Social Media’s Negative Association with Adolescents’ Body Image Self-Perception
Nayun Kim
23/09/2026
Social media has filled adolescents’ everyday life. Exposure to social media content may be related to unhealthy appearance comparisons and negative body image perception. With this literature review, I aimed to synthesize research on how social media may be associated with body image self-perception among teenagers. A total of 14 research articles reporting 15 empirical studies were identified in PsycInfo and reviewed. I identified seven themes across the empirical studies: (1) the issue’s prevalence across the globe, (2) the large variety of research approaches used, (3) commonly preferred body-image qualities, (4) unrealistic and ever-changing beauty standards on social media, (5) social media’s negative associations with teenagers’ body image perception, (6) gender differences in social media’s relations with teens’ body image perception and related mental health outcomes, (7) differences in outcomes by types of social media platform and engagement. Overall, this review provides valuable evidence into how social media plays an important role in youth’s body image perception. Implications for future research and practice were discussed.