Does The Angelina Jolie Effect Also Exist For Men? The Use Of Instagram And Appearance Comparison As Predictors Of Acceptance Of Cosmetic Surgery Among Young Italian Men

Instagram plays an important role on men’s body image, favoring social comparison and the tendency to use strategies for managing one’s appearance (Gültzow et al., 2020). While research show that Instagram use is associated with greater acceptance of cosmetic surgery for women, studies are scarce for men. !is study investigated the role of both Instagram-activities (carried out about oneself, friends, and celebrities) and Instagram- appearance comparison (frequency and direction) on consideration of cosmetic surgery and its acceptance for intrapersonal and social reasons. Participants were 470 men (26±3.72). Hierarchical regressions were performed. Findings showed that both activities carried out about celebrities’ images and frequency of appearance comparison on Instagram predicted consideration of cosmetic surgery and its acceptance for social reasons; its interest for intrapersonal reasons was predicted by direction of comparison only. Findings provide information about the role that Instagram play on acceptance of surgery for aesthetic reasons and suggest the importance to design preventive interventions about it. Reducing Instagram celebrities’ activities and appearance comparison is beneficial for decreasing the acceptance of unnecessary cosmetic procedures among men.