Title: The Perfect Storm: A Developmental–Sociocultural Perspective on How Social Media Exacerbates Adolescent Girls’ Body Image and Mental Health Risks
Abstract: Why are adolescent girls at heightened risk for body dissatisfaction and mental health concerns, and how has social media exacerbated these problems? In this talk, I present theory and empirical findings related to my perfect storm framework, a developmental–sociocultural model for understanding girls’ body image and mental health in the era of social media.
Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data, I will address the core tenets of this framework: how the design features of social media intersect with adolescent developmental processes (e.g., pubertal development, heightened sensitivity to peers) and longstanding gendered cultural messaging (e.g., sexual objectification, unrealistic beauty ideals) to exacerbate girls’ body image concerns and, in turn, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and disordered eating.
I will also discuss key mechanisms through which social media shapes body image, with an emphasis on appearance-related social media consciousness—a construct I have developed and tested to capture girls’ preoccupation with how they appear to an online audience.
Finally, I will outline current and future directions, including my intervention work with the Center for Digital Thriving and Common Sense Media aimed at fostering more intentional and values-aligned social media use; my NSF CAREER–funded project, which integrates eye-tracking and ecological momentary assessment to examine how social media affects body image across girls’ daily lives; and my forthcoming book for adolescents, parents, and educators, Beyond the Looking Glass.
Dr. Choukas-Bradley is an Associate Professor at The University of Pittsburgh in the Department of Psychology.
Interests: interpersonal and sociocultural influences on the mental health and wellbeing of adolescents and emerging adults (ages 11–24).
Sophia’s Bio Page: https://www.psychology.pitt.edu/people/sophia-choukas-bradley-phd