Examining the impact of daily exposure to body-positive and fitspiration Instagram content on young women’s mood and body image: An intensive longitudinal study

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of daily exposure to body-positive and fitspiration Instagram posts on young women’s mood, body satisfaction, and appearance comparison tendency. One hundred and twenty-two young Italian women (M_age = 22.29 ± 2.26 years) were randomly assigned to three different conditions of daily exposure on Instagram (i.e., body-positive, fitspiration and neutral content) and followed with an experience sampling method over a period of 28 consecutive days. Comparisons between groups were performed via multilevel regression modelled as a linear growth model. Results showed that daily exposure to body-positive images was associated with the highest rates of growth of positive mood and body satisfaction. Daily exposure to fitspiration images was associated with the highest rates of growth of negative mood and appearance comparison. In conclusion, the body-positive movement may be considered in interventions aimed at improving young women’s body image. Fitspiration content on Instagram should be deemed inappropriate.