A new study from Washington State University reveals that young women can mitigate the negative impacts of social media on body image through simple, daily reflections on fitness content.
Reflecting on how fitness posts on social media make them feel might help young women counteract the harmful tendency to compare themselves to idealized influencers and content online. A new study published in Health Communication sheds light on how simple actions, like daily reflections, can lead to meaningful changes in self-perception and emotional well-being.
Led by Jessica Willoughby, an associate professor of communication at Washington State University, the research found that prompting young women to reflect twice daily on the fitness content they encounter on social media significantly reduces social comparison — a major factor contributing to poor body image.
“We wanted to see whether calling attention to the content people are viewing impacts how they perceive it and, in turn, how they feel about themselves,” Willoughby said in a news release. “Even content meant to be motivational can include unrealistic ideals or objectifying imagery that affect how young women feel about their own bodies.”
The study included 40 women aged 18 to 24 who occasionally viewed fitness content online. The participants completed a pretest survey and then received two daily surveys over four days. These surveys asked about the content they saw, their emotional responses and their levels of body appreciation. A follow-up posttest and in-depth interviews with seven participants provided additional insights.
The results showed a notable decline in social comparison after the reflection period. However, increases in body appreciation were modest and not statistically significant, and there was no measurable change in traditional media literacy, which involves critically analyzing media messages.
Nevertheless, the interviews revealed deeper impacts.
“Our interview participants said the daily surveys made them more aware of how specific types of content — whether body positive, objectifying, or focused on health — made them feel,” Willoughby added. “That awareness led some to take action, like curating their feeds or unfollowing accounts that made them feel worse.”
This approach could offer a low-cost method to help young women combat the negative impacts of social comparison when engaging with online content.
“It’s really easy to get stuck in passive scrolling,” added Willoughby. “But just calling attention to what you’re seeing and how it makes you feel can shift how you engage with content — and that can have lasting effects.”
Although the study’s small sample size limits its broader applicability, it sets the stage for future interventions. Willoughby aims to develop a more comprehensive version of this reflective approach, incorporating additional prompts based on health communication theory. She also seeks to better understand how perceptions of sexually objectifying content, particularly in fitness media, vary among individuals and how these perceptions influence emotional and behavioral responses.
“Whether someone views a social post as sexually objectifying or not will vary a lot between a researcher and an 18–24-year-old student,” Willoughby added. “That’s especially true with fitness content, where showing certain body parts can be part of the context. I think it’s important that we better understand how people perceive this kind of content differently and how those perceptions map onto actual effects. And from there, I’d love to develop this into a more fully realized intervention.”
Leticia Couto, an assistant professor at DePaul University and WSU Murrow College of Communication alum, co-authored the study.
Source: Washington State University