Social media has created many positive moments for self-expression but a dark side to sharing exists especially for young women and their lack of body positivity on their own social media posts. In the UK research of young women has shown that 6 out of 10  girls feel their prettiest online, that they feel even prettier if they get more Instagram likes on a selfie and feel bad about their appearance if they don’t.

One brand railing against this worrying trend is Dove who consistently use all their media channels to incite debate and thought around women’s self-esteem & body issues.                A statement from Dove reveals that “The consequence is that a girl’s presence and participation in social media can become so carefully constructed that it no longer represents the reality of her life, with the average girl taking 12 minutes to prepare for a single ‘selfie,’” .

Turning the trend for social “like chasing” on its head –  their latest campaign takes this shocking research and translates it into a powerful online statement. Dove are encouraging people to show body positivity  by sharing posts with the brand hashtag #NoLikesNeeded and to help promote self-love by NOT liking a friends post if you see this # in use.

It’s a bold move for a brand to look at the negative aspects of social media and encourage people to reconsider their true motives with social posting but its a fantastic initiative built around very worrying research. By putting its millennial target base first and creating content that speaks directly to their consumer issues Dove is hoping that they can use social media to have a positive impact and that’s a great thing indeed.