Pia Miranda and Dr Preeya Alexander sit across from each other in a warmly lit studio. They have large microphones stretched out on stands in front of them.

A super appears on screen over a shot of Preeya that reads: Teen body image and social media.

Preeya:
Social media alone doesn't cause body dissatisfaction or body image issues. It's actually multifactorial and there's lots of different issues at play.

Pia:
What is body image and how can social media affect it?

Preeya:
Body image is basically how we feel in our bodies. Depending on what you're seeing on your feed, we know that diet culture can be a real element. There's also comparison, 'well my body's different to that body', and that can really make people feel uncomfortable in their bodies. Potentially impact self-worth self-esteem. You're not feeling as good about the body that you're in because everything you're seeing there is really different.

Pia:
What does body comparison on social media look like?

Preeya:
For teens, it can really look like seeing what's on their feed, comparing their body to this ideal that they're seeing. 'Well, my body doesn't look like that. Do I need to change the way my body looks?' And that can really impact self-esteem and self-worth. So it can be quite problematic. It's really important to actually support teens and direct them to content that's going to be more protective when it comes to all of that.

Pia:
My daughter is at the age where she's going to start getting Instagram. My main concern is that she has a really healthy body image and I don't want her all of a sudden to go on a social media site and then have that body image be affected. But I also do know that social media has been really helpful for people who feel like they're alone or they look different. That's the kind of thing I want for my daughter, is to see a community of people who reflect how she's feeling about herself and reflect positive things. And so I don't wanna demonise it, but you just do wanna have that little bit of control.

Preeya:
You ideally wanna see a diverse range of bodies and skin colours and ability on your feed.

Pia:
A hundred per cent.

Preeya:
You want it to reflect the real world. The good thing is there are now extra little things in place like these Teen Accounts, which has in-built protective factors and restrictions on it. So you can kind of know what kind of things your teen is being exposed to.

Pia:
Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>.

Preeya:
And as parents, you can also sit down with your teen and go, 'Okay, we know that day on a plate weight loss, summer body stuff is unhelpful. It doesn't make us feel good about our bodies, which are amazing. Let's sit down together. Let's go into settings and let's actually filter out some of these things. It's under hidden words. And let's say we don't wanna see this stuff. This is unhelpful for our brains.' And I think for teens or for any user, it's so important to actually follow people and get your information from people who are qualified when it comes to health and diet and exercise, and there are plenty of us out there.

Pia:
How can parents uplift and support a teen that is developing a negative body image?

Preeya:
So there's lots that you can do, and it's not always easy. One is actually being really conscious of how you refer to your own body. The kind of comments you make about your own body and the kind of language that you use in the house around labelling foods and talking about things like diet or weight loss.

Pia:
Okay.

Preeya:
You've got a lot of power there.

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