Moving the dial on negative body image for young people in an online world

Australia's social media ban for under-16s has recently been enacted, coming at a pivotal time as the digital world continues to evolve and AI accelerates.

One topic that continues to be discussed in this space is social media's effect on body image and mental health—especially for young people during a particularly formative period of life.

Dr. Hannah Jarman from Deakin University's SEED Center for Lifespan Research looks at the risk factors for poor body image and eating disorders (EDs), and how these problems can be prevented.

According to the 2024 BodyKind Youth Survey from The Butterfly Foundation, more than 90% of young people aged between 12 and 18 years old have some level of body image concern. Their research also found that social media continues to be the most significant contributor to this level of dissatisfaction.

A complex problem

For Dr. Jarman, this research focus stemmed from organic interactions in her own life.

"When I was studying psychology, a child in my life started struggling with their body image. Hearing someone so young speak so negatively about themselves is awful, so I wanted to do something about it.

"That experience pushed me to learn more about body image, how common these issues are, and how we can better prevent and support young people experiencing them," she says.

Dr. Jarman is currently leading a project evaluating a whole-of-school program by The Butterfly Foundation in Victorian primary schools.

The Butterfly Body Bright program targets individual and environmental risk factors for body dissatisfaction in children, one of the key predictors of future ED onset, and her work is looking at how well it works and how it can be rolled out sustainably.

A new Australian taskforce

In 2024, Dr. Jarman co-founded and became Chair of a new National Taskforce created to address social media's impact on body image and eating disorders, built off the back of ongoing working groups and roundtables with key policymakers.

This new group brings together researchers, clinicians, lived-experience advocates, and eating disorder organizations. The Taskforce aims to develop and advocate for evidence-based government and social media platform policies that reduce potential harm.

So far, the Taskforce has developed several evidence-based recommendations, largely focused on three key areas: moderating harmful content, improving algorithm transparency and accountability, and giving users greater control over their social media experience.

Translating research in real-time

Often, research doesn't always find its way to the people who most need it. With this issue in mind, Dr. Jarman and her Ph.D. student Claudia Liu started an account called The.Well-being.Doctors on Instagram and TikTok to change that.

"We translate research findings into short, practical posts on things like social media use and body image.

"The response has been really positive! It can be tricky to find time for it, but it's such a worthwhile way to make research accessible to the public."

A path forward

While the complex landscape of social media doesn't show any signs of slowing down, there's cause for hope in reshaping and reevaluating how we all relate to and engage with these platforms.

"With the right evidence and collaboration, we can move beyond reacting to harm and start creating online environments that genuinely support young people's well-being," says Dr. Jarman.

Learn more about Dr. Hannah Jarman's research and the SEED Center for Lifespan Research.

Provided by Deakin University