The body image battle is real in 2026, but the bodies may not be

AxiosSeptember 8, 2026en

A societal spotlight on extreme thinness is stripping body diversity from screens, just as fashion magazines did in the early aughts, mental health experts tell Axios. The big picture: Fake content creators are introducing unattainable, AI-generated body images that prey on human nature and exacerbate the struggle for many to reach self-acceptance for their bodies. When shrunken celebrities "become the ideal ... because of their status, then the virtual influencers are going to be emulating that," Katy Bruchmann, who leads Santa Clara University's Social Cognition and Comparison Lab, says. "Then, the more really thin, super beautiful virtual influencers you have, the target changes for all t

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