Bradley, Nesi, Widman & Higgins, 2018; Hawi & Samaha, 2018).

Time spent online was mainly measured through general self-report questions asking to

indicate the number of minutes or hours spent on SNS (Tiggemann & Miller, 2010;

Tiggemann & Slater, 2013; Cohen & Blaszczynski, 2015; Fardouly & Vartanian, 2015;

Muench et al., 2015; Jang, Park & Song, 2016; Eckler et al., 2017; Marengo et al., 2017;

Tiggemann & Slater, 2017; Choukas-Bradley et al., 2018). Five studies used psychometric

tools which included the Facebook Questionnaire (FBQ; Meier & Gray, 2014), the Facebook

Intensity Scale (FIS; Kalpidou, Costin & Morris, 2011; Rutledge, Gillmore & Gillen, 2013),

the Generalised Problematic Internet Use Scale and the Excessive Time Online subscale

(GPIUS; Murray, Maras & Goldfield, 2016), in addition to the Social Media Addiction

Questionnaire (SMAQ; Hawi & Samaha, 2017). Average time spent on SNS was between

1.5-2 hours per day (Tiggemann & Slater, 2013; Cohen & Blaszczynski, 2015; Fardouly &

Vartanian, 2015; Muench et al., 2015; Eckler et al., 2017, Marengo et al., 2017; Choukas-

Bradley et al., 2018), with one study reporting a time of 45 minutes spent on Facebook

(Tiggemann & Miller, 2010). Additionally, it was noted that one study also included

participants who reported their daily time spent on social media as exceeding 11 hours

(Choukas-Bradley et al., 2018). It was indicated that on Facebook, reading newsfeed was the
most popular activity, followed by viewing photos and messaging on a typical visit to the site

(Eckler et al., 2017).

Findings indicated an increase in the frequency of SNS use within the last decade. Results by

Tiggemann and Miller (2010), in a study that consisted of 156 adolescent female high school

students, indicated that the modal time spent on the internet generally was 2-3 hours per day,

with 40% of this sample spending 45 minutes per day on Facebook. More recent studies

however have demonstrated an increase in the amount of time spent on SNS. Results by

Muench et al. (2015) found that 94% of respondents reported being on Facebook at least once

a day, with 80.8% being on Facebook for more than 15 minutes per day, and 20% spending

more than two hours a day on Facebook. This was further supported by Fardouly and

Vartanian (2015) who also demonstrated a modal time of two hours spent on Facebook using

a young Australian female sample.

Two studies directly measured excessive and addictive SNS use. A study by Choukas-

Bradley et al.(2018) used the Excessive Time Online subscale of the Generalized Problematic

Internet Use Scale, with higher scores indicating more problematic social networking. It was

found that females reported significantly more perceived time on SNS as opposed to males.

Similarly, Hawi and Samaha (2017) used the Social Media Addiction Questionnaire on a

sample of 396 university students in Lebanon. Scores indicated a moderate level of addictive

social media use overall, with females reporting higher levels of social media use (mean

score 26.2) than males (mean score 22.8). Furthermore, whilst many of the presented studies

indicate an average of two hours a day, Marengo et al. (2018) implemented a two hour cut-off

in the identification of high social media use. Findings demonstrated 29.1% of respondents

used highly visual social media (HVSM), such as Instagram and Snapchat, for more than 2

hours a day, which resulted in higher levels of emotional symptoms among HVSM users

(Marengo et al., 2018). Following this, it was highlighted within the study by Choukas-
Bradley et al. (2018) that four respondents reported a daily time spent on social media to

exceed eleven hours, pointing towards excessive and addictive SNS tendencies.

It has also been suggested that gender may predict excessive SNS use. This was indicated in

one study using the GPIUS which found that females reported they spent significantly higher

excessive time on SNS a week (mean score 13.79) than males (mean score 11.71), which was

also associated with increased weight and appearance dissatisfaction (Murray, Maras &

Goldfield, 2016). In a more recent study that compared both social media and internet

addiction, it was demonstrated that gender predicted social media addiction, but not internet

addiction (Hawi & Samaha, 2018). It was speculated by the authors that this may be because

male respondents had internet gaming in mind whilst completing the IAT, whilst female

respondents were thinking about social media use, and therefore the effects of the two

genders may have cancelled each other out in the results for internet addiction and social

media addiction (Hawi & Samaha, 2018).

The present studies demonstrate that frequency of SNS use has increased in recent years, with

an average of two hours a day being spent online. However, the majority of the studies

implemented self-report measures in terms of respondents’ perceived time online, which may

be subject to social desirability and recall bias. In addition to this, whilst no specific time was

indicated as a baseline for the indication of addictive use, it has been suggested that more

than two hours a day may point towards excessive SNS usage (Marengo et al., 2018).

