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#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

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


Authors

Amy Slater Amy.Slater@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor in Centre for Appearance Research

Neesha Varsani



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.

Citation

Slater, A., Varsani, N., & Diedrichs, P. C. (2017). #fitspo or #loveyourself? The impact of fitspiration and self-compassion Instagram images on women's body image, self-compassion, and mood. Body Image, 22, 87-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.06.004

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 Mar 28, 2024
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

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