In 2026, you can open any social media app and within minutes you’re comparing yourself to someone else’s body. Whether it’d be TikTok, Instagram or Youtube content surrounding body-image is massively popular within our generation. Typical formats of such can be seen through before-and-after videos, beauty tutorials or the side of media deemed ‘GymTok’. All these forms of content share the similar aspects of being targeted toward the demographic most likely to be watching. In this case, young people. For students across the UK, who commonly spend more time online than almost any other age group, people have begun to question what this consistent exposure to these types of content is doing to their self-image. Both academic researchers and mental health organisations alike have noted an increasing concern on this pressing matter.
The relationship linking body image and social media is not a new concept, rather it has been accelerated considerably by technology. Over the last decade, we have seen an emergence of apps designed to slim faces, smooth skin, and edit the curvature of natural body types, all contributing to a distorted sense of reality when looking at beauty. A 2024 study led by York University discovered that taking even a limited break from the grasp of social media had a notable positive impact on young women’s body image. The study suggested that damage being caused by social media usage is a deeply rooted issue. Both creating and posting filtered content was found to have a significant impact on how participants felt about their unfiltered self-image.
From the lens of a student, these pressures materialise through various ways. Whether through beach days, freshers week, or a night out it is argued that University life is documented to a heightened extent, one which previous generations had never experienced. Brighton’s seafront and festival culture only amplify these issues further. Brighton summer poses an environment where bodies are far more visible, and sharing this content is normalised. Student Minds, a noteworthy mental health charity, has consistently deemed body image as one of the more concerning mental health factors among the student demographic.
In 2026, there are signs that awareness of these issues is rising. The ‘de-influencing’ movement which went viral on TikTok in 2023, set a framework of resistance against social media content which pushes a narrative of perfection, with various creators sharing content which was unfiltered and shone light onto the growing gap between online persona and reality.
What is evident is the digital, and physical environment which students navigate today is far more visually demanding than previous generations. Though pressures of beauty standards existed on campus before social media, the new atmosphere which it renders is competitive and unrealistic. Social media can be understood as a mechanism which forces a specific narrative of beauty standards onto individuals on top of a variety of pressures which a university student is already balancing. The difference with this pressure, is that it exists as long as your phone is on.