#Beautyunedited: Is labeling unedited selfies helpful for body image and mood among young women?. (December 2021) - Rodgers, Rachel F.
Highlights: Young women were exposed to selfies that were either: (1) edited, (2) unedited, or (3) unedited + labeled. Those viewing unedited + labeled selfies reported greater increases in appearance satisfaction compared to edited selfies. Participants with higher levels of social media literacy benefited most from the unedited + labeled selfies. Abstract: Research has shown that social media content that has not been digitally altered may help support positive body image. However, the effects of adding labels to such images has received little research attention. This study compared the effects of selfies that were: edited, unedited, and unedited + labeled. A sample of 350 young women, mean age ( SD ) = 21.87 (2.28) years, were randomly allocated to one of three conditions and completed pre and post exposure measures of state body image and mood, as well as trait risk and protective factors. Findings revealed that participants allocated to the unedited + labeled condition reported greater increases in state appearance satisfaction as compared to those who viewed the edited selfies. In addition, participants with higher levels of social media literacy benefited most from the unedited + labeled selfies. Findings suggest that selfies bearing a label indicating that they have not been edited may be more helpful for body image among young women as comapred to edited selfies. Thus, labels could represent useful social marketing tools on social media and contribute to efforts to increase the realism of social media imagery.