However, the motives for SNS use and usage patterns are not the same across all types of

SNS, and cannot be applied across all SNS platforms and contexts (Jang, Park & Song,

2016). Consequently, further research is needed in terms of generalizability of findings and

objective investigation.
Body Image and Concerns

The relationship between SNS and body image concerns was measured with a variety of

psychometric tools. Five studies included the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale

(PACS; Meier & Gray, 2014; Fardouly & Vartanian, 2015; Tiggemann & Zaccardo, 2015;

Hendrickse, Apran, Clayton & Ridgway, 2017; Cohen, Newton-John & Slater, 2017) for the

measurement of body dissatisfaction in female adolescents and young adults aged 15-21

years (Meier & Gray, 2014; Hendricke et al., 2017), with sample sizes ranging from 103-259

(Meier & Gray, 2014; Cohen et al., 2017). The Body Shape Questionnaire was also

implemented in a number of studies to assess body dissatisfaction (BSQ; Rodgers & Chabrol,

2010; Ridolfi, Myer, Crowther & Ciesla, 2011; Marengo, Longobardi, Fabris & Settanni,

2017). It was noted that one study also included a Personal Data Assistant (PDA) to notify

participants to complete the psychometric tests used in the study over a period of five days

(Ridolfi, Myer, Crowther & Ciesla, 2011). Furthermore, a total of five studies used an

experimental design, with the majority of these studies focussing on Instagram images as the

variable stimuli (Cohen & Blazczynski, 2015; Fardouly, Diedrichs, Vartanian & Halliwell,

2015; Tiggemann & Zaccardo, 2015; Sherlock & Wagstaff, 2018; Tiggemann & Barbato,

2018) to investigate exposure to SNS images and body dissatisfaction.

Much of the research suggested that frequent use of SNS is associated with increased body

image concern and dissatisfaction, with many studies in particular surrounding Facebook.

One study by Tiggemann and Slater (2013) investigated this relationship with a sample of

189 girls aged 10-12 years. Whilst this sample was too young to own their own Facebook

profile (under 13 years), findings indicated that internet exposure was associated with body

surveillance and reduced body esteem, whilst Facebook users scored significantly higher on

all indicators of body image concern. Research with an older sample of young females (mean

age 19.13) also produced similar findings by showing a positive association between the
frequency of Facebook usage and body image concerns, which were mediated by appearance

comparisons in general (Fardouly & Vartanian, 2015).

Arguably, much of the research regarding SNS and body image concerns surrounds the drive

for thinness and weight. Indeed, the findings of a survey using 383 undergraduate students

found that greater SNS use was associated with both weight and appearance dissatisfaction

(Murray, Maras & Goldfield, 2016). More specifically, it was found that lower weight and

appearance esteem mediated the relationship between excessive time on SNS, in addition to

restrained eating in males and females (Murray et al., 2016). In addition to this, a study by

Cohen, Newton-John and Slater (2017) found that photo-based activities on Facebook were

associated with greater thin ideal internalisation and body surveillance, whilst Instagram use

was associated with greater thin ideal internalisation, body surveillance and drive for

thinness. Likewise, Hendrickse, Apran, Clayton and Ridgeway (2017) examined the

association between appearance-related comparisons made on Instagram and body image.

Results reported that individuals experienced a more intense drive towards thinness and had

greater body dissatisfaction, particularly if they found themselves frequently engaging in

comparisons with others. These findings suggest that women who engage in appearance-

related comparisons may be particularly susceptible to body image concerns; however,

comparisons did not completely explain the relationship between Instagram and body image

concerns (Hendrickse et al., 2017), suggesting that further research should consider other

potential mechanisms that may contribute to these outcomes.

Body image concerns also surrounded drive for muscularity and muscle dissatisfaction,

particularly in studies comprising male samples. A study by Stratton, Donovan, Bramwell

and Loxton (2015) comprised 307 males who described their exercise patterns as either being

regular cardiovascular trainers, low level exercisers or weight trainers. Findings presented a

strong relationship between body comparisons and drive for muscularity, whilst there was
also a positive influence between media and muscle dissatisfaction, and muscular ideals. A

study by Daniel and Bridges (2010) also found that internalisation of media ideals, in

addition to body mass index (BMI), were the strongest predictors for the drive for

muscularity. However, although it appeared that body type ideals for men do impact body

image, it is not wholly clear how this relationship is established and how this consequently

leads to increased drive for muscularity (Daniel & Bridges, 2010), indicating the need for

further research into this relationship.

Furthermore, one study examined the relationship between men and women’s drive for

muscularity and thinness, and found that passive use of Facebook was associated with a

higher drive for thinness in both sexes, however Facebook use was not associated with drive

for muscularity for either males or females (Kim & Chock, 2015). It was speculated that the

type and nature of the images shared by peers on social media may have influenced concerns

about thinness as opposed to muscularity, thus indicating that future research needs to

investigate the differences between the two types of body image concerns and their

relationship to passive SNS use (Kim & Chock, 2015).

