The impact of appearance comparisons made through social media, traditional media, and in person in women’s everyday lives

Body Image 20 (2017) 31–39 Contents lists available atScienceDirect Body Image j o u r n a lh o m e p a g e :w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / b o d y i m a g e The impact of appearance comparisons made through social media, traditional media, and in person in women’s everyday lives a,∗b a Jasmine Fardouly, Rebecca T. Pinkus, Lenny R. Vartanian a School of Psychology, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia b School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 26 August 2016 Received in revised form 4 November 2016 Accepted 8 November 2016 Keywords: Social comparison Media Social media Body image Mood Diet and exercise Introduction a b s t r a c t Appearance comparisons are an important sociocultural factor influencing women’s body image. These comparisons can occur in different contexts (e.g., through magazines, social media, in person). However, little is known about the frequency and outcome of appearance comparisons made in different contexts in women’s everyday lives. Using Ecological Momentary Assessment methods, female undergraduate students (n= 146) completed a brief online survey at random times every day for 5 days.