Social Networking Sites and Body Image in Adolescent Girls

The present study examines the relationship between engagement with the social networking site (SNS) Facebook and body image in adolescent girls. A recent study by Tiggemann and Miller (2010) found a strong correlation between body image disturbances and Internet use in general, and a particularly strong association with social networking site (SNS) use. This present study sought to replicate and extend upon these findings by identifying the specific Facebook features that correlate with body image disturbances in adolescent girls. 103 middle and high-school females were administered a survey that measured specific Facebook feature activity, weight dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, internalization of the thin ideal, appearance comparison, and self-objectification. It was predicted that girls with high overall Facebook use and relatively heavy engagement with appearance-related Facebook features, including posting and viewing self and peer photos, would report greater body image disturbance. Results did not demonstrate an association between overall Facebook use and body image disturbance, but did support the prediction that higher levels of appearance-related activity correlates with greater body image disturbance. Analysis on more detailed correlations for `self' vs. `other' photo interactions suggested that the subject of the photos being viewed was less important in explaining variance in body image scores than whether the activity was active or passive. Implications for eating disorder prevention programs and best practices in researching social networking sites are discussed.