Body image and internet addiction are deeply intertwined. Negative body image can cause and maintain internet addiction, and internet addiction frequently worsens how we feel about our bodies.
How Negative Body Image Drives Internet Addiction
- Chronic dissatisfaction with physical appearance depletes psychological resources
- Body shame — a particularly painful form of shame — directly drives internet addiction
- Comparison of body to social standards is a primary internet addiction trigger
- Body image concerns often involve the same negative self-evaluation patterns as internet addiction
How Internet Addiction Affects Body Image
Internet Addiction can worsen body image through reduced self-care motivation, changes in appetite and weight, and a general negative lens that extends to physical self-perception.
Addressing Body Image and Internet Addiction Together
- Body neutrality: Not requiring positive body feelings, just reduction of hostility
- Body functionality focus: What your body does vs. how it looks
- Intuitive eating: Reconnecting with hunger and satisfaction cues disrupted by internet addiction
- Therapy: CBT and ACT effectively address both body image and internet addiction