Social Media and Body Image from the Perspective of Secondary School Youth

Abstract

The study aimed to map the prevalence of social media disorder in secondary school youth. We used an abbreviated version of the Social Media Disorder Scale (SMD) and the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ-16B). The reliability of the questionnaires used in the research, indicates that they have sufficient internal consistency. A total of 637 re-respondents participated in the study. Their ages ranged from 15 to 19 years (AM=16.63). The results of the study showed social media impairment in 11.1% of the respondents, confirming a statistically significant difference in terms of the gender of the adolescents in favour of girls, and in terms of the degree of concern about their appearance, in favour of those who are more concerned about their appearance. Furthermore, a statistically significant difference in the degree of concern about their appearance in terms of gender, was confirmed in favour of girls.