Butterfly Foundation, the national charity for all people in Australia impacted by eating disorders and body image issues, has released the positive pilot results for BodyKind Online Education (BKOE).

The pilot evaluation conducted by researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast involved nearly 500 students across four secondary schools in Victoria and Tasmania and showed statistically significant improvements in social media literacy, related to the critical assessment of appearance-focused media messages, and self-compassion, as well as improvements in social media behaviours and aspects of help-seeking.  

Danni Rowlands, Head of Prevention at Butterfly, said social media literacy has been part of the organisation’s body image education programs for young people, parents and educators since 2011.

“Thanks to support from the eSafety Commissioners Online Safety Grants Program (Round 3) we could develop an engaging program to specifically address the complex issue of body image online,” Rowlands said.

“Being able to offer this program to Australian schools will improve young people’s social media literacy skills and help them navigate online environments in a more empowered way, helping to create a BodyKind future for our young people”

The BKOE eLearning program includes three-modules, for Years 7 and 8, and Years 9 and 10.

The interactive and engaging prevention-focused education program incorporates videos, quizzes, and other activities to innovatively and safely explore topics such as appearance-based content and teasing, misinformation, AI  and the role of algorithms, and provides positive strategies like critical thinking, self-compassion, online safety features, help-seeking and reporting.

It also includes digital resources for educators, parents and caregivers.

Student comments included: “It made me self-aware of what is fake and not”, “The course was interesting and informing, and it taught me things I previously did not know” and “I think it is a very important thing to do to help young kids”.

With Butterfly’s latest BodyKind Youth Survey revealing that almost two thirds (62 per cent) of 12–18-year-olds believe social media made them feel dissatisfied with their body, it’s clear the significant impact online environments can have on young people.

The charity has been at the forefront of advocating for a holistic approach to solving social media harms, via the Social Media, Eating Disorder and Body Image working group recommendations to government and in other advocacy efforts.

“With or without minimum age restrictions in place, education initiatives like BodyKind Online Education will be critical to prepare young people, school staff and parents for when they do have access to social media, introducing them to safe-guarding and reporting features and improving their critical thinking skills when it comes to appearance-based content”, Rowlands said.

eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant agreed and said it is vital that young people are equipped with the tools to protect themselves online into adulthood.

“We are pleased to have partnered with Butterfly on this effective program which fill an important gap in school-based education when it comes to body image and social media,” Inman Grant said.

BodyKind Online Education will be available for schools in 2025.

To register your interest, click here.