Media's Influence On Social Media And Body Image

As technology editing tools have become even more prevalent, many feel the need to excessively use photoshop before they share an image online. In a pervasive world where images of unrealistic standards fuel the media on how one should look, social media has one of the most significant impacts on body dissatisfaction. Throughout the last decade, social media has become one of the most common and favored ways for people to communicate, connect, and share. Thus, there have been many debates and discussions on whether the media has a positive or a negative impact on the way an individual perceives him or herself. As the rapid growth of smartphone usage among adolescents and adults has increased, social media has become an essential part of one’s daily life. In today's society, when most adolescents and adults turn on their smartphones, often times, the first thing they will refer to is a social media site. It has become a place where they are exposed to news, images, and expectations. Often times, these images, ideals, and expectations are ingrained in their brain and bombarded with what is considered to be beautiful. Moreover, these unrealistic standards will often lead to a form of comparison, influencing them to take extreme measures. Although social media serves as a platform where people can connect, communicate, and share, it has a negative impact on one’s body image, because it can lead to a lack of self confidence and severe

Social media is used as a platform to popularize trends, leading to people trying to fit in. In the article Negative effects social media causes on body image by Katelyn Gaffney says “There is always some new trend to follow because of social media, which is forever changing. Showing what is “In” currently according to social media. Society is always shown something new in looks, fashion, and appearance in doing this women are always on their toes to fit the new standards caused by media. One month it could be large breast, and in a snap the new “In” could be completely flat chested. Today the biggest fad is being very curvy with a small waist. Before we could know it social media could change that to being extremely skinny with minimalistic

Millions of women, day in day out, are bombarded with the media’s notion of the “ideal” female body. These impractical images are depicted within women’s magazines worldwide, sending out the message to women that they are not thin or pretty enough. Magazine companies spend billions of pounds yearly on diet and exercise advertisements to include in their magazines, having their readers buy into body dissatisfaction through unrealistic imagery of women, accompanied by dieting and exercise information. Many years ago, Marilyn Monroe, being a size 14, was considered to have the “ideal” body shape and size. However, today’s standard is much smaller and as our society’s beauty ideal continues to shrink in size, body image within women continues to deteriorate. Magazines interpret and associate happiness with being thin; consequently having some women feel if they are not thin, then they are not happy.

Richard M. Perloff wrote a research article about the effects social media has on young women’s body images. He mainly focuses on the theoretical perspectives and also does an agenda for research. Media has played a major role in teens’ lives for a while now and is becoming extremely popular. In both good and bad ways, social media has become a part of people’s life whether they appreciate it or not.

The media representations of the female body images lead to the psychological problems of the young generation. Body image can be defined as two aspects of cognition and behaviors. The cognition of body image can capture social beliefs or standards in the media and internalize of it as a stereotype of the unattainable physical appearance. Because perception control behaviors, the cognition of the body image in the media lead to the comparison with others’ body images, and the stressful situation results in abnormal behaviors such as eating disorder, depression, and low self-esteem. Leahey emphasizes, “more than 80% of comparison made by women…including peers and models… [It] generally result[s] in negative outcomes, such as body dissatisfaction” (qtd. in Fitzsimmones 797). Indeed, the

This source is an online article published by a website named Bustle (very similar to Buzzfeed), which covers a wide range of current topics, such as the presidential debate, the newest fitness trends, and more importantly to my topic, Health. In this particular article the author Erin Mckelle Fisher addresses the popular body positivity movements across the media currently, and this includes the Fatkini, the perfect body, I’m no angel, the Dove campaign for real beauty, lose hate, not weight, love your body, the what’s underneath project, and many more social media campaigns with the mission of spreading body positivity. Under each hashtag there is a link to an Instagram page for each campaign, and there is a description of the mission, and who the creator was.

Today’s world has a problem with body image issues. Especially in younger girls and women. They are told by everyone that they are not good enough, not skinny enough, and even not pretty enough. Everyone see’s the super skinny models on the cover of magazines, and on tv, and wants to look just like them. But, what many people do not realize is that it is all fake, and they are harming themselves, not helping.

