The Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AiMCO) will mark International Youth Day with “The Social Media Responsibility” webinar on social media responsibility for influencers, exploring the alarming impact social media is having on young people’s body image.
The Social Media Responsibility webinar, to be held on 12 August, will delve into social media best practice for influencers, talent managers/agents, agencies, and brands, in light of research showing the strong connection between social media content and negative body image.
Global research by the US National Library of Medicine released last year shows there is an “alarming and plausible” link between an increase in eating disorders and negative body image for young people on social media. Social comparison, thin idealisation, and self-objectification were the main issues affecting young people worldwide, leading to negative self-image and the development of eating disorders.
Guest speakers Gemma Sharp, an associate professor at Monash University and a senior clinical psychologist, and Penny Shell, chief strategy and product officer for Zenith Media, will examine the connection between social media and eating disorders during the webinar. Sharp will provide evidence-based strategies to promote a more positive social media environment and improve the user experience, while Snell will discuss practical media actions and best practice content ratios and behaviours.
Associate Professor Sharp is currently the head of the Body Image and Eating Disorders Research Program at Monash University. Her research career has focused on social media and its impact on teen body image and eating disorders, along with novel treatments. She also leads the International Consortium for Research in Eating Disorders which brings together key voices in eating disorder research globally to improve eating disorder care.
Shell has held Australian and global leadership roles in agencies and client-side and as an independent consultant in strategy, account leadership, and new business. Her expertise spans categories including retail, financial services, FMCG, luxury, sport, automotive, government, tourism/travel, beauty, QSR and telecommunications. Over the past 12 months, Shell has been leading a media industry social media responsibility initiative for positive actions on teen body image.
“Influencers have a responsibility to be good digital citizens. The power content creators and influencers have cannot be underestimated, particularly among young people, so it’s important that our creators have a thorough understanding of the impact of their content on body image and self-esteem. Our focus is on giving our influencer community the tools to build more responsible social media platforms and to be leaders in this space, creating positive, empowering content for young Australians,” said AiMCO managing director, Patrick Whitnall.
The Social Media Responsibility webinar is the latest in AiMCO’s series of webinars for its members. This year’s webinars have deep-dived into a range of top-of-mind topics for creators, agencies, and brands, including safe mental health content, influencer agreements, and inclusivity and diversity in the industry.
The webinar will be held on Monday, 12 August from 11 am to 12 pm.
