Sex Roles (2015) 73:200–213 DOI 10.1007/s11199-015-0517-6
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Facebook is Linked to Body Dissatisfaction: Comparing Users and Non-Users Samantha Stronge 1 & Lara M. Greaves 1 & Petar Milojev 2 & Tim West-Newman 1 & Fiona Kate Barlow 3 & Chris G. Sibley 1
Published online: 5 August 2015 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015
Abstract Growing media consumption and emerging forms of social media such as Facebook allow for unprecedented appearance-based social comparison with peers, family, and the wider media. We hypothesise that, for adult men and women, body dissatisfaction is related to peer-based media just as it is to traditional media forms. We expect that middle-aged women in particular are a vulnerable population, due to increasing pressure to conform to youthful beauty standards. In a national sample of New Zealand adults collected in 2012 (N=11,017), we test the cross-sectional links between being a Facebook user and body satisfaction for men and women across age cohorts. Using a Bayesian regression model testing curvilinear effects of age, we show that having and using a Facebook profile is associated with poorer body satisfaction for both men and women, and across all ages. For women who use Facebook, a U-shaped curvilinear relationship was found between age and body satisfaction; thus the gap between nonusers and users in body satisfaction was exacerbated among middle-aged women. A possible cohort effect also indicated that young women tend to be lower in body satisfaction overall. These findings add to the extant literature by suggesting that new media exposure may be associated with lower body satisfaction for some populations more than others, and
* Samantha Stronge
[email protected] 1
School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
2
School of Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
3
School of Applied Psychology and Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Nathan, Australia
emphasise the importance of examining body satisfaction in older populations. Keywords Facebook . Social media . Body dissatisfaction . Cohort effects . Body image
Introduction The association between body dissatisfaction and media exposure has been well documented (see Grabe et al. 2008 for a meta-analysis). This association raises the concern that the rapid increase in media consumption over the last few decades (Bohn and Short 2009, United States; Short 2013, United States) may have brought with it a concurrent increase in body dissatisfaction, seen in a meta-analysis of 50 years of research (Feingold and Mazzella 1998). With the growing accessibility of individualised media platforms, media consumption is undergoing rapid social change and is increasingly dictated by peers’ self-presentational choices, in contrast to the controlled presentation of content by traditional media. However, research examining possible changes that the use of this new media may cause in people’s body image remains scarce (Perloff 2014). Here, we aim to evaluate reported body dissatisfaction in a New Zealand sample across different age cohorts, in the face of an increasingly media saturated environment, and the rising use of social media. One of the largest changes in media has occurred relatively recently, with the advent and rapid adoption of new forms of social media, such as Facebook (Duggan et al. 2014, United States; Facebook 2015). These sites are, by definition, social. Logging on to Facebook means exposure to carefully selected photos of family, friends, acquaintances and strangers; a platform for self-presentation where everyone is trying to represent themselves positively (Qiu et al. 2012, Singapore).
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Perloff (2014) suggests social media may ‘set in motion’ social comparison processes that lower body satisfaction, as comparison with self-relevant peers of all ages on social media may in fact be worse for body image than traditional media (e.g., Strahan et al. 2006, Canada). Certainly, the photos that people post on Facebook will be non-random; they are selected with self-presentation motives, often with an emphasis on attractiveness (Strano 2008, United States). Facebook currently has over 1.2 billion active users worldwide, of which twothirds log on every single day (Facebook 2015). Thus Facebook (and more generally, social media) allows for appearance-based social comparison on an unprecedented scale, different to anything seen in traditional media forms. Our focus is the affect Facebook may have on women. Meta-analyses show that body dissatisfaction has long been an issue that disproportionately affects women (e.g., Feingold and Mazzella 1998; Myers and Crowther 2009), and mediates the relationship between media exposure and disordered eating (Shroff and Thompson 2006, United States; Slevec and Tiggemann 2011, Australia; see Stice 2002 for a meta-analysis). In both cross-cultural and United States samples, women tend to use Facebook more than men, and in a more socially engaged way (McAndrew and Jeong 2012; Muscanell and Guadagno 2012, United States), indicating they have higher exposure to social media and opportunity for social comparison. Additionally, younger cohorts growing up in an increasingly media saturated environment (Bohn and Short 2009, United States; Short 2013, United States) may now be likely to report higher body dissatisfaction than older cohorts. Body dissatisfaction has appeared to remain consistent across age cohorts in previous research (see Tiggemann 2004 for a review), however, in order to untangle cultural changes and cohort effects from developmental changes, it is important to continue to examine the prevalence of body dissatisfaction during different time periods. We address this gap in the literature, using a curvilinear Bayesian regression to examine age (cohort) differences in the reported body satisfaction of Facebook users and nonusers in a large New Zealand national probability sample, collected in 2012. With 80 % of Facebook users being outside of the US and Canada (Facebook 2015), Facebook has the potential to effect many populations from many countries. This research thus aims to provide a fresh look at body dissatisfaction across different age groups in a rapidly changing society, depending on whether or not they use social media, specifically Facebook. We employ sociocultural theory and the tripartite model to guide our investigation of peer-based media (Shroff and Thompson 2006, United States; Thompson et al. 1999). This research adds to our understanding of the gender divide in body dissatisfaction and eating disorders, and their relation to media exposure (e.g., Slevec and Tiggemann 2011, Australia), by evaluating how new forms of media may contribute to or potentially assist with these issues.
