Testing social media feed curation: Effects of non-objectified body positivity, nature, and feed cleansing on young women’s body image

Appearance-focused social media content may contribute to negative body image among young women, yet little is known about whether intentional social media feed curation can reduce these harms. This 7-day intervention examined whether three social media feed curation strategies implemented on Instagram and/or TikTok influenced body image and connectedness to nature: (a) following non-objectifying body-positive (BoPo) accounts, (b) following nature-based accounts, or (c) removing appearance-focused content from participants' social media feeds. Young undergraduate women aged 17-35 years were recruited from three universities across Australia (N = 230; Mage = 19.9 years). They were randomized to BoPo, Nature, Cleanse, or control (use as usual) conditions and completed measures at pre- and post-test. Multivariate and follow-up analyses showed significant interactions for self-objectification, appearance-based social media pressure, and connectedness to nature. Participants in the BoPo, Nature, and Cleanse conditions reported reductions in self-objectification and social media appearance pressure, whereas no changes were observed in the control group. Connectedness to nature increased in the Nature and BoPo conditions, decreased in the Cleanse condition, and increased modestly in the control group. No intervention-specific effects emerged for body satisfaction or body appreciation, although both improved over time across conditions. Findings provide initial evidence that exposure to deliberately curated, non-objectifying BoPo content may reduce self-objectification and suggest that brief feed curation, whether through adding adaptive content or removing appearance-focused content, may reduce appearance-related pressures. Overall, intentional feed curation may represent a low-effort, scalable approach to reducing appearance-related pressures and supporting digital wellbeing.