Arguably however, a study by Fardouly et al. (2015) using a two-part study with a between

subjects experimental design found that exposure to Facebook did not have a direct effect on

young women’s satisfaction with their body, or on their desire to change their weight or

shape. Instead, findings highlighted that for women who were high in appearance

comparisons, Facebook usage was related to a greater desire to change their face, hair and

skin-related features (Fardouly et al., 2015). The differential findings of this study may be

explained by women being more likely to upload more portrait pictures, as opposed to full

body pictures, which could provide more opportunities to make facial, skin and hair-related

comparisons than body comparisons (Haferkamp, Eimler, Papadakis & Kruck, 2012).
Overall, whilst the findings of the current studies highlight the relationship between SNS use

and body image concerns, it is noted that there is a lack of longitudinal designs presented

within the research. Indeed, due to the correlational nature of much of the presented research,

it has been suggested that there likely exists a bidirectional relationship between SNS

engagement and body image outcomes (Cohen, Newton-John & Slater, 2017), and because of

this, no causal inferences can be drawn as to whether SNS use is the causal factor for body

image dissatisfaction and concerns. Further experimental research is therefore needed to

measure pre-existing trait body image concerns to examine if such pre-existing traits modify

the effect of SNS usage on body image dissatisfaction (Fardouly & Vartanan, 2015).

SNS Features

Various features of SNS have been highlighted to mediate the relationship between body

image concerns and SNS use in total of ten studies (Rutledge, Gillmore & Gillen, 2013;

Tiggemann & Slater, 2013; Meier and Gray, 2014; Tiggemann and Zaccardo, 2015; Stronge,

Greaves, Milojev, West-Newman, Barlow & Sibley, 2015; Eckler, Kalyango, Yusuf &

Paasch, 2017; Rousseau, Eggermont & Frison, 2017; Cohen et al., 2017; Marengo,

Longobardi, Fabri & Settanni, 2017; Brichacek, Neill & Murray, 2018). Features of SNS use

were predominantly assessed using a number of self-report methods, including the Instagram

Photo Activity Index (Meier & Gray, 2014), the Passive Facebook Use Subscale of the

Multidimensional Scale of Facebook Use (Rousseau, 2017), the Facebook Questionnaire

(Cohen et al., 2017) and items from the Facebook Intensity Scale (Rutledge, Gillmore &

Gillen, 2013). In one study, the impact of SNS features was also measured through

experimental manipulation of image types (Tiggemann & Zacardo, 2015). The studies

identified consisted of sample sizes ranging from 103-11,017 (Meier & Gray, 2014; Stronge

et al., 2015), with longitudinal studies including larger samples of participants. Ages ranged
between 11.5-23.83 years (Tiggemann & Slater, 2013; Eckler, Kalyango, Yusuf & Paasch,

2017) and participants were predominantly female across all studies.

Whilst many studies highlight that SNS usage frequency and exposure is linked with body

image concerns (Tiggemann & Slater, 2013; Stronge et al., 2015; Eckler, Kalyango, Yusuf &

Paasch, 2017), it was indicated that the way individuals engage on SNS has been shown to

also play an important role in the mediation of body image concerns and well-being

(Rousseau, Eggermont & Frison (2017), demonstrating that passive Facebook use predicted

an increase in male appearance comparisons and increased body dissatisfaction. However, in

contrast to previous research, findings also indicated that passive Facebook use did not

predict female comparisons and consequent body dissatisfaction (Rousseau et al., 2017). To

explain these results, it was suggested that females may implement avoidant coping

strategies, such as minimising social comparisons, to cope with increased actual-ideal body

image discrepancies that may occur through appearance comparisons.

Furthermore, a study by Meier and Gray (2014) also argued it is not the total time spent on

Facebook, but rather the amount of Facebook time that is allocated on photo-based activity

that facilitates body image disturbance, through internalisation of ideals. Findings by Cohen,

Newton-John and Slater (2017) also supported this, by demonstrating that it was appearance-

focussed SNS use, rather than overall SNS use that was related to body image concerns in

young women. Additionally, the results also indicated that greater engagement in photo

activities on Facebook, as opposed to general Facebook use was associated with greater thin

ideal internalisation and body surveillance (Cohen, Newton-John & Slater, 2017).

The emphasis of appearance-focussed SNS use was further highlighted in the results of a

survey comprising of 598 adolescents. It was demonstrated that participants who reported

using Highly Visual Social Media (HVSM) such as Instagram or Snapchat more frequently
also reported having significantly higher body image concerns than individuals who reported

no use of HVSM (Marengo, Longobardi, Fabri & Settanni, 2017). Similarly, Tiggemann and

Zaccardo (2015) more specifically looked at exposure to fitspiration images in comparison to

control (travel) images on Instagram and found that exposure to fitspiration images resulted

in greater body dissatisfaction and lower appearance self-esteem than the control images, an

effect that was mediated by appearance comparison processing. This was further supported

by Brichacek, Neill and Murray (2018) in an experimental study with Facebook, which

demonstrated that viewing Facebook images that depicted body image ideal resulted in lower

body image satisfaction.

In contrast however, findings by Rutledge, Gillmore and Gillen (2013), did not support the

relationship between time spent on Facebook and body image concerns, although it was

indicated that individuals who were more emotionally connected to Facebook tended to be

more oriented towards their appearance. It was speculated that this may be because user’s

tend to know their friends on Facebook; therefore viewing their own and friends images may

not affect their own evaluation as they are able to distinguish between their online selves and

real selves (Rutledge, Gillmore & Gillen, 2013).