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The New Zealand Context Statistics from young people in New Zealand (aged 11–16) demonstrate that problems with body dissatisfaction start early, with 10 % of New Zealand youth reporting they are dissatisfied with their looks, and 18 % saying they are dissatisfied with their weight (Ministry of Youth Development 2007). There is also evidence of a gender divide in body satisfaction among New Zealand youth, with approximately two-thirds of female students indicating that they had tried to lose weight within the last year. The proportion of male students who had attempted to lose weight in the last year was lower, but had risen over the last 6 years (from 29 to 36 %; Adolescent Health Research Group 2008). Additionally, Latner et al. (2007) found that media exposure among New Zealand youth (ages 10–13) was associated with negative reactions towards obese boys and girls. In New Zealand university samples, young women, but not young men, chose smaller ideal figures relative to their actual figures (Ngamanu 2006; Miller and Halberstadt 2005), indicating body dissatisfaction. Women with higher body dissatisfaction were also more likely to report disturbed eating attitudes (Hudson 2008). These findings are unsurprising, as sexism is highly prevalent among the adult population in New Zealand, with only 8.6 % of men and 18.2 % of women in a representative New Zealand sample being classified as non-sexist (Sibley and Becker 2012). Therefore a large proportion of New Zealand, an egalitarian country, endorses to some extent attitudes of hostility towards women, as well as the belief that women are wonderful, but delicate and in need of protection (Glick and Fiske 1996). Together, these results demonstrate a society where women have serious issues with body image, sexism, and wellbeing from a very early age, with evidence of rising body image problems among men and boys as well (Adolescent Health Research Group 2008). Thus, New Zealand is an appropriate population for research into body image, and the role that media consumption may play. Body Dissatisfaction Across Age and Time Widespread body dissatisfaction among women is a welldocumented trend in Western society, an experience so standard that it is referred to as ‘normative discontent’ (Rodin et al. 1984). Literature reviews indicate that although men generally report lower levels of body dissatisfaction than women (Tiggemann 2004), body dissatisfaction is an increasing concern for men as well (McCabe and Ricciardelli 2004). There is, however, mixed evidence for changing rates of body dissatisfaction. Cross-sectional research suggests that women’s body dissatisfaction is stable across age cohorts (Tiggemann and Lynch 2001, Australia; Tiggemann 2004). However, the stability of such effects may depend on the social and contextual time periods, with more recent cross-sectional research
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indicating that women’s body dissatisfaction may be decreasing across age cohorts (Runfola et al. 2013, United States), or in some studies remaining stable across age cohorts (Tiggemann and McCourt 2013, Australia). Looking at results from longitudinal research, body dissatisfaction appears to be on the rise more generally over time. A cross-temporal meta-analysis showed reported body dissatisfaction to be increasing with time, more so for women than men (Feingold and Mazzella 1998). Cross-sectional research conducted at multiple time points found that body dissatisfaction for young women increased until the mid 90s, and then decreased thereafter (Cash et al. 2004, United States). The authors suggested this may have been due to a reduction in media promoting the thin ideal. However, media exposure has changed considerably in recent years, with the introduction of new forms of media. More recent research from Australia found in a time-lag analysis that while reported body dissatisfaction decreased with age, it increased generally with time for men and women (Mellor et al. 2010). Thus body dissatisfaction may be on the rise once again. However, it is not clear how people react to these changes across different ages. Cross-sectional research and longitudinal research are limited in their ability to separate out cultural and developmental effects on their own. As the social and cultural context is constantly evolving, it is important to continue examining body dissatisfaction, particularly across different age cohorts.
