Tall orders online: social media engagement is associated with height dissatisfaction

Body dissatisfaction is a widespread concern linked to negative psychological outcomes. While much research has focused on dissatisfaction with weight and muscularity, dissatisfaction with height – an unchangeable trait – remains underexplored. We examined whether social media engagement and related cognitive factors predict height dissatisfaction. A sample of 332 Australian adults (72.89% female; Mage = 24.42) completed measures assessing height dissatisfaction, social media use, awareness of appearance-related social media content, internalization of appearance ideals, and sociocultural pressures. We found that shorter height, greater awareness of appearance-related content, stronger internalization of ideals, and higher sociocultural pressure were each associated with increased height dissatisfaction. Additionally, sociocultural pressure (β= .28, p< .001) and social media awareness (β = .15, p = .012) were unique predictors of height dissatisfaction. Last, an exploratory analysis of sex differences indicated that the link between social media awareness and height dissatisfaction was stronger among males. Findings highlight the role of sociocultural and digital influences in height-related body image concerns.