Hoe authentiek zijn jongeren nu echt op BeReal? 🔍 Interview deze week in @knack.be over ons onderzoek naar de (spoiler: niet altijd zo) authentieke zelfpresentaties van jongeren op BeReal en welke invloed dit op hun zelfbeeld kan hebben: www.knack.be/nieuws/techn...

Excited to share some conclusions of our research on youth and well-being @gonzalezanaelle.bsky.social @jasminarosic.bsky.social @luca-carbone.bsky.social @gvanhoffelen.bsky.social @mediapsychologylab.bsky.social

The MIMIc project, led by @lauravandenbosch.bsky.social‬, investigates how ‘malleable ideals’—the constantly shifting portrayals of success & perfection in media—influence teenagers’ well-being, identity, and life aspirations.

Discover more 👉 buff.ly/jLuzdnI

This research was conducted as part of the ERC-funded MIMIc project at the @mediapsychologylab.bsky.social, and I’m grateful to my brilliant co-authors @gonzalezanaelle.bsky.social @laraschreurs.bsky.social @Caroline Giraudeau and @lauravandenbosch.bsky.social for their collaboration on this work ✨

📈 Key finding: Adolescents who are more frequently exposed to idealized content tend to report higher levels of perfectionism, but the direction of this relationship is complex and varies across individuals, time, and cultural context.

More results, one source: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

New pub! 📈

Can picture-perfect social media posts make adolescents more perfectionistic?

Using a 3-wave panel design, we examined the reciprocal links between exposure to positive content on social media and perfectionism among 1,697 adolescents from Belgium, France, and Slovenia.

Read more:

The Perfect Li(f)e: A Longitudinal Study on Positive Social Media Content & EU Adolescents’ Perfectionism
by @gvanhoffelen.bsky.social @gonzalezanaelle.bsky.social Lara Schreurs, Caroline Giraudeau, & Laura Vandenbosch
@mediapsychologylab.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Excited that our MIMIc Project, (team members @gonzalezanaelle.bsky.social , @jasminarosic.bsky.social , @gvanhoffelen.bsky.social and @luca-carbone.bsky.social ) on social media uses and teen's well-being and success beliefs will be featured at Osaka #EXPO2025! Many thanks to @erc.europa.eu !

We're proud to announce that the MIMIc Project, led by @lauravandenbosch.bsky.social alongside team members @gonzalezanaelle.bsky.social, @jasminarosic.bsky.social, @gvanhoffelen.bsky.social, and @luca-carbone.bsky.social will be featured at Osaka #EXPO2025!
www.projectmimic.eu
@erc.europa.eu

🎉 No plans for the weekend? Join us for 600 Years of KU Leuven on 15-16 February!

🔬 Explore cutting-edge research

🎤 600-Second Lectures ft. Steven Eggermont, Kathleen Beullens & Laura Vandenbosch

🖥️ Interactive Mini-Exhibition on Digital Media

📍 Discover the full program: www.kuleuven.be/600jaar/

Presented our latest results on the longitudinal links between adolescents’ identity distress and their positive self-presentations at #Etmaal2025 🎉 Grateful to have been part of another great edition of this conference!