Page 11 - MMP Project Lauren Pratt 6536544

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Molly-mae Hague
If you spend about two minutes on Molly-Mae’s socials (particularly Instagram), it is almost instant that one would notice how aesthetically pleasing her feed is. With what appears to be very thoughtful lifestyle posts (e.g. business posts, vacation posts, product posts, achievement posts, etc.), Molly-Mae’s daily life looks practically perfect. However, this can contribute to one of the many stressors caused
by social media, the highlight reel. Similar to a sports channel showing the best bits of a soccer game, the highlight reel theory involves users showing off the best parts of their lives (Tedx Talks, 2017). In comparison to both Emma and Krissy, who share more intimate posts on their socials (e.g pictures of them crying or after a long day), Molly-Mae is all smiles in her posts. This can pose a problem for users’ insecurities as we tend to compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone’s highlight reels.
Krissy cela
Krissy’s goal is to motivate and encourage others
who are on or want to start their fitness journey. She does this through ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos of herself during her journey and through motivational captions on each post she makes. However, although intended to be inspiring, her posts can have impacts on users’ body image. As a follower of Krissy’s, I admit that I have fallen victim to her
‘fitspiration’ posts. Fitspiration is a mixture of fitness and inspiration messages that are intended to motivate others, but instead, sometimes can cause a negative impact on body image ( Carrotte et. al., 2017). Being a long-term fan of Krissy’s and understanding her purpose, it is obvious that she does not intentionally create fitspiration. However, it is hard not to compare oneself to her when she shares pictures of her toned abs or videos of her lifting extremely heavy weight.