The growing popularity of social media has made platforms like Instagram and Facebook central to the daily lives of young girls. These spaces are not only tools for social connection but also environments where societal expectations of appearance and identity are constantly reinforced. Research consistently links social media use to body image dissatisfaction, as exposure to idealized and curated images can shape perceptions of beauty and self-worth. While much of this research focuses on cisgender, heterosexual adolescents, LGBTQ+ girls face unique pressures, navigating both gendered norms and heteronormative standards. Three key themes, gendered sociocultural norms, internalization of beauty ideals, and social comparisons, were identified in this literature review as central mechanisms through which social media influences body dissatisfaction, mental health, and self-perception. Understanding these dynamics is essential for identifying risk factors, supporting marginalized populations, and promoting online environments that foster positive body image and well-being.
Gender Differences
Gendered sociocultural norms have a profound impact on the experiences of young females on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook (Perloff, 2014). Two key themes emerge: first, girls face disproportionate pressure, particularly within appearance-based content that reflects power dynamics in broader society; and second, social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, exacerbate these effects for young females (Choukas-Bradley et al, 2022; Mahon & Hevey, 2021; Markey et al., 2025). Young girls are disproportionately affected by media content that focuses on appearance, due to ingrained and reinforced gender norms that prioritize physical beauty as essential to female identity (Choukas-Bradley et al., 2022; Markey et al., 2025). Young females, aged 13 to 19, are the most frequent users of social media and tend to engage in more communication- and appearance-focused use than males (Mahon & Hevey, 2021; Markey et al., 2025). These dynamic gendered standards regarding body image displayed on social media serve as tools of normative social control of ideal beauty, with girls' intensive investment in appearance norms functioning to maintain patriarchal hierarchies (Markey et al., 2025; Perlof, 2014). A notable difference Mahon and Hevey (2021) highlight is that boys employ active coping strategies when encountering problematic body content. In contrast, girls describe feeling powerless to avoid body-damaging material, likely due to the norms set in place by society. This highlights the importance of studying the impact of social media on LGBTQ+ youth, particularly girls, as identifying unique challenges is crucial (Gordon et al., 2019; Jordan, 2023).
LGBTQ+ individuals, especially youth, are introduced to societal expectations of binary gender, meaning ones gender identity aligns with their sex assigned at birth, which relays negative messages to LGBTQ+ youth who may feel discontent with their bodies (Richburg & Stewart, 2024; Mofradidoost & Abolghasemi, 2020). This leads to cisnormativity being an influential and hierarchical force for body image standards, which can damage their overall satisfaction with their body image, leading to further mental health issues (Richburg & Stewart, 2024; Mofradidoost & Abolghasemi, 2020).
Internalization of Ideals
The internalization of the thin ideal refers to the psychological adoption of beauty standards created by society that emphasize thinness, which ultimately mediates the relationship between social media use and body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls (Papageorgiou, Fisher, and Cross 2022; Yang et al., 2020). Generally, appearance focused social media platforms promote the internalization of unrealistic ideals among adolescent girls through passive absorption, including constant exposure to various filtered and edited images that reinforce the thin-ideal body type (Papageorgiou et al., 2022; Perloff, 2014; Yang et al., 2020). When the thin ideal is internalized, self-surveillance becomes constant, leading girls to judge themselves from an observer's perspective and experience extreme body dissatisfaction (Roberts et al., 2022). This illustrates the process of internalizing normative standards, which, if not met, can lead to self-criticism and potentially harmful thoughts and actions. LGBTQ+ youth, girls more than boys, also face pressure of ideal standards from media, and given the existing stressful gender and sexual orientation expectations these individuals face, these messages serve as a further threat to LGBTQ+ individuals’ well-being (Gordon et al., 2019; Jordan, 2023).
Social Comparisons
One of the primary reasons adolescent girls experience body dissatisfaction due to social media is social comparison, specifically upward social comparison, which involves comparing oneself to someone perceived as superior in a specific domain, such as appearance (Pedalino & Camerini, 2022; Prieler, Choi, & Lee, 2021). Through platforms like Instagram and Facebook, adolescent females are exposed to content that promotes comparisons with idealized individuals and peer-to-peer comparisons of appearance (Pedalino & Camerini, 2022). Because peer-to-peer comparisons are viewed as more attainable due to the close nature of relationships, they are more damaging to female adolescents' body image satisfaction (Fardouly et al., 2015; Pedalino & Camerini, 2022). This is vital as peers influence each other significantly, and when body satisfaction decreases, harmful actions and thoughts can occur, specifically mental health decline noted in several studies (Pedalino & Camerini, 2022; Prieler, Choi and Lee, 2021).
Young girls are found to engage in appearance comparisons more frequently and more intensely than others, as noted in the social comparison theory (Markey et al., 2025; Pedalino & Camerini, 2022; Prieler et al., 2021). Following the social comparison theory, LGBTQ+ youth are found to engage in comparisons more often than non-LGBTQ+ individuals, especially in terms of identity disclosure and body image (Berger et al., 2019). These comparisons are particularly harmful for young females and LGBTQ+ youth because the reported comparisons are typically to unattainable altered images on Instagram, leading to body dissatisfaction (Pedalino & Camerini, 2022; Prieler et al, 2021; Berger et al., 2019).
Gaps
Additionally, a population gap identified is a lack of intersectional studies, as most of the focus was on Western beauty ideals and white, cisgender, heterosexual adolescent females with little to no emphasis on non-Western media, LGBTQ+ individuals and POC (Papageorgiou et al, 2022; Prieler et a, 2021). Only one study identified intervention tactics for resilience; therefore, there is a gap in prevention strategies (Papageorgiou et al.,2022).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the literature highlights three interconnected themes that shape body image experiences for adolescent girls on social media: gendered norms, internalization of societal ideals, and social comparisons (Choukas-Bradley et al., 2022; Markey et al., 2025; Perloff, 2014). Gendered sociocultural expectations place young girls under disproportionate pressure to conform to appearance-based standards, which are amplified on platforms like Instagram and Facebook (Mahon & Hevey, 2021; Choukas-Bradley et al., 2022). These pressures are further internalized as girls adopt unrealistic body ideals, often through passive exposure to curated, edited content, resulting in self-surveillance and heightened body dissatisfaction (Papageorgiou et al., 2022; Roberts et al., 2022; Yang et al., 2020). Social comparisons, particularly upward comparisons with peers and influencers, reinforce these negative perceptions and create a self-perpetuating cycle of body image concerns (Fardouly et al., 2015; Pedalino & Camerini, 2022; Prieler et al., 2021). While existing research offers substantial evidence of these mechanisms, critical gaps remain, particularly regarding LGBTQ+ youth, non-Western populations, and longitudinal effects (Berger et al., 2019; Gordon et al., 2019; Richburg & Stewart, 2024). Overall, the literature underscores the need for intersectional approaches that consider diverse identities, social contexts, and potential protective factors, paving the way for targeted interventions and future research that addresses the unique experiences of marginalized adolescent girls (Choukas-Bradley et al., 2022; Papageorgiou et al., 2022; Markey et al., 2025).
Edited by: Tega Ubor
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