A content analysis of thinspiration, fitspiration, and bonespiration imagery on social media

Background On social media, images such as thinspiration, fitspiration, and bonespiration, are shared to inspire certain body ideals. Previous research has demonstrated that exposure to these groups of content is associated with increased body dissatisfaction and decreased self-esteem. It is therefore important that the bodies featured within these groups of content are more fully understood so that effective interventions and preventative measures can be informed, developed, and implemented. Method A content analysis was conducted on a sample of body-focussed images with the hashtags thinspiration, fitspiration, and bonespiration from three social media platforms. Results The analyses showed that thinspiration and bonespiration content contained more thin and objectified bodies, compared to fitspiration which featured a greater prevalence of muscles and muscular bodies. In addition, bonespiration content contained more bone protrusions and fewer muscles than thinspiration content. Conclusions The findings suggest fitspiration may be a less unhealthy type of content; however, a subgroup of imagery was identified which idealised the extremely thin body type and as such this content should also be approached with caution. Future research should utilise qualitative methods to further develop understandings of the body ideals that are constructed within these groups of content and the motivations behind posting this content

Theory and practice of social norms interventions: eight common pitfalls.

BACKGROUND: Recently, Global Health practitioners, scholars, and donors have expressed increased interest in "changing social norms" as a strategy to promote health and well-being in low and mid-income countries (LMIC). Despite this burgeoning interest, the ability of practitioners to use social norm theory to inform health interventions varies widely. MAIN BODY: Here, we identify eight pitfalls that practitioners must avoid as they plan to integrate a social norms perspective in their interventions, as well as eight learnings. These learnings are: 1) Social norms and attitudes are different; 2) Social norms and attitudes can coincide; 3) Protective norms can offer important resources for achieving effective social improvement in people's health-related practices; 4) Harmful practices are sustained by a matrix of factors that need to be understood in their interactions; 5) The prevalence of a norm is not necessarily a sign of its strength; 6) Social norms can exert both direct and indirect influence; 7) Publicising the prevalence of a harmful practice can make things worse; 8) People-led social norm change is both the right and the smart thing to do. CONCLUSIONS: As the understanding of how norms evolve in LMIC advances, practitioners will develop greater understanding of what works to help people lead change in harmful norms within their contexts. Awareness of these pitfalls has helped several of them increase the effectiveness of their interventions addressing social norms in the field. We are confident that others will benefit from these reflections as well

Implications of fear, anxiety, and shame for social health websites

Health information seeking (HIS) and emotional support seeking (ESS) for medical conditions are widespread, self-guided online activities that happen concurrently on social health websites. Appraisal and coping theory suggests that these activities may be caused by negative emotions that users experience. In this paper, we examine three key negative emotions—fear, anxiety, and shame—for their potential impact on HIS and ESS. Through an online survey of 518 people, we found that only anxiety positively predicted HIS. In contrast, fear and anxiety both positively predicted ESS, while shame negatively predicted ESS. These findings result in important implications for social health websites. For example, our results suggest that people experiencing fear require immediate emotional relief through solace, and they may benefit more from receiving emotionally supportive comments rather than information about the medical condition

Implications of fear, anxiety, and shame for social health websites

Health information seeking (HIS) and emotional support seeking (ESS) for medical conditions are widespread, self-guided online activities that happen concurrently on social health websites. Appraisal and coping theory suggests that these activities may be caused by negative emotions that users experience. In this paper, we examine three key negative emotions—fear, anxiety, and shame—for their potential impact on HIS and ESS. Through an online survey of 518 people, we found that only anxiety positively predicted HIS. In contrast, fear and anxiety both positively predicted ESS, while shame negatively predicted ESS. These findings result in important implications for social health websites. For example, our results suggest that people experiencing fear require immediate emotional relief through solace, and they may benefit more from receiving emotionally supportive comments rather than information about the medical condition