Examining the Varied Effects of Social Media on Body Image Across Genders: An In-Depth Systematic Review

This systematic review investigates the relationship between social media use and body image across genders, examining how different engagement patterns influence body perception and identifying gender-specific vulnerability factors through the theoretical frameworks of Objectification Theory and Social Comparison Theory. Following PRISMA guidelines, we analyzed 65 peer-reviewed articles (2019–2023) from Scopus and Web of Science using the keywords “social media,”“body image,” and “gender.” A multi-stage analysis approach employed PRISMA framework for article selection, bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer for mapping conceptual relationships, and Structural Topic Modeling (STM) to identify thematic clusters. Three primary thematic clusters emerged: “Social Media and Body Image” (39% of studies), “Gender Differences” (34%), and “Psychological Impact” (24%). Longitudinal analysis revealed a shift from gender-comparative research toward increasing focus on psychological mechanisms. Both passive consumption of idealized content and active manipulation of self-presentations consistently correlated with negative body image outcomes, with females demonstrating heightened vulnerability due to amplified sociocultural pressures. The study develops an integrated theoretical framework demonstrating how social media impacts body image through gender-specific pathways with varying psychological consequences. Females experience greater vulnerability due to more intense objectification effects and less effective coping resources, while platform design features amplify existing sociocultural appearance pressures. Our findings support the development of gender-sensitive interventions addressing specific vulnerability mechanisms, comprehensive media literacy programs fostering critical engagement with idealized imagery, and platform design modifications reducing features that foster problematic engagement patterns. Future research should employ longitudinal designs with gender-balanced samples to investigate causality and effectiveness of targeted interventions.