Self-Image Among Adolescent Girls: The Influence Of Social Media

Furthermore, media surrounds teenage girls in today’s culture. It is impossible to escape the sight of media. The media’s constant idealistic beauty is ever present to a vast amount of self-conscious girls. This image of beauty causes girls to have low self-esteem (Clay, Vignoles, and Dittmar). Media defining this perfect body image causes many adolescent girls to feel dissatisfied with their bodies and become depressed. “Viewing ultra-thin or average-size models led to decreases in both body satisfaction and self-esteem in adolescent girls aged eleven to sixteen, with changes in self-esteem fully mediated by changes in body satisfaction” (Clay, Vignoles, and Dittmar).

A very prominent and controversial issue related to media-idealized images is that of eating disorders and eating problems. Eating problems include binge eating, purging, and unhealthy eating problems. These disorders are seen in young adolescents who are at a very fragile stage of life. Teenagers experience bodily changes as well as peer pressure and new experiences of going into high school. According to Dakanalis et al. the media portrays individuals with an extremely thin build for females and a slim-muscular build (i.e., muscles along with minimal body fat) for males is considered to be the cause of body displeasure and eating pathology. There is no solid evidence to prove that the media is to blame for the degree of eating disorder symptoms and negative body-image feelings that many feel, hence the reason it continues to be a highly debated topic. There has although, been continuous research and theories comprised over objectification. This occurs when men and women are sexually objectified. A person is treated as a body, where beauty and attractiveness of a person are important and valued. This theory can be found nearly anywhere because of the amount and variety of social interaction. It is common because of the way media represents body images. The media has ideals of men and women’s body images and individuals are compared to how well

In fact, media is contributing to many false advertisements and unrealistic images that cause eating disorders. Media gives us these false beauty standards by making teens think they have to be thin and tall. Meanwhile, many teens want to be like the models and they try to be thin but instead of doing it the healthy way. The way they do it is to skip meals and that develops eating disorders. For instance, Arnett says, “Marketing and advertisement agencies focus on models such as tall, thin women or a muscular man with a chiseled jawbone when casting for photo shoots and television commercial” (265.) Therefore, we experience and seen is that the media do give us a false beauty standard which makes teens want to do everything that is possible to become like models. This has contributed

Cultural influences are cited as a significant factor associated with eating disorders in women due to the belief that “they must be as thin as the actresses and fashion models that dominate the media”, and “young women are dissatisfied with their weight because of the societal ideals promoted by the media are unattainable for most of them” (Weiten p473). However, according to a recent meta-analysis over 204 studies a conflicting viewpoint was raised which indicated that, “effects of thin ideal media appear to be limited to a subgroup of women with preexisting body dissatisfaction susceptibility” (Ferguson 2013).

According to a study performed by Brown and Witherspoon, “on average, a child or adolescent watches up to 5 hours of television per day and spends an average of 6 to 7 hours viewing various media combined” (Morris and Katzman 1).Young people consume huge amounts of media per day, more than most other groups. This statistic means that they are exposed to standards in the media a lot more, allowing for the media to have a pretty heavy impact on them. Not only are adolescents more exposed to the media, but they are also at a very impressionable time in their lives. A lot of young women and girls think that they are overweight, even if most of them are within normal weight ranges; “44% of adolescent girls believed they were overweight and 60% were actively trying to lose weight,” according to one study (Morris and Katzman 2). Even without accounting for the possible effect of the media, negative body image or low self-esteem is an epidemic amongst a lot of young girls that have no physical reason to lose weight. But because young girls are the most impressionable group of people, there is a veritable plethora of possible causes to the increase in negative body image in adolescents that may include the

We live in a media-saturated world especially, in western society that provides a significantly influential context for people to learn about body ideals and the value placed on attractiveness that influences the way they perceive themselves. Media invades our lives through television, radio, magazines, newspapers, cinema, advertisements and internet and is very influential on vulnerable adolescents who cannot distinguish what is real and what is not Lopez-Guimera, Levine, Sanchez-Carracedo, & Fauquet, (2010). Mass media contributes to the promotion of the thin ideal as a way to achieve social approval, recognition, and success; in addition, it promotes dieting and food restriction as a socially agreeable practice. In America, body dissatisfaction has reached normative levels among girls and young women. Approximately 50% of girls and undergraduate women report being dissatisfied with their bodies, these perceptions begin at an early age of 7 and exist

Adolescents are bombarded with many media messages every day. These media messages may take the form of advertisements, newspapers, magazines, broadcast media such as television, and more. Such media can have a detrimental affect on how adolescents perceive their body image. Adolescents may feel pressured to diet, to spend copious amounts of money on the latest trends, and they may even feel inadequate compared to the models they see on television. Adolescence is a time of change that is difficult for many already. The messages conveyed to these adolescents often do more harm than good.

Opposing sides would argue that twitter is stronger than other social media at affecting teen self-worth. The argument follows that twitter allows people to say almost anything about a person with no fear of punishment. Therefore, bullying on twitter shames teens and discourages their vulnerable self-confidence to move beyond the hate. Admittingly, bullying in any form does hurt a person's view of themselves. However, the problem of low self-esteem lies insidiously. The effects of bullying usually are isolated on one person rather than the large scope of teens. For example Instagram photos of top models and even some teens reach millions of teens in their audience. Not that bullying is not wrong, it certainly is, but a majority of people are affected by Instagram photos and stories than the isolated bully and prey situation.

