Body reproduction in social media: A qualitative study on late adolescence

Adolescence is a period of physical, mental, psychological, social, and sexual development. With the impact of this period, adolescents experience emotional fluctuations, feelings of inadequacy, and self-hatred. One of the reasons for these negative states is that adolescents compare their bodies with the ideal body appearances they encounter on social media (SoMe) due to the increased frequency of SoMe use and excessive stimuli from SoMe about the ideal body. Therefore, in this study, I aimed to examine the variables affecting the body and ideal body perception of individuals in late adolescence and their coping strategies with body dissatisfaction, and the SoMe's effect on body construction. For this purpose, I designed the study within the framework of qualitative research design. Using the purposeful sampling method, I conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 individuals in the late adolescence period, who met the criteria in accordance with the scope of the study. I used descriptive data analysis and examined the theme of "Body Construction" through the MAXQDA 2022 program in four main categories: development of body perception, coping strategies with body dissatisfaction, ideal body perception, and SoMe. I concluded that adolescence, family, peers, partner, society, self-perception, and SoMe play an important role in shaping body construction. Another significant result is that the ideal body appearances presented on SoMe have a significant impact on adolescents' body construction. Qualitative research implementing interview technique is novel in this research field and the study will provide the researchers and readers with an in-depth understanding of this phenomenon.