Date

12-16-2025

Department

School of Communication and the Arts

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Communication (PhD)

Chair

Kami Anderson

Keywords

Instagram, body image, beauty standards, social media

Disciplines

Communication

Abstract

The purpose of the phenomenological study was to explore the impact of Instagram exposure on the beauty standards and body image of young Black American women. Drawing from literature highlighting the negative psychological effects of social media, such as comparison, body surveillance, and negative emotions, the research aimed to capture the experiences of Black women navigating beauty ideals in digital communication spaces. The study focused on Instagram because of the visual nature of the content and its alignment with the visual nature of the construct of beauty. The study explored behaviors, intentions, and habits associated with Instagram use.

The research acknowledged the double consciousness theory and the challenges with navigating predominantly white spaces as a Black person with its integration as the foundation of the theoretical framework. The study used double consciousness as the foundation for exploring fundamental attributes of the experiences of Black American women in predominantly white societies, providing space for potential contributing factors like underrepresentation. The double consciousness theory was supported by subsequent theories to explore these behaviors and establish a better understanding of the impacts and responses. Using qualitative methodology, data was collected using semi-structured interviews with nine participants aged 18-22. The researcher used a thematic schema to analyze transcriptions of the interviews to answer research questions illustrating the relationship between participants and Instagram content. These themes included exposure to beauty content regardless of intention, the sentiment that Instagram content is unauthentic, and that there is consistently an impact of exposure to the content. While many of the participants expressed negative sentiments regarding exposure to Instagram content, some participants expressed the potential positive uses of the platform such as inspiration, ideas, and connection to the Black community. The findings of this study highlight the nuances of social media influence and the impact that it has on self-image, perception, and other aspects of beauty. This study contributed to a growing understanding of the power of social media platforms, representation, and highlights the importance of messaging.

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