#fitspo or #loveyourself? The impact of fitspiration and self-compassion Instagram images on women's body image, self-compassion, and mood

Slater, Amy; Varsani, Neesha; Diedrichs, Phillippa C

Abstract

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd This study experimentally examined the impact of exposure to fitspiration images and self-compassion quotes on social media on young women's body satisfaction, body appreciation, self-compassion, and negative mood. Female undergraduate students (N=160) were randomly assigned to view either Instagram images of fitspiration, self-compassion quotes, a combination of both, or appearance-neutral images. Results showed no differences between viewing fitspiration images compared to viewing neutral images, except for poorer self-compassion among those who viewed fitspiration images. However, women who viewed self-compassion quotes showed greater body satisfaction, body appreciation, self-compassion, and reduced negative mood compared to women who viewed neutral images. Further, viewing a combination of fitspiration images and self-compassion quotes led to positive outcomes compared to viewing only fitspiration images. Trait levels of thin-ideal internalisation moderated some effects. The findings suggest that self-compassion might offer a novel avenue for attenuating the negative impact of social media on women's body satisfaction.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 14, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jul 6, 2017
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jun 16, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 6, 2019
• Journal: Body Image
• Print ISSN: 1740-1445
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 22
• Pages: 87-96
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.06.004
• Keywords: social media, fitspiration, self-compassion, Instagram, body image, body appreciation
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/880485
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.06.004
• Contract Date: Jun 16, 2017