Picture Perfect: The Direct Effect of Manipulated Instagram Photos on Body Image in Adolescent Girls

By Mariska Kleemans, S. Daalmans, Ilana Carbaat, Doeschka J. Anschütz. 2018

337 citations recorded by the source corpus.

ABSTRACT This study investigates the effect of manipulated Instagram photos on adolescent girls’ body image, and whether social comparison tendency moderates this relation. A between-subject experiment was conducted in which 144 girls (14–18 years old) were randomly exposed to either original or manipulated (retouched and reshaped) Instagram selfies. Results showed that exposure to manipulated Instagram photos directly led to lower body image. Especially, girls with higher social comparison tendencies were negatively affected by exposure to the manipulated photos. Interestingly, the manipulated photos were rated more positively than the original photos. Although the use of filters and effects was detected, reshaping of the bodies was not noticed very well. Girls in both conditions reported to find the pictures realistic. Results of this study implied that the recent societal concern about the effects of manipulated photos in social media might be justified, especially for adolescent girls with a higher social comparison tendency.

Subfields: Clinical Psychology, Education, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/0426dfbd39aa6fe755368e26365e4689a33455a2

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Clinical Psychology

1. Lara Schreurs
2. R. de Raedt
3. Laura Vandenbosch
4. Ernst H. W. Koster

In Education

1. R. de Raedt
2. Laura Vandenbosch
3. Ernst H. W. Koster

In Sociology and Political Science

1. Eowyn van de Putte
2. Ruben Cambier
3. Lara Schreurs
4. D. Webster
5. R. de Raedt
6. Laura Vandenbosch
7. Dian A. de Vries
8. Ruth F. Hunter

Citations in the corpus

• Social Comparison as the Thief of Joy: Emotional Consequences of Viewing Strangers’ Instagram Posts (2018, background): “Adolescent girls who viewed Instagram posts of other girls reported lower body satisfaction when the photos were retouched (using filters or manipulation of body appearance) than when the photos were not retouched (Kleemans et al., 2016).”
• Introducing the Social Media Literacy (SMILE) model with the case of the positivity bias on social media (2020, background): “Consequently, social media seem to affect these age groups the most profoundly (Kleemans et al., 2018; van Driel et al., 2019).”
• The relationship between Instagram use and indicators of mental health: A systematic review (2021, background): “…upward comparison material was related to decreases in self-rated attractiveness (Sherlock & Wagstaff, 2019), body satisfaction (Cohen et al., 2019; Kleemans et al., 2016; Tamplin et al., 2018) and body appreciation (Brown & Tiggemann, 2020; Tiggeman et al., 2020a) compared to individuals who…”
• Association Between Social Networks and Subjective Well-Being in Adolescents: A Systematic Review (2020, background): “A study with adolescent girls and Instagram found that exposure to manipulated Instagram photos leads to lower body satisfaction (Kleemans et al., 2018).”