Relationship between social media use, healthy habits, and psychological factors related to body image perception in university students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v71.114780Keywords:
Social media use, Healthy habits, Body image, University studentsAbstract
Introduction: Common social media behaviors, such as posting selfies and seeking validation through likes and comments, have been linked to increased body dissatisfaction. This can lead university students to adopt appearance-focused eating and physical activity habits, which can lead to emotional and cognitive problems and behavioral issues, such as eating disorders.
Objective: Examine the relationship between social media use, healthy habits and psychological factors linked to body image perception in university students.
Methodology: A cross-sectional, comparative and correlational study was designed with 519 university students from the University of Granada and the University of Malaga. Participants completed validated questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS, according to Mann-Whitney U and Spearman test outcomes (p = 0.05).
Results: Women reported greater use of body image-related social media (p < 0.001) and greater internalization of the thinness ideal (p = 0.039), whilst men internalized the muscular ideal to a greater extent (p < 0.001). Physical activity was only associated with eating disorders in women (p = 0.025). Such disorders were related with body dissatisfaction, social pressure, internalization of aesthetic ideals, higher BMI and lower self-esteem in both sexes (p < 0.05).
Discussion and Conclusion: The study concludes that social media use, healthy habits and psychological factors related with body image perceptions are interconnected, with sex exerting an effect on these differences. It is recommended that educational interventions and strategies be implemented that, not only, promote healthy habits, but, also, address the factors uncovered in the present research.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Gracia Cristina Villodres, Luis Miguel Campos-Pérez, Federico Salvador-Pérez, José Joaquín Muros, Rocío Vizcaíno-Cuenca
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