Social networking sites and men’s drive for muscularity: Testing a revised objectification model.

Abstract

The contribution of social media to men’s drive for muscularity (DM) has received limited research attention. This study drew on a revised objectification theory to predict attitudes and behaviors pertaining to DM that arise from using social networking sites (SNSs). A sample of 303 undergraduate men, aged 17–25 years, completed online questionnaire measures of engagement in three SNS activities (browsing or following celebrity, fashion, and grooming sites, browsing or following fitspiration sites, and placing importance on online “likes” and comments). Also assessed were body surveillance, social appearance anxiety, and two indices of DM (attitudes and behavior). Structural equation modeling was used to test an objectification theory-based model of the antecedents of DM. Results supported a serial mediation process comprising paths from two of the SNS activities (browsing or following celebrity, fashion, and grooming sites and placing importance on online “likes” and comments) through, in turn, body surveillance and social appearance anxiety, to DM attitudes but not to DM behaviors. Viewing fitspiration sites predicted DM behaviors and attitudes directly, rather than indirectly. Findings extend objectification theory as a useful framework for identifying the influence of some SNS uses on young men’s DM and suggest strategies through which the negative effects of SNS use on excessive DM may be curtailed.