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BACKGROUND: Digital culture has made social media a central space for presenting aesthetic ideals and beauty norms. Exposure to curated visuals and trends is associated with body perception and definitions of beauty. Social media aesthetic orientations are closely related to self‑image and broader aesthetic judgments. This study examines the associations between social media aesthetic orientation (SMAO), body perception, beauty perception, and aesthetic perception. METHODS: The sample comprised 167 active social media users from Turkey, aged 18 to 45, including both individuals with and without a history of aesthetic surgery. A correlational survey design and quantitative methods were employed. Data were collected using validated measures and analyzed with a generalized linear model. RESULTS: SMAO showed positive associations with aesthetic perception (β = 0.59, p 0.05). Beauty perception mediated the relationship between SMAO and aesthetic perception (β = 0.14, p < 0.01), explaining 20% of the variance, whereas body perception did not. Engagement with cosmetic surgery and beauty trends strengthened the association between beauty and aesthetic perception (β = 0.22, p < 0.001). Gender moderated these paths, strengthening the beauty-aesthetic perception link and weakening the body perception link for women. Education played a limited role, while age and marital status showed no significant effects. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that social media's emphasis on aesthetics is more closely tied to the internalization of cultural beauty ideals than to individual body perception. Gender plays a critical role, with women prioritizing beauty standards over body satisfaction in their aesthetic preferences. The study highlights associative rather than causal relationships and calls for further research across different cultural contexts. This research contributes to understanding how digital culture relates to contemporary aesthetics by emphasizing perceived beauty over body perception.
Öztunç et al. (Fri,) studied this question.