Whilst a number of studies examine general SNS usage (Tiggemann & Slater 2013; Stronge

et al., 2015), the current studies indicate that photo-based SNS activity and passive SNS use

are strongly associated with body image concerns through the mediation of appearance

comparisons. Indeed, it has been suggested that individuals may use SNS content as a source

of information on how to improve their physical appearance, and it may be that self-

improvement desires motivate individuals to seek comparison targets on SNS to evaluate and

compare their appearance to (Rousseau, Eggermont &Frison, 2017). Active SNS use on the

other hand has been indicated to have a positive effect on psychological well-being, through

the ability for individuals to communicate and engage with each other (for example through
commenting or liking posts) (Ghosh & Dasgupta, 2015). Consequently, it may be that such

findings indicate towards a cycle of SNS use and body dissatisfaction, in which passive SNS

use positively influences comparison and body dissatisfaction, and that these behaviours and

cognitions positively influence passive SNS use (Rousseau, Eggermont & Frison, 2017).

Mediating Factors

A total of 12 studies were highlighted to identify mediating factors (Ridolfi, Myer, Crowther

& Ciesla, 2011; Tiggemann & Slater, 2013; Fardouly & Varanian, 2015; Hanna, Ward,

Seabrook, Jeralds, Reed, Giaccardi & Lippman, 2017; Hendrickse et al., 2017; Rousseau,

Eggermont & Frison, 2017; Stapleton, Luiz & Chatwin, 2017; Wang, Wang, Gaskin &

Hawk, 2017; Choukas, Bradley, Nesi, Widman & Higgins 2018; Fardouly, Willburger &

Vartanian, 2018; Feltman & Szymanski, 2018; Sherlock & Wagstaff, 2018). These studies

comprised of predominantly female participants and included a samples from primary school

(Tiggemann & Slater, 2013), university (Fardouly & Vartanian, 2015; Chouckas et al., 2018),

in addition to Ozone and WeChat users (Wang, Wang, Gaskin & Hawk, 2017) and Instagram

users (Sherlock & Wagstaff, 2018). Mediating factors included internalisation of the thin

ideal, appearance comparisons and self-esteem, measured using a variety of psychometric

tests, including the Sociocultural Internalisation of Media Ideals Scale (Tiggemann & Slater,

2013), the Iowa Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (Hanna et al., 2017; Stapleton,

Luiz & Chatwin, 2017), items from the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale (Hendrickse

et al., 2017), the Appearance Comparison Scale (modified for comparison on Facebook)

(Fardouly & Vartanian, 2015), the Heatherton Self-Esteem Scale (Sherlock & Wagstaff,

2018) and the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (Stapleton, Luiz & Chatwin, 2017).
In regards to shape and weight concerns in particular, the internalisation of thin ideals was

highlighted as a strong mediating factor in the drive for negative body image, thinness and

weight dissatisfaction in a number of studies. A recent study found that engaging in

appearance-related comparisons on Instagram was associated with a more intense drive

towards thinness and body dissatisfaction (Hendrickse et al., 2017). However, it was

highlighted that photo related activities on Instagram were not directly associated with body

image dissatisfaction, but that they were related through both internalisation and appearance

comparisons (Hendricke et al., 2017; Fardouly, Willburger & Vartanian, 2018). It was

posited that this may be due to salience of societal beauty ideals available through the

platform (Fardouly, Willburger & Vartanian, 2018) and was further supported by Feltman

and Szymanski (2018), who found that the internalisation of cultural standards of beauty, in

addition to engaging in appearance comparisons, mediated the link between Instagram usage,

body surveillance and self-objectification.

Similarly, Tiggemann and Slater (2013) conducted a study using a survey with 1087

adolescent females to examine the relationship between internet exposure and body image

concerns. Findings indicated that internet exposure was associated with internalisation of the

thin ideal, drive for thinness and body surveillance. Facebook users in particular were

highlighted as scoring significantly higher on all indicators of body image concern, and it was

suggested that this may have been facilitated through the speed and ease in which individuals

can connect with their peers online, providing the opportunity for multiple social

comparisons, and consequential body mage dissatisfaction (Tiggemann & Slater, 2013).

Appearance and social comparisons were also highlighted in a number of studies as a strong

mediator in body image dissatisfaction. One study investigating the relationship between

Facebook usage and body image concerns among female university students tested whether it

was appearance comparisons in general or comparisons to specific target groups that

mediated this relationship. Findings indicated that frequency of Facebook usage was

positively associated with body image concerns, which were mediated by appearance

comparisons in general (Fardouly & Varanian, 2015). Similarly, a recent study by Choukas,

Bradley, Nesi, Widman and Higgins (2018) investigated a construct related to women’s

experiences with SNS, appearance related social media consciousness (ASMC); the extent to

which an individual’s thoughts and behaviours reflect an on-going awareness of their

attractiveness to a social media audience. It was found that higher levels of ASMC were

positively associated with increased body comparison, in addition to higher body surveillance

and lower self-esteem (Choukas et al., 2018). One longitudinal study also indicated that

passive Facebook use has been shown to predict an increase in young boys’ appearance social

comparisons, which was subsequently associated with higher body dissatisfaction (Rousseau,

Eggermont & Frison, 2017), whilst a recent study by Hanna, Ward, Seabrook, Jeralds, Reed,

Giaccardi and Lippman (2017) demonstrated that social comparison and self-objectification

mediate the relationship between body shame, Facebook use, self-esteem and mental health.

