Authors: Fiona Fox, Catherine Schumann, Cameron Monson
Mentors: Sarah Coyne
Insitution: Brigham Young University
Most often, research has looked at the negative effects of social media on mental health. The purpose of this study is to understand the interactions between social media usage and body image, and if there are any ways that social media has a positive impact on body image. This study surveyed children and youth ages 7-17 to gain insight on their social media use and different aspects of mental health. Social media preoccupation and mindfulness were both significantly correlated with body esteem, and a slightly significant correlation was found between positive social media use and body esteem. These findings suggest that mindfulness around social media usage can help mitigate the negative impact on body esteem that many youth experience. Parents can use these findings to have conversations with their children and teenagers about being mindful with social media use and avoiding preoccupation with it.