Adolescence, marked by rapid biological and psychosocial transitions, is a phase especially vulnerable to external influences such as social media. The influence of photo-based social media on adolescent body image has intensified globally, yet research in the Indian context remains limited. This study investigates how engagement with photo-based social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook affects body image among adolescents aged 14 to 16 in an urban government school in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India, with a special focus on differences across gender and the interplay of biological, psychological, and social variables, using a biopsychosocial framework. Employing a sequential explanatory research design, data were collected via structured surveys administered to 31 adolescents documenting their engagement with leading platforms and gathering quantitative data on perceptions of body size, shape, and societal ideals. The biopsychosocial framework was used to analyze biological, psychological, and social parameters shaping participants' body image perceptions. The research findings reveal that platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook are widely engaged with, by the adolescent population and significantly influence their perceptions of body image. Additionally, adolescents experience varying degrees of dissatisfaction with specific body parts including stomach, thighs, and hips, influenced by exposure to idealized body standards and frequent engagement with social media content. Gender analyses indicate significant psychological differences with a p-value of 0.018 in body image perceptions between male and female adolescents, with females showing greater vulnerability to societal appearance pressures and internalization of unrealistic body ideals propagated on social media. However, no significant gender differences were found in the biological and social dimensions of body image. The research confirms a distinct association between intensive photo-based social media use and negative body image perceptions among adolescents, particularly by amplifying psychological vulnerabilities.