It has been emphasised that the direction of comparison plays a role in mediation. Ridolfi,

Myer, Crowther and Ciesla (2011) showed that whilst social comparisons to media images

and peers were associated with more frequent body checking in regards to weight and shape,

the focus on upward comparisons was associated with greater body dissatisfaction and body

checking, and comparisons to social media images and peers in general were not associated

with an increase in body dissatisfaction. In addition to this, the findings of a recent survey

demonstrated that passive SNS usage was also related to upward social comparison, which

was consequently associated with users’ lower self-evaluation (Wang, Wang, Gaskin &

Hawk, 2017). Furthermore, the results also demonstrated that upward social comparisons

mediate the relationship between passive SNS usage and subjective well-being, further

indicating that upwards social comparison is an important variable associated with negative
psychological outcomes for individuals after using SNS (Wang, Wang, Gaskin & Hawk,

2017).

In addition to internalisation of ideals and appearance comparisons, self-esteem was also

found as a mediator in body image dissatisfaction, and was often a co-mediator with

comparison. A recent study by Sherlock and Wagstaff (2018) was conducted in two parts,

consisting of both a correlational design and a mixed design. It demonstrated that heavier

Instagram use was positively correlated with a range of psychological outcomes including

lower self-esteem, body image disturbance and physical appearance anxiety, which was

mediated by social comparison. These findings were also parallel with results of Hanna,

Ward, Seabrook, Jerald, Reed, Goaccardi and Lippman (2017), who demonstrated that

Facebook use was associated with both increased social comparison and self-objectification,

which was subsequently associated with lower self-esteem, in addition to greater body shame

and poorer mental health. In relation to this, it has been indicated that social comparison on

Instagram also mediated the relationship between self-worth, dependent on the approval of

others (Stapleton, Luiz & Chatwin, 2017). Although initial findings did not observe a direct

association between Instagram use and self-esteem, the domain of self-worth in this study

suggests that the intensity of Instagram use is influential, particularly when an individual’s

self-worth is contingent on approval from others online (Stapleton, Luiz & Chatwin, 2017).

These findings highlight social comparison as a mediator across various dimensions of well-

being, including self-esteem and body image dissatisfaction, indicating comparison on SNS

as a strong factor in body image concerns.

The findings of the current studies demonstrate a number of mediating factors in the

relationship between SNS use and body image concern. Whilst self-esteem and

internalisation of ideals contribute to body dissatisfaction, comparisons with others whilst

using SNS is a predominant factor in the development and maintenance of body image
concerns, particularly if such comparisons are upward in direction (Ridolfi et al., 2011).

Additionally, it is suggested that high social comparison orientation SNS users are more

likely to engage in upward social comparisons, and therefore face more detrimental effects in

regards to self-evaluations and well-being (Wang et al., 2017). Such findings support the

need for further exploration in potential body image and media literacy interventions to

educate individuals about the impact of comparisons on SNS and well-being (Fardouly et al.,

2015).

Discussion

The present systematic literature review aimed to provide an overview of the research

available focussing on the influence of SNS usage on body image dissatisfaction. A total of

40 empirical studies were identified, with a focus on SNS usage frequency, SNS features and

mediating variables that may contribute to the facilitation of body image concerns. Factors

including SNS features and appearance comparison online were found to contribute to body

image dissatisfaction. Parallels between body image dissatisfaction and BDD symptoms are

also discussed, in addition to implications for future research.

Although problematic SNS use is not acknowledged as a diagnosis, there has been substantial

research on excessive SNS use. From the studies presented, the lack of consensus in

establishing the baseline between normal SNS use, excessive use and addictive use is

highlighted. A majority of the studies use the number of hours spent on SNS or frequency of

checking SNS as being indicative of excessive SNS use (e.g., Cohen & Blaszczynski, 2015;

Fardouy & Vartanian, 2015; Choukas-Bradley, Nesi, Widman & Higgins, 2018). It has been

suggested (in regards to Facebook usage) that using a broader concept of time allows for all

activities and length of exposure on Facebook to be taken into account, in addition to their
potential joint influence on body image (Eckeler, Petya, Kalyango & Paasch, 2017).

However, usage patterns are not the same across all SNS platforms (Jang, Park & Song,

2016), thus assessing total exposure time may not be comprehensive enough in understanding

body image behaviour on SNS (Kim & Chock, 2015). This may be further implicated in that

many studies focus only on Facebook, which arguably confines findings of SNS usage and

subjective well-being outcomes to this particular site. Other studies included dimensional

scales, such as the SMAQ (Hawi & Samaha, 2017) that assess use, SNS addiction and

activities in all forms of social media, which are beneficial in that they provide a

multidimensional perspective to understanding SNS use (Casale, Primi & Fioravanti, 2015).

