Body positive social media posts: who likes them anyway? The role of internalization, body dissatisfaction and actual weight in the implicit and explicit bias towards thin-ideal social media posts

Abstract Background Research has repeatedly shown that body positivity is positively related to body satisfaction and that body positive social media posts can foster body acceptance. However, the question arises whether individuals, especially those with low body dissatisfaction, prefer body positive social media posts over thin-ideal posts. In this paper, we aim to explore the role of body ideal internalization, trait body dissatisfaction and actual body weight in the implicit and explicit biases towards thin-ideal social media posts. Methods We conducted two online questionnaires with implicit attitude tests. In Study 1, we obtained data from 140 women (M age = 31.2, SD age = 13.8), while overall 533 women (adolescent sample (N = 218): aged 14–18, young adult sample (N = 315): aged 19–29) participated in Study 2. The data were analyzed using hierarchical regression models to examine the associations between BMI, body ideal internalization, trait body dissatisfaction and implicit and explicit biases towards thin-ideal social media posts. Results Internalization was associated with the explicit bias towards thin-ideal social media posts only in the adolescent sample (Study 2). The negative appreciation of body size was negatively associated with the implicit and explicit biases towards thin-ideal social media posts in Study 1 and in the young adult sample of Study 2. In the young adult sample (Study 2), our results indicated that a higher BMI predicted positive explicit bias towards body positive posts, while the effect was trending in the case of implicit bias. Conclusion These findings confirm the validity of sociocultural theory on the adolescent sample and the validity of social identity theory and perceived similarity on the (young) adult sample in the context of implicit and explicit biases towards thin-ideal social media posts. The body positivity movement reaches its target population in (young) adulthood: body positive posts are appreciated by those with body image issues. Our results contribute to understanding the receptiveness to the messages of body positive social media posts.