Psychosocial Interventions to Improve Body Image in Social Media Users: a Systematic Review

The negative effect of media on body image has been consistently proven, however, the emergence of a new type of media called “social” changed how we interact with each other and with ourselves. Recent research has found that it has detrimental effects on people, generating body dissatisfaction and increasing eating and image disorders. However, it's not the simple exposure that generates this, but how we interact with these platforms. The type of interaction can have a positive effect, therefore we carried out a systematic review of interventions carried out to counteract the negative aspect. Only 19 empirical studies were found, with a high level of heterogeneity among them, 8 of them address direct interventions on social media use, and 11 evaluate indirect interventions (like media literacy programs, and self-compassion training) to improve body image disturbance as a consequence of its use. Classroom-based media literacy and self-compassion interventions showed the most promising results. Implications and future research are discussed. Keywords: social media; body image; body dissatisfaction; psychosocial intervention.