Social media sites are becoming increasingly popular in todays society. On social media sites we can often find posts that encourage individuals to exercise more, eat healthily, lose weight etc. (the so-called fitspiration movement), which can have a negative impact on an individual’s subjective wellbeing. In this study we studied how fit exposure to fitspiration predicts fat talk between friends and if body image concerns are an important mediator in this relationship. We examined if self-compassion mitigates the effects of fitspiration and so acts as a protective factor. We also examined if contingent self-worth strengthens the effects of fitspiration and in doing so acts as a risk factor. 302 participants took part in the survey, of which 246 women, 55 men and one person, who identifies differently. The average age of participants was 24,2 years. We have translated three questionnaires into Slovenian – Fitspirational media use questionnaire, Fat talk questionnaire and Body image concerns inventory. Self-compassion scale and Contingencies of self-worth scale (physical appearance scale) were also used in our study. Hypotheses were tested using path analysis. The results indicate that exposure to fitspiration on social media predicts engagement in fat talk between friends from a weight perspective. An indirect link through body image concerns was found to be a significant predictor of fat talk between friends. Individuals who show more body image concerns after exposure to fitspiration engage in more fat talk between friends. Contingent self-worth has shown to be an important risk factor that reinforces the indirect link in this relationship. Self-compassion, however, did not prove to be a significant protective factor. Practical implications and limitations of the study are discussed.
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