Published by claire at 18th January 2017 Social media can be a tremendous force for good but does its darker side harbour problems for our body image and mental health? I review the evidence and offer suggestions for how we deal with this potential ticking time bomb for our mental health. Much research has shown, over the last two decades, that the ‘thin ideal’ portrayed in the traditional media (films, television, magazines, billboards etc.) is linked to negative body image and subsequently an increased risk of disordered eating. The near constant presence of this thin ideal in some areas of the media normalise a body type that for most is neither realistic nor achievable but once this image becomes internalised in an individual, it becomes a […]