Henceforth, young females believe that even if they are thin or even underweight, they are still unsatisfied with their body. This same article reported prevalence rate for anorexia nervosa is 0.48% among girls 15 to 19 years old. In addition, in one study, “44% of girls believed they were overweight and 60% were actively trying to lose weight even though the majority of these young girls were within normal weight ranges” (Paediatr Child Health). Shelly Grabe, evaluates the testing by linking media exposure to women's body dissatisfaction, of the thin ideal, and eating behaviors; which indeed, support the notion that exposure to media images depicting thin-ideal body relates to body image concerns for women, according to the Article in EBSCO Psychological Bulletin (par

Because idealistic standards of beauty are raised, kids may grow up thinking that they have to look a certain way to be accepted. In their article, “Concurrent And Prospective Analyses Of Peer, Television And Social Media Influences On Body Dissatisfaction, Eating Disorder Symptoms And Life Satisfaction In Adolescent Girls,” Christopher Ferguson et al. mention that “increased incidence of eating disorders across the early and mid-twentieth century seem to coincide with trends in the media toward emphasizing thinness in women,” (2). Additionally, children are constantly exposed to unrealistic body ideals on television, film, and magazines. In fact, “the extent of exposure to magazines that feature and glamorize the thin ideal is positively correlated with disordered eating, even when controlling for the young woman’s level of personal interest in fitness and dieting,” (Levine and Murnen 17). If kids are always being exposed to unhealthy behaviors and ideas, it can make them feel pressured to look like the people they see in mass

Social media plays an immense role in the way that stereotypes about attractiveness is conveyed in regards to body image. As Gerbner and Gross wrote in 1976, the cultivation theory states that high frequency viewers of television are more susceptible to media messages and the belief that they are real and valid. The subjection to social media can cause an idealistic view amongst young girls and women alike. Among the mechanisms of human agency none is more central or pervasive than beliefs of personal efficacy (Bandura, 1997). This belief that these body types are achievable can lead to females being dissatisfied within their own skin. The result of the discontent can potentially lead to eating disorders. Body dissatisfaction occurs when views of the body are negative and involves a perceived discrepancy between a person 's assessment of their actual and ideal body (Cash and Szymanski, 1995 and Grogan, 2008). It is estimated that approximately 50% of adolescent girls report being unhappy with their bodies (Bearman, Presnell, & Martinez, 2006). Surveys have revealed that the exposure to social media can cause body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms’ and the concept that thin is “beautiful” amongst young girls and women (Botta 1999; Harrison and Hefner 2006; and Stice et al. 1994). With media influence, the question is the strength of the effect, studies indicate the effects are small in scale; they are likely to operate in accordance with particular differences in

For the impressionable teenage female, body image has unfortunately become a complex and troubled concept in today’s society. Adolescent girls have been experiencing body image disturbances due to the self-evaluation of appearance conflicting with mental and physical health. Excessive amounts of exposure to social media has been proven to profoundly interfere with a female’s confidence—ultimately resulting in a multitude of body image dissatisfactions. When teenagers are exposed to magazines and social media networks that promote the ideal body, this, more often than not, leads to depression, lowered self-esteem, or even eating disorders. If the media were to include and beautify more of the so-called normal or average women, it is believed that females would no longer feel pressured to look a certain way in order to be deemed beautiful.

After debating whether social media has a positive or negative effect on teens, it has been concluded that social media has a negative impact on the developing teenager. Social media can be a great tool at times, by being a means to communicate with friends, classmates, and family members; It can also help spread your ideas, hobbies and life experiences. But after reading the article Studies Offer Mixed Messages On Social Media’s Effects On Young People, By The Baltimore Sun, it explains how social media has a negative effect on teens by causing them to compete (to have a better social media feed), change their body to fit into society (the ideal body shape) and the way it can makes someone feel.

Mass media consists of a range of multimedia technologies that have enhanced our way of communication. The media conveys norms and attitudes that socially construct those who are involved. Inadvertently, the media depicts a widely accepted misconception of personal image. “Influence of Mass Media on Body Image and Eating Disordered Attitudes and Behaviors in Females” reveals the high correlation between media content and females’ idea of beauty. Although the article does not specify on their intended audience, the reader can infer the audience to be adolescent females and important familiars to them, i.e. mothers and friends. Appealing to individuals who have the most impact on an adolescent female may evoke guilt through the pressures

In today’s society, the public is exposed to technology at even younger ages than ever before. Everywhere you go these days you see kids even as little as three holding their parent’s phones or even their own, watching videos or playing games. But as said in the article Does Social media impact on body image by Philippa Roxby, as kids start becoming teenagers their technological uses advance and they start to rely on social media sites for new sources of communication, and their main channel to the outside world. Based on studies conducted by psychologists they have come up with a conclusion that social media has a direct relationship to body image concerns. I believe that in today’s society we should focus on promoting self-confidence as most of the adolescents have a very low assurance of their own bodies. Although a study conducted in the article The Upside of Selfies: Social media isn’t all bad for kids by Kelly Wallace says that a survey which resulted in 52% of the teens saying that social media positively influences them. Even though social media platforms have some beneficial aspects such as they make people want to go on diets, exercise, and eating healthy, the teenagers don’t really look/understand the negative aspects of it. The impacts that are carried with social media are mostly negative such as fancying teenagers to lose confidence in themselves and has become a toxic mirror to them. The visual platforms impact