Objective: This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of female undergraduate students at Alzahra University (S) in encountering body ideals represented in digital spaces, their perceptions of body image-related pressures, and the ways in which they experience and respond to these pressures.
Method: This qualitative study employed an interpretive phenomenological approach. The participants were 15 female undergraduate students aged 18–25 years at Alzahra University (S) in Tehran during the 2025–2026 academic year. Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling. Data were collected through online semi-structured interviews and analyzed using an interpretive phenomenological approach. To enhance the credibility of the findings, participant review, coder consensus, and review by faculty members of the Department of Counseling at Alzahra University were employed.
Results: The findings indicated that the participants’ lived experiences of body ideals in digital spaces extended beyond concerns about physical appearance and the body, and were intertwined with a broader set of gender norms and expectations that linked women’s worth and feminine identity to particular standards of beauty, youthfulness, and lifestyle. Continued exposure to these ideals was associated with emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and interpersonal consequences and, in some cases, with diminished self-esteem, self-efficacy, and social functioning. At the same time, participants’ experiences indicated that distancing themselves from these imposed standards was possible through self-acceptance, redefining personal values, attending to inner dimensions of identity, drawing on social support, and developing alternative discourses. Overall, this process involved a shift from accepting imposed standards toward greater authenticity, agency, and a broader understanding of feminine identity and self-worth.