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Social Networking Sites and Men’s Drive for Muscularity: Testing a Revised Objectification Model

Authors:
Veya Seekis at Griffith University
Veya Seekis
Graham L. Bradley
Graham L. Bradley
Graham L. Bradley
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Amanda L. Duffy
Amanda L. Duffy
Amanda L. Duffy
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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.
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Social Networking Sites and Men’s Drive for Muscularity: Testing a
Revised Objectification Model
Veya Seekis, Graham L. Bradley, and Amanda L. Duffy
Griffith University
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 fitspi-
ration 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.
Public Significance Statement
Findings suggest that certain types of appearance-related social networking site use may
reinforce the idealized masculine body, heightening young men’s desires to become more
muscular. Given that habitual appearance monitoring and social appearance anxiety were found
to be important contributors to some of these relationships, their inclusion in future intervention
programs may reduce, in particular, attitudes toward muscularity. Additionally, such interven-
tions may also address fitness-related content on social networking sites to prevent excessive
exercise and use of supplements.
Keywords: social networking sites, body surveillance, social appearance anxiety, drive for muscularity
The mesomorphic body type (well-developed chest and shoul-
ders tapering down to a narrow waist and hips) represents charac-
teristics synonymous with hegemonic masculinity, such as
strength, power, dominance, success, and competitiveness (Mor-
rison, Morrison, & Hopkins, 2003;Pope, Olivardia, Borowiecki, &
Cohane, 2001). This body type is increasingly valued in popular
culture and increasingly visible in traditional media such as mag-
azines, where depictions of men have become more muscular over
time, and the male body is often presented in objectifying states of
undress (Baghurst, Hollander, Nardella, & Haff, 2006;Ric-
ciardelli, Clow, & White, 2010). In recent years, social networking
sites (SNSs), for example Facebook and Instagram, have provided
users with constant access to objectifying images of men and have
allowed users to send and receive evaluations of these and other
images through “likes” and comments (Raggatt et al., 2018;Sii-
bak, 2010). The ubiquity of idealized mesomorphic images on
appearance-related SNSs is likely to increase men’s awareness of,
and anxiety about, their appearance (Barry, 2015). Indeed, such
images may have contributed to the high proportion, estimated to
be 70 –90%, of Western men who want to become more muscular
(Frederick et al., 2007;Holmqvist Gattario et al., 2015).
For many men, the mesomorphic physique is both aspirational
and often unachievable through healthy means. In fact, concern
about, and desire for, muscularity, have been shown to be risk
factors for a range of unhealthy behaviors and body image pathol-
ogies in males including disordered eating (Blashill, 2011), use of
performance-enhancing drugs (e.g., anabolic steroids; Murray,
Griffiths, Mond, Kean, & Blashill, 2016;Olivardia, Pope,
Borowiecki, & Cohane, 2004), and exercise dependence (Dawson
& Hammer, 2019). Given that young adults are the highest con-
sumers of SNSs (Pew Research, 2018;Sensis, 2018), these plat-
This article was published Online First April 6, 2020.
XVeya Seekis, Graham L. Bradley, and Amanda L. Duffy, School of
Applied Psychology, Griffith University.
Ideas and data pertaining to the current study were disseminated via an
oral presentation at the Australian Psychological Society College of Health
Psychologists Conference, Adelaide, April, 25–27th, 2019.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Veya
Seekis, School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Gold Coast,
Queensland 4222, Australia. E-mail: v.seekis@griffith.edu.au
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
Psychology of Men & Masculinities © 2020 American Psychological Association
2021, Vol. 22, No. 1, 189–200 ISSN: 1524-9220 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/men0000265
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... This implies that conforming to masculine ideals associated with power is closely linked to concerns about muscularity (Valentine & Wong, 2023). Repeated, and rapid, exposure to this imagery while scrolling across social media content reinforces a cycle of male selfobjectification and body dissatisfaction (Seekis et al., 2021), which ultimately can reinforce negative masculine norms of powerlessness or inadequacy, contribute to poor mental health outcomes among men, and reduce their likelihood to seek help for maladaptive thinking (Parent et al., 2019;Shepherd & Rickard, 2012). ...
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