“When all you see is a body type that only two percent of the population has, it’s difficult to remember what’s real and what’s reasonable to expect of yourself and everyone else.” This was stated by Arielle Cutler, who studied the recent effects social media has on the female body image. Not only has media made women feel insecure about their bodies but it pinpoints exactly what bothers them. It could be weight, skin problems, height, and even a clothing style. The media sends subliminal messages into a female’s brain that makes them think they need to reach the expectations of what they read on the internet and in magazines or what they see on television (TV). The pressure a female is put under to become the “ideal woman” is detrimental to their health, not only physically but also mentally. The images of beauty are unrealistic and are constantly changing, making it hard to keep up with the latest body trend.

Everywhere we look, we see images of what people are “supposed” to look like. Every form of social media, from the perfectly dressed models on the covers of magazines, to the millions of perfect candid shots posted on Instagram, is causing people everywhere to try to acquire an unrealistic and unhealthy body image. All types of media have shaped the ideal body image to the point where people are facing mental and physical disorders. Everyday, the different types of media show the general population the most popular style and sometimes even give tips on how to achieve it and when that look is not achieved, people are left feeling bad about themselves in one way or another. How people sees themselves is extremely important for their own wellbeing, and the idolized perfect bodies of the media are heavily impacting the body image people hold.

Today, society views body image as something seen much differently, than what it was interpreted as years ago. With that, people are engrossed with the idea that, in order to obtain the ‘perfect body’, they must conform to society's expectations through; social media, magazines, models, and the media. Body image is how people within society picture themselves and how they think other people picture them. Society presents unrealistic images of beauty, genetically impossible for many individuals to emulate. Due to the influence that media has on society, people are becoming more self-conscious about the way they appear to others and are constantly searching for ways to improve their physical appearance. However, the media simultaneously shape us in many other different ways, possibly more than what the general public realizes – from our interactions to our personal development through to others’ perception of our bodies as a reflection of self-worth. It is discovered that within society, people too fixated on their own appearance. By living in a world where pervasive media images fuel unrealistic expectations about how we should look, and dissatisfaction if we fail to make the grade is something that any individual cannot escape. So, the question still remains; what is your body

Today we live in a world where people, specifically the youth of society, are sharing their lives with an online audience. For most, receiving likes on photos, posts or comments can bring a sense of accomplishment and acceptance. Though some may think social media is beneficial, I believe it has a negative effect on our perceptions of body image. Now with the easy access to the internet, checking Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat has become a part of our daily routine. As a result, you are left with negative side effects that impact your life and how you perceive yourself. The constant viewing of ideal images of human perfection creates unrealistic goals and desires that lead to comparisons, making you feel dissatisfied with your appearance.

Media today puts a strong emphasis on body image in today’s society. Many people from teenagers to middle aged adults want to be up- to-date on the latest trends, and follow what hottest celebrities are doing. Two big trending topics in today’s media are body image and living a healthy lifestyle. At the start of a New Year, people make “New Year’s resolutions” to try and better themselves by live a healthier lifestyle. Media today focuses so much on body image and healthy lifestyles that it is such an easy outlet for people to obtain.

Millions of women every day are bombarded with the media’s idea of the “perfect” body. These unrealistic images are portrayed in women’s magazines all over the country. The message being sent to women is that they are not pretty or skinny enough. The average American woman is 5’4” and weighs 140 pounds, while the average American model is 5’11” and weighs 117 pounds. Annually, magazine companies spend billions of dollars on diet and exercise advertisements to put in their magazines. Magazines sell body dissatisfaction to their readers through unrealistic images of

Additionally, as stated in our textbook, “In the U.S. culture, beauty standards are very much connected to the production and consumption of various products…” (Shaw 222). This shows how culture plays a role in defining women’s beauty standards in society. Women are expected to adhere to these beauty ideals that social media tries to insinuate onto them. Women use all forms of social media from Facebook, to Twitter, Instagram, and even Snapchat. All of these forms of social media have some form of negative expectations for women’s perspectives of their body image. Shaw expresses that

Anyone who has ever been online has seen food, transformation, or other health related images and videos on social media, online magazines/blogs, and mass media in general. Mass media has caused an enormous amount of controversy within the last few years concerning body image and what is politically correct. However, mass media’s impact on health can be beneficial if it is used the correct way. The social media aspect of mass media has become something that is involved in most people’s everyday lives; and it’s not going away anytime soon. Mass media posts need to be controlled so companies and public figures do not promote unhealthy, unrealistic body images; and instead endorse a healthy standard to benefit readers both physically and