Among Swedish adults, 50% are active on social media daily. Regarding body image, 50% of Swedish adolescents are happy with their weight, although no statistics are available among Swedish adults. Time spent on social media is related to body dissatisfaction, and viewing of body positive content increases body appreciation. Applying a salutogenic approach, a theoretical framework of sense of coherence was used in this study. The aim was to examine: if there is a relationship between social media usage and body appreciation in Swedish adults; if there are gender differences; whether this potential relationship is evident after controlling for age, gender, physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, and viewing of body positive content. A quantitative method was used. Data from 153 participants was collected using questionnaires, and analysed using correlation analyses and multiple regression analyses. The results revealed that there was no relationship between general social media usage and body appreciation – however, the less time spent on social media, the better body appreciation participants had. This relationship was only evident among women. The relationship was still observed after controlling for confounding. These findings were in line with some previous findings. Women’s body appreciation could possibly favour from decreased time spent on social media.

Syftet med studien var att (a) studera hälsosam kroppsuppfattning i relation till kroppsfunktionalitet, motionsmotiv, ångest och självkänsla, samt (b) undersöka om dessa faktorer kan predicera hälsosam kroppsuppfattning. Via webbenkäter samlades data in vid två tillfällen. 93 stycken kvinnor deltog, samtliga var över 18 år. Regressionsanalys visade att samtliga prediktorer kroppsfunktionalitet, utseenderelaterade motionsmotiv, funktionsrelaterade motionsmotiv, ångest och självkänsla var signifikanta prediktorer för kroppsuppskattning och utseendevärdering. Utvecklingsteorin om förkroppsligande samt Objektifieringsteorin är två välanvända teorier i sammanhang som studerar hälsosam kroppsuppfattning. Dessa användes i studien för att belysa kroppsfunktionalitetens roll i relation till hälsosam kroppsuppfattning samt ge en ökad förståelse för kroppsuppfattning ur en kvinnlig aspekt. Studiens resultat uppmärksammar faktorer som är relevanta i arbetet att förebygga och behandla kvinnors kroppsuppfattning. / The purpose of the study was to (a) study healthy body image in relation to body functionality, exercise motives, anxiety and self-esteem, and (b) examine whether these factors can predict healthy body image. Data were collected via web surveys on two occasions. 93 women participated, and all of them were over the age of 18. Regression analysis showed that all predictors, body functionality, appearance-related exercise motives, function-related exercise motives, anxiety and self-esteem were significant predictors of body appreciation and appearance evaluation. The developmental theory of embodiment and the objectification theory are two theories that are well-used in contexts that study positive body image. These were used in the study to illuminate the role of body functionality in relation to positive body image and to provide an increased understanding of body image from a female aspect. The results of the study draw attention to factors that are relevant in the work of preventing and treating women's body image.

Denna studies inledning ger en övergripande bild av att svenska ungdomar generellt skattar sin hälsa som hög, däremot skattas den psykosociala hälsan lägre vilken innefattas av att vara nöjd med sig själv. Att vara nöjd med sig själv och sin kropp omfattas av kroppsbildsuppfattningen. Sociala medier tar allt mer tid i anspråk och används i större utsträckning som ett kommunikationsmedel. Levnadsvanor, miljö och det tidiga livets villkor har en betydelse för individens hälsa. Denna studies syfte var att undersöka ungdomars kroppsbildsuppfattning och användande av sociala medier samt undersöka relationen mellan dem. Metod: En kvantitativ tvärsnittsstudie utfördes. Enkäter användes som datainsamlingsmetod bland skånska elever i åk 1-3 på gymnasiet, där 249 elever besvarade enkäten. Resultatet visade att 33 procent av flickor hade högre kroppsuppfattning än pojkar (14%) och att 38 procent av pojkarna hade lägre kroppsuppfattning än flickorna (18%) (p=0,001). Flickor använder sociala medier i större utsträckning än pojkar. Sättet flickor och pojkar använde sociala medier på skiljde sig åt. Flickor hade fler olika roller på sociala medier än pojkar, samt pojkar spelade mer onlinspel än flickor. Konklusion: Eftersom pojkarna i denna studie hade lägre kroppsbildsuppfattning och spelade mer onlinespel än flickorna är det utifrån ett genus och jämställdhetsperspektiv lämpligt att studera pojkars kroppsbildsuppfattning i relation till onlinespelande. Därför bör ytterligare forskning med inriktning på pojkars kroppsbildsuppfattning bedrivas utifrån både en kvalitativ och kvantitativ metodaspekt, med ändamål att försöka förstå vilka faktorer som ligger till grund för deras kroppsbildsuppfattning. / The study's introduction is given as an overall picture of the fact that Swedish youth generally estimate their health as high but the psychosocial health is estimated to be lower, which includes being satisfied with themselves. Being content with yourself and your body is covered by the body image perception. Social media takes more time and it's used to a greater extent as a communication medium. Living habits, the environment and the conditions of early life have a bearing on the individual's health.The aim of this study was to investigate the body image of young people and the use of social media and to investigate the relationship between them. Method: A quantitative cross-sectional study was performed. The survey was used as a data collection method among Scanian students in grades 1-3 in high school, where 249 students answered questionnaires. The result showed that 33 percent of girls had a higher body image than boys (14 percent) and that 38 percent of boys had a lower body image than girls (18 percent) (p = 0.001). The way girls and boys used social media differs. Girls use social media to a greater extent than boys. The way girls and boys used social media differed. Girls had more different roles on social media than boys, and boys played more online games than girls. Conclusion: Since the boys in this study had lower body image perception and played more online games than girls, it is appropriate from a gender and gender perspective to study boys' body image perception in relation to online gaming. Therefore, further research with a focus on boys' body image should be conducted on the basis of both a qualitative and quantitative method aspect, with the aim of trying to understand which factors underlie their body image perception.

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