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comparisons if they are damaging to their self-esteem (i.e., comparing themselves to those they believe are better off than them), in the domain of appearance-related comparisons, this is exactly what happens. Women tend to make appearancerelated upward comparisons even when these comparisons are unfavourable, negatively affect their body image, or are made to irrelevant targets such as professional models (EngelnMaddox 2005, United States; Myers and Crowther 2009; Strahan et al. 2006, Canada). In their meta-analysis, Want (2009) suggests that appearance-based social comparison may even be an automatic process. A body of research has demonstrated that exposure to thinideal media images predicts increased body dissatisfaction among women, mediated by upward social comparison (Engeln-Maddox 2005, United States; Miller and Halberstadt 2005, New Zealand; Ridolfi et al. 2011, United States; Slevec and Tiggemann 2011, Australia; Tiggemann and Polivy 2010, Australia; Van Den Berg et al. 2007, United States; Want 2009). Men also show evidence of making appearance-based upward comparisons, with men exposed to idealized male bodies reporting higher body dissatisfaction (see Blond 2008 for a review), mediated by social comparison (Galioto and Crowther 2013, United States; Karazsia and Crowther 2009, United States).
Facebook and Social Comparison Sociocultural Theory and Social Comparison This general increase in body dissatisfaction may be related to increasing and changing media consumption (Bohn and Short 2009, United States; Short 2013, United States), as explained through sociocultural theory. Sociocultural theory and the tripartite influence model suggest that the three major influences on body dissatisfaction come from family, peers, and the media (Shroff and Thompson 2006, United States; Thompson et al. 1999). These three influences are theorised to have a direct effect on body dissatisfaction, as well as an indirect effect through social comparison and internalization of societal standards of appearance (i.e., the current female ideal of youth and thinness, or the current male ideal of muscularity and leanness). The tripartite model has been shown to be applicable across gender and age (Karazsia and Crowther 2009, United States; Smolak et al. 2005, United States; Tylka 2011, United States), with social comparison being a particularly important pathway to body dissatisfaction (Shroff and Thompson 2006, United States; Slevec and Tiggemann 2011, Australia). Social comparison theory states that people are driven to assess themselves in various domains, and if objective means of self-evaluation are not available, people do so by comparing themselves to relevant others (Festinger 1954). While people are not expected to continuously make upward
As the forums allowing for increased access to, and different forms of, social comparison change, then so too may we expect changes in rates of body dissatisfaction. Social media, such as Facebook, may be one such forum for increased social comparison and possible changes in body dissatisfaction. There is evidence that Facebook provides the opportunity for social comparison above and beyond that afforded in everyday life, with Feinstein et al. (2013, United States) finding that depressive symptoms were predicted by Facebook specific social comparison, but not general social comparison. Unlike other media, Facebook allows for social comparison with all influences in the tripartite model of sociocultural theory, including family and peers (Shroff and Thompson 2006, United States; Thompson et al. 1999). Studies from the U.S. have shown that social comparison to peers is just as likely to be unfavourable and to have a negative impact on body image as social comparison to media content (Krones et al. 2005, United States; Ridolfi et al. 2011, United States; Shroff and Thompson 2006, United States; Strahan et al. 2006, Canada). Krones et al. (2005, United States) suggested that peers may have a stronger effect on body dissatisfaction than a professional model, because the thin ideal becomes something attainable when seen in a peer, rather than a professional model. Thus, in certain contexts, social comparison with peers can have at least as strong an impact on body
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image as social comparison with media targets, if not more so (Strahan et al. 2006, Canada). Little research exists into the relationship body image has with social networking sites such as Facebook, despite its prevalent use (Bascand 2013, New Zealand; Duggan et al. 2014, United States; Facebook 2015). However, extant research that has investigated Facebook use and body image seems to fit well with predictions derived from social comparison theory. Haferkamp and Krämer (2011) found that German participants report a more negative body image after viewing attractive users’ social media profiles compared to less attractive users’ profiles. Smith et al. (2013) found that maladaptive Facebook usage (defined as the tendency to make negative social comparisons on Facebook) was associated with body dissatisfaction 1 month later for female students at a U.S. university. Body dissatisfaction partially mediated the relationship between maladaptive Facebook use and the symptoms of bulimia nervosa, just as body dissatisfaction mediates the relationship between traditional media exposure and disordered eating among women (Shroff and Thompson 2006, United States; Slevec and Tiggemann 2011, Australia; Stice 2002) and men (Tylka 2011, United States). Tiggemann and Slater (2013) studied adolescent Australian girls’ use of the internet and social networking sites and showed that Facebook users measured higher on body image concerns than non-Facebook users, and that these concerns increased with the number of friends a user had, and the hours they spent online. Use of social networking sites among adolescent girls in Australia has also been found to be associated with poorer body image, mediated by social comparison and internalization of the thin ideal (Tiggemann and Miller 2010; Tiggemann and Slater 2014). Similar results were found among Australian female university students, where Facebook use was associated