2022
By Priska Breves, Sophie Boerman and Nicole Liebers
Social media influencers who post body-focused content have often been criticized for their negative impact on young women (e.g., regarding eating disorders). However, empirical research is lacking, especially concerning the long-term effects. By following and engaging with the same influencer over several weeks, followers are likely to form strong one-sided illusionary relationships. These parasocial relationships have been connected to an intensification of social comparison processes. Thus, the influencer’s impact on participants’ body perception, well-being, and health-related behavior should also be enhanced after several weeks. In our study, we use Experience Sampling and confront participants with daily posts from the same influencer while experimentally analyzing the impact of the influencer’s thematic focus and body type.