Generative Mechanisms of Female Body Anxiety in the Social Media Context - A Web Ethnography Study Based on Xiaohongshu Groups

Abstract

The prevalence of social media, with its overly edited photos and videos, has intensified aesthetic interactions and comparisons for women, exacerbating body image anxiety and affecting their quality of life and mental and physical health. This study combines cyber ethnography and in-depth interviews, analyzing self-narratives of women's groups on Xiaohongshu to explore the mechanisms of body image anxiety from the perspectives of self-regulation and social construction, and to research beneficial ideas and strategies for alleviating women's body image anxiety.