However, self-report measures that assess engagement with SNS tend to use high scores to

correlate SNS use with negative outcomes (e.g., Boumolesh & Jalouk, 2017; Choukas-

Bradley et al., 2018), in addition to relying on conscious and retrospective reports on usage,

which cannot assess for specific behavioural activity on certain SNS platforms, such as type

of engagement with images (Ellis, Kaye, Wilcockson & Ryding, 2018), making it difficult to

pinpoint the extent to which specific appearance-based SNS use impacts body image

satisfaction. Subsequently, if SNS research aims to extend into clinical assessment, a

standardised baseline regarding SNS usage time needs to be implemented to allow for

comprehensive comparison across findings, in addition to distinguishing between excessive

and problematic SNS use. Indeed, it should be noted that one study within the present review

determined a two hour cut-off for time on SNS as an indication for excessive use (Marengo,

Longobardi, Fabris & Settanni, 2017), whilst another indicated moderate SNS use as between

30-60 minutes a day (Hanna et al., 2017). Studies that suggest spending two hours online

may therefore be considered a recommended cut-off time in establishing frequent SNS use. In

addition to this, methods that utilise objective assessment, whereby data are collected directly

through the smartphone, can allow for the monitoring of user behaviour on SNS sites in real
time and provide further insight into specific appearance-based usage and user engagement

on SNS platforms (Miller, 2012; Tossell, Kortum, Shepard, Rahmati & Zhong, 2015).

Nevertheless, the importance of clinical utility in the use of assessment scales is highlighted,

and should be established in terms of presentation within clinical assessment.

In terms of gender, females endorsed a significantly higher time on SNS in comparison to

males, which was also associated with appearance dissatisfaction. Findings suggest that

females are more likely to spend an increased amount of time on SNS, resulting in higher

weight and appearance concerns (Murray, Maras & Goldfield, 2016), and it may be argued

that this is attributed to the motivations of SNS use. That is, findings demonstrate that women

are more likely to use SNS to search for information and compare themselves to others as

opposed to males (Haferkamp et al., 2012). This may be reflected in the higher levels of SNS

use, suggesting that women actively go online more frequently to seek and obtain certain

gratification in regards to appearance comparison (Scott et al., 2017). This was further

supported by Marengo, Longobardi, Fabris and Settanni (2018), who found that females are

more likely to use highly visual SNS as opposed to males, which consequently leads to

greater body image dissatisfaction; such effects were stronger when SNS usage was above

two hours a day. Arguably, it was highlighted in this review that 20 studies were conducted

with young female samples, with a lack of male inclusion, which may not accurately reflect

SNS usage and gender differences wholly; indeed, findings were shown to be contradictory in

studies that did include male samples (Haferkamp et al., 2012; Rousseau, Eggermont &

Frison, 2017). Whilst more recent research is beginning to include male-focussed samples

(Stratton et al., 2015; Abbas & Karadavut, 2017), further research is needed to capture SNS

usage and well-being outcomes in males.

Whilst the studies in the present review supported the relationship between SNS use and body

image concerns, differential body image concerns were also highlighted. In parallel to
previous research on traditional forms of media, much research focussed on body image

concerns considering the drive for thinness and weight. Indeed, internalising ideals was a

strong mediating factor in the drive for both weight and muscle dissatisfaction in a number of

studies (e.g. Daniel & Bridges, 2010; Tiggemann & Slater, 2013; Cohen, Newton-John &

Slater, 2017), and it could be suggested that individuals reinforce their self-concept and self-

perceptions of attractiveness through selectively attending media content, which subsequently

produces a drive for self-improvement (Rousseau, Eggermont & Frison, 2017). In

comparison, one study found that Facebook use had no direct effect on body satisfaction, or

the desire to change weight or shape (Fardouly et al., 2015). Rather, for women high in

appearance comparisons, Facebook usage was associated with greater desire to change face,

hair and skin related features (Fardouly et al., 2015). It has been indicated that women are

more likely to upload portrait pictures onto SNS, as opposed to full body pictures, which may

provide increased opportunities for facial, skin and hair related comparisons (Haferkamp et

al., 2012), which may have contributed to the differential findings of this study. It was noted,

that many of the measures used to assess body image concerns within this review included

the PACS and BSQ, which focus on weight and body shape comparisons. This may have

subsequently biased findings towards weight-related body dissatisfaction. Indeed, the

popularity of selfies (self-portrait pictures) has dramatically increased (Chae, 2017); research

has shown that individuals are more likely to have an idealised virtual self-image when

editing their own selfies (Halpern, Katz & Carril, 2017), whilst those exposed to others’

edited selfies are more likely to experience an increased desire to change facial appearance,

through reduced self-esteem (Borges, 2011). Such findings suggest that increased pressure

about appearance concerns may therefore be contextually changing towards facial

dissatisfaction, and indicates that measures focussing on facial dissatisfaction, such as the

FACE-Q, which assesses overall satisfaction with facial appearance (Pusic, Klassen Scott &
Cano, 2013), may be advantageous to use in future research, either solely or in conjunction

with body shape measures. Nevertheless, it is important to consider the impact of SNS in

terms of broader appearance constructs, beyond a focus of weight and shape body

dissatisfaction.

