Dwelling on the positive: Escaping the pull of online ‘bodily perfection’

“In many ways, my eating disorder started with Tumblr,” says Dr Sarah Rav, Monash medicine alumna and social media influencer.

“I decided I wanted to model in Year 8, so I started looking at, and posting, a lot of high-end fashion images. Having a healthy body didn’t equate to looking like those women.”

Dr Rav’s hard-fought journey towards wellness – beginning in high school, and shaping her work as a medical professional and content creator – captures both social media’s effect on body image, and the power of influencers and individuals to disrupt its impact.

Understanding the social media minefield

Leaked research from Facebook (now Meta) shows the company is well aware of the negative impact its platforms have on its teen users. One study of its US and UK users found more than 40% of teen girls begin feeling “unattractive” when they started using Instagram.

As a clinical psychologist and leader of the Monash Body Image Research Group , Dr Gemma Sharp has found image-based content platforms such as Facebook and Instagram – bursting with carefully curated online personas – continue to encourage the kind of upward comparison Dr Rav originally experienced on Tumblr.

“It’s behaviour everyone can relate to,” says Dr Sharp. “You're scrolling through your feed, you see all of these beautiful images that have been perfected through filters, and inevitably you perceive that the people you’re looking at are more attractive, their lives are better. It ends with you ultimately feeling worse about yourself.”

The likelihood of engaging in upward comparison is amplified by social media algorithms. “If you engage with idealised images, then you get fed more of the same,” she says.

“You can end up going down a rabbit hole fairly quickly, particularly if it looks like you only have one kind of interest. And if that interest is ‘bodily perfection’, it’s a recipe for dissatisfaction.”

The perfect trap

While Dr Rav’s passions pivoted from high fashion to fitness after a health intervention in her teenage years, she found the pull towards upward comparison inescapable as she moved from Tumblr to Instagram.

“I set up my own fitness Instagram account, and my feed became full of fitness models. I constantly compared myself to them – their bodies, their likes, their brand deals. I didn’t stop to think that they represent a tiny percentage of what the population looks like, and not what’s actually attainable when fitness isn’t your job.”

Read more: Changing the chatter on body image with the help of a chatbot called KIT

This glorification of the unattainable is built into many social media marketing strategies, with users operating as consumers to the detriment of their self-esteem.

“So many industries – like the beauty industry or the fitness industry – rely on the idea of perfection, and the implication that perfection is something we have to strive towards,” says Dr Sharp. “You're always going to have to buy products or pursue activities to attempt to reach it.

“It's a great marketing ploy, isn't it? You'll never be perfect, so the ruse never needs to end.”

Crashing, burning, and rebuilding

While completing her degree, added stress caused by an uncertain living situation and a long-distance relationship saw Dr Rav seek a sense of stability by micromanaging food and exercise. She pushed herself to run further and further each day, and eat less and less. Over time, she found herself without the energy to laugh, socialise, or walk up a flight of stairs.

“When I was asked to see a doctor, it was a massive shock. I thought I was in control. I hadn't even realised how thin I was.”

After being diagnosed with anorexia, she paused her studies and spent six months making eating her full-time job. With the support of her family and friends, she worked alongside a GP, dietician and psychologist to recalibrate her attitude towards food – and towards Instagram.

“When I was sick, I couldn’t turn to uni or social media for a sense of accomplishment,” she recalls. “I wasn’t achieving in the ways I used to, but I realised my friends were still there for me.

“That was the biggest lesson. Even when I didn’t look a certain way or behave a certain way, I could still be loved for who I was.”

While there’s no denying the negative potential of social media on body image, digital platforms can also provide a space for those experiencing eating disorders to put words to their experience and find support.

Dr Rav eventually shared her diagnosis with her followers, deciding to be transparent in the hope she could reach other people who were similarly struggling. The response blew her away.

“I read the comments and cried. There was not a single person who blamed me or who felt that I was weak or judged me. It was not how I expected people to respond at all.

“That was so helpful in my recovery, because it made me feel like I wasn't alone.”

Taking a stand in the body image rebellion

Today, Dr Rav’s Instagram and TikTok accounts share messages of body positivity and compassion, alongside wellness and study tips, with her 2.5 million followers.

“The way I think of it is, if my best friend wasn't top of the class or skipped the workout, I wouldn't think any less of her.

“And that’s how I encourage my followers to treat themselves – to show compassion towards themselves. I show them that it’s great to do your best, and at the same time that nobody thinks less of you based on what you do.”

This kind of message represents not just a huge shift from Dr Rav’s original fitness content, but a new kind of leadership in an influencer-led social media environment.

According to Dr Sharp, we’re already seeing the impact of individuals stepping up to openly and loudly contradict ingrained perspectives on health and beauty.

“Posts that get a lot of negative reactions are more likely to be shared,” she concedes. “However, positive messages can go viral as well. Look at influencers like Jameela Jamil and Lizzo and Celeste Barber.

“Body positivity starts with a person, but then becomes a movement.”

Far from the high fashion or fitness models that used to crowd Dr Rav’s feed, she now makes the conscious choice to consume content that celebrates people of all shapes and sizes.

“Once you start cutting out accounts that aren’t good for you, it's empowering. It’s fine if some influencers want to maintain that veneer of perfection and make money off it, but I don't have to follow them, nor do I have to be like them.

“If you fill your feed with people who will only bring you up, social media can be a really positive place.”

Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness Week runs until 11 September.

If you or someone you know is suffering with issues relating to this article, please visit The Butterfly Foundation website, or call 1800 33 4673.