Keyword – fitspiration

Dér Dorottya Noémi – Huszár Sándor:

Impact of social media visual contents on satisfaction with lifestyle among young women

Social media content may have a significant impact upon self-esteem, particularly among young women heavily exposed to increased use of social media and information communication technologies. Content appearing on various platforms may influence our attitudes and behaviours. However, the illusion of an “unattainable” body image may lead to self-esteem issues and dissatisfaction with oneself, which raises ethical questions regarding marketing communications. This study looks into the effects of fitspiration, body-positive, and neutral social media content upon young women’s satisfaction with various lifestyle factors. Ninety-three participants took part in a questionnaire survey combined with eye-tracking research exposing them to three different types of social media content in an attempt to assess its impact. The findings indicate that fitspiration-style content has a negative effect upon satisfaction with eating and exercise, but not upon health satisfaction. However, positive effects on lifestyle factors were not observed in the case of body-positive content.

Keywords: body positive, fitspiration, social media, young women