Positive, Neutral, or Just Normal? A Focus Group Study on Adolescents’ Knowledge, Familiarity and Perceived Effectiveness of Body Positivity and Body Neutrality on Social Media

Body positivity and body neutrality are increasingly referred to as alternatives to the idealized body representations on social media. These images can play a powerful role in body image development during adolescence. However, insights into how adolescents give meaning to these concepts and perceive their potential effectiveness are still limited. This study aims to fill this gap by conducting focus groups among adolescents (N = 27; aged between 13 and 17 years old) on (1) their conceptualization and familiarity with body positivity and neutrality, and (2) perceived effectiveness of these movements for adolescents’ healthy body image development. Moreover, we analyzed potential sex differences. The results of a thematic analysis indicated that although body positivity and body neutrality were not well-known and were only occasionally observed, most participants believed they could help, especially girls, to feel better about their bodies. The adolescents, however, were also critical in the sense that the approaches cannot be applied too excessively and that more attention is needed for body positivity for men as well.