How to Protect Your Body Image From Social Media

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Positive body image refers to an overarching love and respect for one’s own body, regardless of whether it meets societal standards for how a body “should” look or function.

Among other scientific approaches, researchers have interviewed people who self-identify as having a positive body image to discover more about what it means to have a positive body image. This research has revealed a particularly fascinating characteristic called protective filtering. Namely, people with a positive body image have described “filtering in” information that positively impacts how they feel about their body and “filtering out” information that could have a negative impact.

In a recent study, my colleagues at Maastricht University and I set out to learn more about the strategies that people with a positive body image use when they engage in “protective filtering.” If we could learn more concretely what it means to use a protective filter, we might be able to teach these strategies to other people who do not yet necessarily have a positive body image.

Instagram exposure and interviews with women with a positive body image

In our study, we recruited 20 women who self-identified as having a positive body image.

First, the women were seated in front of a computer and asked to scroll through an Instagram account we had created. The Instagram account followed top fitness and model “influencers,” who typically shared images that portray an idealized version of physical beauty. We focused this study on protective filtering related to media imagery, given that media have a dominant influence on people’s body image.

We asked the women to write down all of the thoughts that came to their minds while they scrolled through the Instagram account. After 10 minutes, they participated in a one-on-one interview with the experimenter. The interview questions focused on the women’s experiences during the Instagram exposure and how they typically engage with appearance-related imagery in their daily lives.

Uncovering the strategies that women use to protect their positive body image

We analyzed the qualitative data derived from the interviews using an approach called reflexive thematic analysis to identify common patterns, or “themes,” across the experiences of the different women in the study.

Using these analyses, we identified the following protective filtering strategies that the women described using:

1. Critiquing the beauty ideal and the beauty-ideal images

The women criticized the underlying motivation of beauty-ideal images (e.g., to sell products) and how modified the images of women’s bodies were likely to be (e.g., filters, cosmetic surgery). They criticized the costs of pursuing the beauty ideal—such as following rigid diets or excessive exercise routines—and how that would take precious time and energy away from the areas of their life that they truly valued (e.g., time spent with family). They reminded themselves that the women in beauty-ideal images do not reflect the diversity of women’s bodies and that they found beauty in women of all sizes, shapes, ages, ethnicities, etc.

2. Focusing on appreciating aspects of one’s own body and other women’s bodies

These women described appreciating what they liked and found unique about their own bodies. Moreover, they appreciated all of the valuable things that their body could do and underscored that these things were more important than their physical appearance. For example, Lina said, “Whenever I see images of those perfect models and then look at myself and feel bad about the cellulite on my thighs, I then purposefully start thinking that I wouldn’t be able to walk without my legs or that I am sitting now thanks to the support of my thighs. And then I think to myself, ‘Who cares about this cellulite!’”

The participants also described appreciating the women in the beauty-ideal images as inspiration. Importantly, they focused on things that could improve their well-being and that they would enjoy—not on their physical appearance—things like practicing yoga or meditation. When they did mention feeling inspired with regard to physical appearance, they focused on things like hairstyle, clothing, or accessories.

Interestingly, some women described appreciating the physical beauty of the women in the beauty-ideal images. They focused not on specific body parts but on an overall “glow.” They were able to feel happy for the women in the images without making comparisons or feeling bad about themselves.

3. Focusing on the personality and values of the women in the beauty-ideal images

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The participants described shifting their focus from the women’s physical appearance toward appreciating them for their personality and values. Nelly said, “I think Cara Delevingne has a very interesting Instagram. She is a really beautiful person [. . .] She uses that as influence. She takes that and takes all her fans she got by being beautiful and appreciated and turning it into gaining social awareness [personal empowerment and eco-warrior] and doing something with it. And that’s something I appreciate.”

4. Linking the beauty-ideal images to their past negative consequences

Some participants described how the beauty-ideal images reminded them of the negative effects that such images had on them in the past. This was a reminder that they were in a better place now and did not want to fall into old patterns. Margot said, “I just keep thinking about how I used to feel seeing those pictures, like very insecure and wanting to be like that. And right now, I know that I don’t want that.”

The take-home messages

The findings of our research uncover valuable strategies that other people could use to help shield themselves from the impact of beauty-ideal images and, potentially, other negative influences on their body image. This is something that we aim to test in our future research.

It is important to note that the women underscored that they do not always feel positive about their bodies, and sometimes the beauty-ideal images did impact them. For example, when they scrolled through social media “mindlessly” or were in a bad mood. However, they were eventually able to shift back to a positive mindset. Laura stated:

“But if you don’t like yourself or feel unconfident, you just don’t lay on your bed and look at people on Instagram. You just go out and/or maybe look at yourself in the mirror, and ask yourself the right questions: ‘What do I want to do in my life? Which way do I want to go? What inspires me?’ You don’t have to envy other people. You need to feel inspired and to take out the best of you [. . .] Focus on yourself, ask yourself what you want, even if the answer doesn’t come very easily, just experience things, go out, meet people that inspire you, or not, and know what you want to do and don’t want to do, because the people that will lead you to who you want to be, are the people you meet in real life.”

Last, we believe that the onus of responsibility for fostering positive body image and well-being should lay at the structural level—for example, within government and policy, within media production and advertising companies—not on individuals themselves. However, structural changes are likely to take longer to implement and may be met with more resistance. Therefore, the strategies identified in this research could be helpful for people to foster positive body image in the meantime.