Acute effects of social media use and physical activity on adolescents’ body-related self-perception

Abstract

Adolescents’ screen-time has increased substantially, with image-focused social media such as Instagram being a major contributor (Külling et al., 2022). Adolescence is characterized by profound physical and cognitive changes (Blakemore & Mills, 2014), often accompanied by heightened uncertainty toward the body (Herbert, 2020). This includes the external perception of the body, i.e. body image (Cash, 2004), and especially the sensing, interpretation, and integration (Murphy et al., 2017) of signals originating within the body, i.e. interoception (Craig, 2003). Theories of multisensory integration posit that exteroceptive and interoceptive signals jointly shape one’s body-related self-perception (Badoud & Tsakiris, 2017), with higher interoceptive abilities being linked to a more positive body image (Todd et al., 2019). However, smartphone use may negatively influence interoception (Wallman-Jones et al., 2023), and appearance-focused social media has been shown to impair adolescents’ body image (de Valle et al., 2021). Contrastingly, physical activity (PA) enhances interoception and body image in both acute and chronic settings (Sabiston et al., 2019; Wallman-Jones et al., 2021). Strengthening body-related self-perception through PA may therefore counteract adverse influences of social media use (SMU). Accordingly, the present study aimed to examine the differential effects of acute social media exposure and acute PA on adolescents’ interoception and body image.

In a within-subject crossover design, 74 adolescents (M_age = 15.23; 49% female) completed two conditions: 15 minutes of cycling and 15 minutes of Instagram use. The PA intensity was individualized and increased from light to moderate to vigorous. Instagram exposure involved visiting six gender-matched #fitspiration profiles. Interoceptive accuracy (IAcc; Schandry, 1981), state body appreciation (Homan, 2016) and functionality appreciation (Alleva et al., 2017) were assessed before and after each condition. Interoceptive Sensibility (ISen;Cox et al., 2015) was additionally measured during the conditions.

A preliminary repeated-measures ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of time, indicating an increase in IAcc from pre to post across both conditions, F(1, 73) = 10.21, p = .002, ƞ²_p = .12. A significant time × condition interaction emerged for ISen, F(2, 146) = 17.83, p < .001, ƞ²_p = .20. Simple contrasts revealed an increase in ISen during and post PA, whereas ISen decreased during, but rose again after SMU (pre–during: p < .001, ƞ²_p = .29; pre–post: p < .001, ƞ²_p = .13). Body appreciation showed a significant time × condition interaction (F(1, 73) = 4.10, p = .047, ƞ²_p = .05), increasing from pre to post following PA and decreasing following SMU. No further significant effects emerged from any of the analyses.

The present results indicate that acute PA significantly enhances adolescents’ interoceptive processing. The positive effects on their body appreciation appear less pronounced. In contrast, SMU may negatively affect body appreciation and influence ISen without altering IAcc. Increases in IAcc and ISen following PA likely reflect heightened salience and weighting of interoceptive signals, whereas SMU appears to shift attention toward external cues. Accordingly, PA may represent a promising approach to fostering adolescents’ body-related self-perception. These results may provide a valuable foundation for the development of future long-term interventions. 

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