with body image concerns, mediated by upward social comparison (Fardouly and Vartanian 2015). The change of medium from face-to-face comparison or traditional media to Facebook may simply mean that the opportunity for social comparison is higher. Thus, this research is important in order to investigate the effects of rising and changing media consumption, particularly considering the link between body dissatisfaction and eating disorders (e.g., Stice 2002). The research reviewed here has so far been limited to adolescent and university aged women. We aim to extend on previous research by examining the effect of being a Facebook user on both men and women, across all age cohorts, in the current media environment. We can identify which populations, if any, are particularly vulnerable to new media use, and which populations, if any, are unaffected. Our focus is on women as they have much higher levels of body dissatisfaction both in New Zealand (e.g., Ngamanu 2006; Miller and Halberstadt 2005) and worldwide, and face considerable media pressure (e.g., Grabe et al. 2008). Women are
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also particularly engaged users of Facebook; women from the United States spend more time on Facebook and engage in social activity more than men (Muscanell and Guadagno 2012, United States). Women tend to spend more time on photograph related activity, and using their photos for impression management (McAndrew and Jeong 2012, United States; Muscanell and Guadagno 2012, United States). Interestingly, women also spend more time looking at the pages of samegender others (McAndrew and Jeong 2012, United States), indicating opportunity for social comparison. However, this research will also provide the first look at men’s body satisfaction across age cohorts in general, an area that has been previously overlooked. Age cohorts may also be a particularly important factor in terms of how people may react to changes in the cultural environment, such as increasing media exposure and new media (e.g., Tiggemann 2004). As Facebook is used widely by all age groups (e.g., Bascand 2013, New Zealand), the opportunity for relevant, age-appropriate social comparison could mean body dissatisfaction is experienced by users of all ages. Of particular interest here is middle-aged women, who were previously considered to be relatively unaffected by the media (see Tiggemann and Slevec 2012). However media exposure is having an increasing effect on women during midlife, as opportunity for relevant social comparison to middle-aged models and celebrities is growing (Bessenoff and Priore 2007, United States; Slevec and Tiggemann 2011, Australia). As the opportunity for social comparison increases, so does the supposed attainability of the youthful and thin ideal and subsequent pressure on middle-aged women to conform to it (Grogan 1999; Slevec and Tiggemann 2011, Australia). Research has found relationships between weight concern, lower self-esteem and lower happiness to be significant for women aged 30–49 only, with the relationship being nonsignificant for both older and younger groups (Stokes and Frederick-Recascino 2003, United States; Tiggemann and Stevens 1999, Australia). Similarly, Runfola et al. (2013) found that, in the U.S., body dissatisfaction is highest among women aged 35–44. Facebook interaction with friends and family may also provide middle-aged women with not only greater opportunity for social comparison, but more relevant social comparison targets as well in the form of friends and family, and age-appropriate peers (Grogan 1999). Thus middle-aged women may be an overlooked group who are particularly vulnerable to social media use. Overview and Guiding Hypotheses Here, we examine the cross-sectional links between Facebook usage and body dissatisfaction for men and women in a national sample of New Zealand adults collected in 2012. As shown by meta-analysis of previous research (e.g., Myers
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and Crowther 2009), and given the sexism present in New Zealand society (e.g., Sibley and Becker 2012), women should have lower body satisfaction overall compared to men in all age cohorts (Hypothesis 1). Given the relationship between media exposure and body dissatisfaction (e.g., Grabe et al. 2008), the rising use of new forms of media and generally increasing media consumption (Bohn and Short 2009, United States; Short 2013, United States) align well with evidence of increasing body dissatisfaction over time (Feingold and Mazzella 1998). We suggest that younger cohorts who have grown up in a media saturated society are likely to be less satisfied with their bodies than those from older cohorts, supported by evidence of high body dissatisfaction among New Zealand adolescents (e.g., Ministry of Youth Development 2007). Therefore, we predict that body satisfaction will be generally positively associated with age (Hypothesis 2). We also examine the use of new media and predict that, as Facebook affords users the opportunity for large scale social comparison with peers, Facebook users will report lower body satisfaction than non-users across all age cohorts, for both men and women (Hypothesis 3). Moreover, we hypothesise that middle-aged women will be a particularly vulnerable population to new media use, as it affords them an opportunity for age-appropriate social comparison not seen in traditional media, at a time when pressure to conform to beauty ideals may be increasing for this population (e.g., Grogan 1999). Therefore we qualify Hypothesis 2, in that while we expect a general overall trend towards higher body satisfaction with increasing age, we predict a curvilinear relationship between age and body satisfaction for Facebook users, where middleaged women are lower on body satisfaction than both younger users (who are closer to young, thin beauty ideals) and older women (who do not have as much societal pressure on them to conform to ideals) (Hypothesis 4). Men’s body satisfaction is examined largely for exploratory purposes due to the lack of research for men in the area. This research will provide an important look at the interactions between gender and age and the relationship between body satisfaction and Facebook.