Furthermore, it was demonstrated that various features of SNS mediated the relationship

between body image dissatisfaction and SNS use. In particular, appearance-focussed SNS use

and passive SNS use were associated with the facilitation of body image dissatisfaction

(Meier & Gray, 2014; Tiggemann & Zaccardo, 2015), emphasised through the mediation of

appearance comparisons. Indeed, longitudinal research has indicated that passive Facebook

use predicts an increase in individuals’ appearance comparisons, which was consequently

associated with higher body dissatisfaction (Rousseau, Eggermont &Frison, 2017). It could

be suggested that individuals’ use SNS as a source of information to improve physical

appearance may consequently motivate users to seek comparison targets to evaluate and

compare their appearance to (Rousseau, Eggermont &Frison, 2017). This may therefore lead

to increased passive SNS use, photo-based SNS activity and higher body image

dissatisfaction. However, in regards to appearance-focussed SNS activity, other studies

highlighted it correlated with some body image measures (e.g., thin ideal internalisation), but

not others (e.g., appearance evaluation) (Meier & Gray 2014; Cohen, Newton-John & Slater,

2017), indicating that not all SNS features relate to body image concerns in the same way.

Arguably, it was noted that these studies focussed on Facebook, which also includes an array

of activities surrounding news, games and events, in addition to photo-based features

(Horzum & Demirhan, 2017), and so it may be that the context of appearance-focussed use

was implicated by other features specific to Facebook. Platforms such as Instagram, which

focus on a highly image-based environment, may have a stronger association with body

image dissatisfaction. This indicates that measures chosen to assess such constructs may not
be adequately sensitive to different SNS environments and suggests that the development of

body image measures specific to differential SNS environments would be beneficial for

future research.

The role of comparison was highlighted as a predominant mediating factor in the relationship

between SNS and body image dissatisfaction. Upward comparisons in particular were

demonstrated to be most detrimental, leading to stronger appearance-focussed cognitive

distortions (Ridolfi et al., 2011). This remains consistent with prior research that

demonstrated negative comparison leads to maladaptive cognitions (Nolen et al., 2008).

Indeed, SNS tend to exhibit idealised photos and information, usually altered and exaggerated

by users who upload them (Tiggemann & Ziccardo, 2015), and it is therefore likely that

individuals who are exposed to such information may feel more personally inadequate in

their appearance. Findings reflected this; it was demonstrated that comparisons mediated

levels of self-esteem, with increased comparison being associated with lower self-esteem,

subsequently leading to greater body shame (Hanna et al., 2017). However, due to the cross-

sectional nature of many studies, causal inferences cannot be drawn in terms of comparison

processes. For example, it has also been suggested that individuals who already experience

distorted appearance-focused cognitions may place higher value on aesthetic appearance and

therefore are more likely to evaluate themselves physically through comparison targets online

(Ridolfi et al., 2011). Causality should therefore be supported directly through experimental

studies, or further informed by longitudinal design. Nevertheless, it is highlighted that

appearance comparisons are a strong mediator across dimensions of well-being, including

body image dissatisfaction and self-esteem.

Following this, although BDD was not explicitly compared with body image dissatisfaction

and SNS use within any of the presented studies, parallels between BDD and body image

behaviours and concerns are highlighted. The role of comparison is perhaps the most
predominant feature shared between individuals with body image dissatisfaction and BDD.

Indeed, symptoms of BDD include the performance of repetitive behaviours, such as

reassurance-seeking and comparison (Kelly et al., 2013), strong mediators in body image

dissatisfaction and SNS use. More specifically, prior research has shown that BDD

individuals report increased levels of comparison when comparison targets are high in both

overall attractiveness and in the attractiveness of specific features the BDD individual was

concerned about (Anson, Veale & Miles, 2015). It has been proposed that such upward

comparison may contribute to the maintenance of BDD symptoms through (i) amplifying

appearance-related focus and preoccupation, (ii) reinforcing selective focus on their specific

body part, subsequently heightening awareness in the perceived defect, and (iii) contributing

to the biased view of the appearance of others as a whole (Anson, Velae & Miles, 2015). This

is consistent with the studies in the present review, which indicate that higher frequency of

upward comparisons is associated with increased negative evaluation and body image

dissatisfaction, and suggests that high frequency of appearance comparisons on SNS may

facilitate the development and maintenance of BDD symptoms.

