A brief mindfulness meditation can ameliorate the effects of exposure to idealised social media images on self-esteem, mood, and body appreciation in young women: An online randomised controlled experiment.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether a 10-minute mindfulness meditation intervention could counteract the negative effects of exposure to thinspiration and fitspiration social media images on women's self-esteem, mood, and body appreciation.
Results Summary
Exposure to idealized social media images reduced body appreciation, self-esteem, and positive mood while increasing negative mood in both groups. However, the mindfulness meditation group showed significant improvements in self-esteem, body appreciation, and mood compared to the control group post-intervention.
Population
162 women aged 18-42 years (M = 25.94, SD = 4.38).
Effective Dosage
10-minute mindfulness meditation audio intervention.
Duration
Single 10-minute session.
Interactions
None mentioned.
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
exposure to social media thinspiration and fitspiration images | decrease | body appreciation | women aged 18-42 years | - | scores were lower | #1 |
exposure to social media thinspiration and fitspiration images | decrease | self-esteem | women aged 18-42 years | - | scores were lower | #2 |
exposure to social media thinspiration and fitspiration images | decrease | positive mood | women aged 18-42 years | - | scores were lower | #3 |
exposure to social media thinspiration and fitspiration images | increase | negative mood | women aged 18-42 years | - | scores were higher | #4 |
brief mindfulness meditation audio intervention | decrease | negative effects of social media exposure | women aged 18-42 years | - | ameliorated the negative effects | #5 |
brief mindfulness meditation audio intervention | increase | self-esteem | mindfulness meditation group | - | were higher | #6 |
brief mindfulness meditation audio intervention | increase | body appreciation | mindfulness meditation group | - | were higher | #7 |
brief mindfulness meditation audio intervention | increase | mood | mindfulness meditation group | - | were higher | #8 |
The study examined whether a 10-minute mindfulness meditation intervention could ameliorate effects of exposure to social media thinspiration and fitspiration images on women's self-esteem, mood, and body appreciation. A total of 162 women aged 18-42 years (M = 25.94, SD = 4.38) completed an online experiment which involved viewing thinspiration and fitspiration images before random allocation to either a brief, ten-minute mindfulness meditation audio intervention or a ten-minute control audio about jujitsu. Participants completed self-reported measures of self-esteem, positive and negative mood, and body appreciation at baseline (Time 1), post-exposure to idealised social media images (Time 2), and immediately post-intervention (Time 3). Mixed, repeated-measures ANOVAs showed that scores were lower for body appreciation, self-esteem, and positive mood, and higher for negative mood, in both groups after exposure to idealised imagery. However, a brief mindfulness intervention ameliorated the negative effects of social media exposure. Specifically, self-esteem, body appreciation, and mood were higher in the mindfulness meditation group at Time 3, compared to the control group. Future interventions should explore the utility of mindfulness practices to provide long term buffering effects against such social media content, as well as targeting the idealisation of female physiques portrayed in thinspiration and fitspiration content.