Method Sampling Procedure This study analysed data from the fourth wave of the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (N=12,183)—a longitudinal panel study based on a national probability sample of New Zealand adults. Data for Wave 4 were collected in 2012. Participants were posted a copy of the questionnaire, with a second postal follow-up 2 months later. Participants who provided an email address were also emailed and invited to complete an online version if they preferred. Non-respondents
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were emailed a follow-up reminder email approximately 2 months later. Three attempts were then made using each provided phone number (i.e., home and cell phone) to contact non-respondents to encourage participation. The sample retained 6,805 participants from one or more previous waves, including 4,051 participants from the initial Time 1 (2009) NZAVS, which consisted of 6518 participants sampled from the 2009 New Zealand electoral roll (a retention rate of 62.2 % over 3 years). The electoral roll is publicly available for scientific research and in 2009 contained 2,986, 546 registered voters. This represented all citizens over 18 years of age who were eligible to vote regardless of whether they chose to vote, barring people who had their contact details removed due to specific case-by-case concerns about privacy. To boost sample size at Time 4 and increase sample diversity for subsequent waves, five independent booster samples using different sample frames were conducted. The first sample frame consisted of a randomly selected sample of 20,000 people from the 2012 New Zealand Electoral Roll, of which 2, 431 participants responded (response rate=12.34 %, when adjusting for the 98.5 % accuracy of the 2012 electoral roll). The second sample frame consisted of a regional booster of 10,000 people randomly selected from people listed in the 2012 Electoral Roll who lived in the Auckland region. A total of 890 participants responded to this booster sample (adjusted response rate=9.04). The third sample frame consisted of 3,000 people randomly selected from the 2012 Electoral Roll who lived in the Christchurch region. A total of 333 participants responded to this booster sample (adjusted response rate=13.52 %). The fourth sample frame consisted of 9,000 respondents selected from meshblock area units across the country that were moderate-to-high in deprivation. A total of 767 participants responded to this booster sample (adjusted response rate= 9.73 %). The fifth sample frame consisted of 9,000 people randomly selected from those who indicated on the 2012 Electoral Roll that they were of Māori ethnicity. A total of 690 participants responded to this booster sample (adjusted response rate = 7.78 %). For further details, refer to the NZAVS technical documents (Sibley 2014a). For details on response rates and panel attrition over the first 4 years of the NZAVS, see Satherly et al. (2015), and for census-matching data and details on response rates across demographics, see Sibley (2014b). Participant Details We focused our analyses on participants who provided complete responses to the questions analysed here (measures of age, gender, body satisfaction, and Facebook use; N=11,017; women=6,883, men=4,134). Bivariate correlations for all variables are presented in Table 1. Sixty-three percent of the
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Table 1 Bivariate correlations between all scale variables and demographic variables 1. 1. Body satisfaction
2.
3.
.091
−.111 −.365
2. Age
.064
3. Facebook profile (0 no, 1 yes) M (Women)
−.079 4.10
−.360 47.53
.69
SD (Women)
1.70
14.87
.46
M (Men) SD (Men)
4.54 1.58
51.88 12.16
.52 .50
Correlations for women are above the diagonal (N=6,883; correlations above .02 are significant). Correlations for men are below the diagonal (N=4,134; correlations above .03 are significant)
than men in all age cohorts, F(1, 11005) =133.03, p
