Improving social media literacy to prevent body image concerns in young people: preliminary outcomes from the BodyKind online education programme

Sinead Day; Angela Hinz; Kathina Ali; Daniel Fassnacht; Kate Mulgrew; Kathryn Esparza; Danni Rowlands; Catherine Houlihan

doi:10.1080/00050067.2026.2696317

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Improving social media literacy to prevent body image concerns in young people: preliminary outcomes from the BodyKind online education programme

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Improving social media literacy to prevent body image concerns in young people: preliminary outcomes from the BodyKind online education programme

Sinead Day, Angela Hinz, Kathina Ali, Daniel Fassnacht, Kate Mulgrew, Kathryn Esparza, Danni Rowlands and Catherine Houlihan

Australian Psychologist, Vol.64(4), pp.353-364

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00050067.2026.2696317

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Abstract

Adolescent

body image

intervention

school

social media

Objective Body image concerns are common among young people, exacerbated by harmful messaging and unrealistic appearance standards on social media. Universal, school-based interventions can reach large numbers of adolescents but are lacking research evidence. Method The current study is a pilot evaluation of the Butterfly Foundation’s BodyKind Online Education (BKOE) programme, a three module, self-paced e-learning intervention for Years 7–8 (12–14 years) and Years 9–10 (15–16 years) to improve social media literacy. A total of 117 adolescents (aged 13–15 years, 67.1% female) from four Australian schools participated. Measures were completed before and after the programme to assess its acceptability and effects on social media literacy, body image, appearance and identity management on social media, self-compassion, and general wellbeing. Results Significant improvement was found in social media literacy related to critical assessment of appearance-focused media messages and the over-identification subscale of self-compassion. There was no significant change in other outcomes. Findings for programme acceptability were mixed. Conclusions The BKOE programme may be a useful intervention for social media literacy in young people, with potential for scalability due to its brief, self-paced design. Programme improvements and further research is needed to enhance engagement of young people and impacts on body image.

Details

Title: Improving social media literacy to prevent body image concerns in young people: preliminary outcomes from the BodyKind online education programme
Authors: Sinead Day (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast
Angela Hinz - University of the Sunshine Coast
Kathina Ali - University of the Sunshine Coast
Daniel Fassnacht - University of the Sunshine Coast
Kate Mulgrew - University of the Sunshine Coast
Kathryn Esparza - University of the Sunshine Coast
Danni Rowlands - The Butterfly Foundation
Catherine Houlihan - University of the Sunshine Coast
Publication details: Australian Psychologist, Vol.64(4), pp.353-364
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Date published: 2026
DOI: 10.1080/00050067.2026.2696317
ISSN: 1742-9544
Copyright note: © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Data Availability: Data available on request due to ethical/privacy restrictions.
Grant note: This work was supported by the Butterfly Foundation as a recipient of the eSafety Commissioners Online Safety Grants Program (Round 3).
Organisation Unit: Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre; Graduate Research School; Cancer Research Cluster; School of Health - Psychology
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991246280602621
Output Type: Journal article

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