Furthermore, as many of the present studies suggest, body image dissatisfaction associated

with SNS was largely related to weight and shape concerns. Prior research has suggested that

individuals with BDD weight concerns tend to exhibit a wider range of body preoccupations

and higher level of symptom severity, which are not necessarily attributed to the presence of

weight concerns (Kittler, Menard & Phillips, 2007). That is, people with BDD tend to focus

on specific body parts, with the skin, hair and nose being the most reported body areas of

concern (Phillips, Menard, Fay & Weisberg, 2005), and it could be suggested that this was

reflected in the differential results of Fardouly et al. (2015). Further supporting this, a recent

case report by Khanna and Sharma (2017) highlighted that excessive selfie use was used as a

safety behaviour to manage the distress related to BDD, with appearance concerns of the
client focussing on the nose, complexion and hair, with further assessment of the client

revealing the presence of problematic internet use, in addition to excessive levels of mobile

and Facebook use (Khanna & Sharma, 2017). This indicates that SNS may play a role in the

maintenance of BDD and further emphasises the need increased awareness of SNS use within

clinical assessment. However, concerns related to body shape and weight can characterise

patients with BDD, in addition to those with Muscle Dysmorphia (MD), a subtype of BDD

that is characterised by not being satisfactorily muscular or lean (Klimek, Murray, Brown,

Gonzales & Blashill, 2018). Gender differences may be attributed to differential body image

concerns, which have been highlighted in the focus of aesthetic fixation between males and

females in terms of BDD; women are more likely to focus on the face, weight, stomach and

breasts, whereas men are more likely to focus on body build, hair and genitals (Phillips,

Menard & Fay, 2006). Indeed, such concerns are found to be consistent with the findings in

the present review, and were particularly emphasised in studies surrounding male samples, in

which muscle dissatisfaction and drive for muscularity was highlighted (Daniel & Bridges,

2010; Stratton et al., 2015). This suggests that SNS comparisons and self-evaluation is not

necessarily limited to facial and head preoccupations in terms of the development of BDD

symptoms, and demonstrates an implication that should be considered in terms of future BDD

research in the context of body ideals presented on SNS.

Similarities in prevalence were also highlighted in terms of SNS usage and BDD. Young

adults have been indicated to be the most active users on SNS, with findings from the present

study showing that females spend more time online (Murray, Maras & Goldfield, 2016;

Smith & Anderson, 2018). Consistent with this, recent research has demonstrated that the

prevalence of subthreshold BDD is significantly higher in older adolescents, in addition to

being more predominant in females (Schneider, Mond, Turner & Hudson, 2017), indicating

frequent SNS use as a potential risk factor in the development of BDD in consideration of
prevalence levels. It is noted however, that whilst subthreshold disorders do not meet full

diagnostic criteria, they do involve the presence of core symptoms and impairment, which

has been shown to predict clinical manifestations of the disorder (Wolitzky-Taylor, Dour,

Zinbarg, Mineka, Vrshek-Schallhorn, Epstein et al., 2014). Therefore, it could be suggested

that individuals who seek to use SNS to compare themselves to others (Scott et al., 2017),

may present subthreshold BDD symptoms, making them vulnerable to the onset of the

clinical manifestation of the disorder. Since subthreshold BDD does not represent an ordinary

level of appearance concern (Schneider et al., 2017), future research should consider the

identification of subthreshold BDD presentations in SNS use and body image research.

Limitations

The current systematic review is not without limitations. The terms social media and SNS are

often used interchangeably, but they are not the same (Kuss & Griffiths, 2017). Social media

encompasses a wide range of social applications which refer to the producing, sharing and

collaborating online; therefore engaging in SNS regards a specific type of social media use

(Kuss & Griffiths, 2017). Subsequently, the review included studies that did not specifically

discern the definition of social media, in addition to including a range of different SNS

platforms (e.g. Facebook, Instagram) as opposed to focussing on one specific platform, which

may have implicated the conclusions drawn. Moreover, research in the area of SNS and body

image is constantly growing, and it is likely that studies that are in the process of submission

or that have been published since have not been included within the review.
Conclusion and Implications

Overall the type of engagement on SNS, in particular passive use and appearance-focussed

SNS use, was found to be significantly associated with greater body image dissatisfaction. If

SNS research aims to extend into clinical assessment, a standardised baseline needs to be

established in terms of SNS frequency, to distinguish between normal, excessive and

addictive SNS use, to allow for comprehensive comparison within findings. Additionally, in

terms of SNS features, further attention needs to be paid towards platforms other than

Facebook. Although Facebook contains an array of various activities, measures that have

been chosen to assess appearance-based constructs may not be sufficiently sensitive to

different online environments. It is suggested that the development of body image measures

that are specific to differential SNS environments would be beneficial for future research, and

would allow for more comprehensive insight into the specific features of SNS that contribute

to body image disturbance. Furthermore, it is highlighted that parallels appear apparent

between body image dissatisfaction and BDD symptomatology, particularly in terms of

comparisons and prevalence of SNS usage. It is suggested that frequent SNS comparisons

may mediate the onset of subthreshold BDD, leading to increased SNS usage and

maintenance of BDD symptoms. Considering the detrimental impact clinical BDD can have,

future research needs to extend to assess SNS as a risk factor in the development of BDD

symptomatology.
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