The negative impact of self-idealized content on consumers’ health journey
(R2024-122600)

AUTHORS

Saleh Shuqair, Universidad de las Islas Baleares; Diego Costa Pinto, NOVA IMS Lisbon

ABSTRACT

Despite the positive impact of aspirational and self-idealized content on social media, little is known on the adverse negative effect of self-idealized content on well-being and goal engagement. By drawing on the self-idealization and goal pursuit, this research suggests that social media content type: self-idealized (vs. realistic) fitness content affects well-being and self-esteem. The findings of two studies (N = 446) reveal that self-idealized (vs. realistic) content reduces self-esteem (Study 1) and subjective well-being (Study 2), driven by (ii) perceived goal attainability. The findings provide insights on how social media influencers can affect individuals goal pursuit processes and their well-being. Keywords: fitness influencers, goal pursuit, subjective well-being.