Did the Pandemic Increase Social Media–Induced Appearance Pressures?

Has the use of social media intensified and increased appearance-related pressures during the Covid-19 pandemic? A growing body of research has suggested that body image concerns and disordered eating increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the potential pathways includes an increase in social media use. However, examinations of this pathway have been limited because of the lack of longitudinal data. Drawing on a four-wave population-based survey (n = 543), we demonstrate that social media–based appearance pressures did not increase at the beginning of the pandemic but rather at the later stage and among women only. However, the changes in social media use do not explain this subtle increase. These findings suggest that the intensified use of social media itself may not have been the primary explanatory factor in the increased appearance-related pressures during the Covid-19 pandemic.