Adolescent Athlete Social Media Use and Body-related Concerns

Adolescent Athlete Social Media Use and Body-related Concerns

Previous research has indicated an impact of social media on body-related perceptions (Fardouly & Vartanian, 2016), particularly in populations vulnerable to appearance-related pressures. While social media’s influence on body image has been examined in the general adolescent population (Revranche et al., 2021), relatively limited research has explored these effects in adolescent athletes, who experience both appearance- and performance-related expectations. These pressures may heighten self-scrutiny and increase the risk of negative body-related outcomes, including anxiety about how one’s physique is perceived by others. The present study examined the impact of social media usage, in terms of both time spent and application type, on social physique anxiety (SPA) and body esteem in adolescent athletes. Participants (N = 48; M age = 15.38, SD = 1.94 years) were athletes from a variety of sports who voluntarily participated in the study. Participants provided demographic information and completed two validated self-report measures; the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (Hart et al., 1989) and the Body Esteem Scale (Mendelson et al., 2001). Participants were grouped based on self-reported daily social media use (none, <1 hour, 1–2 hours, 2–3 hours, and >3 hours per day). Results from a one-way ANOVA showed a significant difference in SPA between groups (p = .015). Post-hoc pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni adjustment indicated that athletes spending 2–3 hours on social media had higher SPA compared with athletes who do not use any social media. No significant differences were found in body esteem, nor were there significant effects of specific application use (e.g., Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat) on SPA. These findings suggest that time spent on social media, regardless of application type, may contribute to elevated SPA in adolescent athletes. Adolescent athletes may benefit from limiting overall time spent on social media in order to help support healthier physical self-perceptions and potentially reduce appearance-related anxieties.