Social Media And Body Image Essay

Social media creates an ideal body image in an adolescent’s mind that affects them in various ways. Having an ideal body image can lower self-esteem in some adolescents’ creating eating disorders, and this idea of getting plastic surgery as they get older. Social media is steadily increasing and has heavily influenced adolescent’s to be more aware of their body figure. As a result, many adolescent’s have developed low self-esteem due to the fact that social media continues promoting fit women and creating the idea that women need to be thin to be loved or accepted by society; this can cause harm to adolescent’s because they feel the need to fit in to society.

The influence of the media on all aspects of culture and society has been a issue around the world. One of the social cultural aspects particularly influenced by the media is body image. A surprisingly large number of individuals, the majority of which are young women, develop their body image in with the ideas advanced by the media, which judge women’s attractiveness based on how thin they are. Body-image plays a very important role in our individualistic society. Modern beauty image standards which favor thin body image create an unrealistic expectation on young women, often resulting in eating disorders and other destructive practices, like self-harming, unnecessary or elective cosmetic surgery, decreased self-esteem and the use of harmful substances, like diuretics.

As girls begin to hit puberty, their bodies start to change. Their bodies will gain fat and move away from this ideal thin body image (Kerr 2010). In a study done by Clay, Vignoles and Dittmar they showed three groups of adolescent girls magazine images. Two groups viewed magazine covers with female models who were somewhere between underweight or a little below average weight, while the third group viewed magazine covers with inanimate objects. The researchers found that the first two groups resulted in a less likely report of body satisfaction and self-esteem than the third group (2005). This demonstrates that when adolescent girls are exposed to the media’s thinness they feel like their size and shape is not good enough.

     The purpose of this study is to further explore and examine the influences of mass media on male’s and female’s personal body image satisfaction and the awareness and internalization of societal pressures regarding appearance. For a number years evidence surrounding the insecurities that women have towards their own bodies has been widely published. More recently, it has been suggested that men are falling victim to media and

The ideal body image that is seen by society is being tall, thin, muscular, and fit. It is commonly seen across various media platforms, making it more popular. The group of people that are targeted ranges from teenagers to adults who engaged in social networking websites (Fardouly and et, al.). The increase in media consumption has proven that it leads to body dissatisfaction among consumers. A statistic from Body Image shows, “Similarly, 90% of 16-24 year olds in the United Kingdom (Office for National Statistics, 2013), and 90% of 18-29 year olds in the United States (Pew Research, 2013a), use social networking websites” (Fardouly and et, al.). The amount of exposure to social media is relatively high in a particular age. These social networking websites have images that are constantly

While watching television, searching the internet or lounging on social media you probably have seen the thin beautiful models and the fit handsome men. Everyday both males and females see hundreds of advertisements like these, most which have been most likely retouched or edited in some way. This is the making of beauty ideals in America. Each edit wipes away possible flaws in people which leads to negative self body image because your body doesn’t look like that body posted all over the media. Everybody has struggled with body image at one point or another to some point. The effects from it range from depression to extreme measures for change. Most of the effects are closely intertwined with one another. False advertising like photo retouching in media leads to body comparison and more negative connotations with one's self perception and deceives the definition of beauty in America.

A growing body of research suggests that media portrayal of the thin-ideal has negative effects on body satisfaction, but has this knowledge translated into practical solutions? In this analysis, I will review the literature describing the correlation between media’s portrayal of thin-ideal and body dissatisfaction. Subsequently, I review recent empirical studies about the trends in media and body dissatisfaction. Finally, researchers’ recent implications of disparity in gender body dissatisfaction reporting will be summarized

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

Media is everywhere, and what the sources contain effect people from all walks of life but the issue of body image is one thing that seems to stay in constant attention. Psychologists found there was a strong association linking social media use to body image concerns, dieting, body surveillance, a drive for thinness, and self-objectication in adolescents. One study found that female college students who spend their time posting, commenting on, and comparing themselves to photos on Facebook were more likely to link their self-worth to their looks (How Social Media Is a Toxic Mirror by Rachel Simmons). Even though girls report more body image disturbance then boys, it has been shown that both genders are equally

When females realize they will not be able to accomplish the same body that the famous acquire, they come very self-conscious and some even develop eating disorders. The media’s role in self-images has greatly affected the way people preserve themselves in today’s society.

This article examined the present study highlights self-objectification as a previously unexamined variable that may be involved in the female response to media stimuli. The central purpose of the study was to examine whether viewing thin-idealized media images would increase state self-objectification, negative affect and body dissatisfaction in young women. Then the article discussed the experiment done, which compared the effect of intensive exposure of thin models magazines and magazines advertising products without people. Also, the author presented comprehensive description of how those effects, self-objectification, appearance anxiety, negative mood and body dissatisfaction, were measured. In the last part, the author showed the results, which showed that the group which was exposed to the thin-idealized models scored much higher number in all the previously-stated measures compared to the group which was exposed to products’ images.

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

Specific age groups and mostly women have been studied regarding media effects on body image. These studies did not test the external stimuli created by peer groups that have an impact on a person’s self-idealization. This study addressed individual age groups divided by gender in order to determine how much media effects body idealization and if gender peer group opinions impact self-idealization when viewing media models.

Past research has shown that body dissatisfaction and media exposure are closely related to eating disorders in young girls and women. “The relationship between magazines and body dissatisfaction is mediated by the internalization of thin ideals” (Tiggemann, 2003). Having the ability to read about what ideal beauty look like in the comfort of your own home, in private, or with friends who have the same views as yourself can have a negative impact on how the messages from these magazines are internalized. Past research has shown that in fashion and beauty magazine consumption, women’s self-reports show that magazines are read in partly to gain information about beauty, fitness, grooming, and self-improvement (2003). Internalization of these ideals can lead to not feeling good enough in one’s own skin.

Social media is often viewed as ‘friendlier’ than mass media and more ‘real.’ Posts on Instagram, Facebook, and Tumblr are made by ‘real’ people. While many women have learned to recognize the inaccurate portrayals of the female body in mass media, fewer have made this connection with social media. An Instagram post can be edited, retouched, angled, and filtered to make the individual in the photo look drastically different from the way they appear in person, just as models are altered in mass media advertisements. The literature I have consulted addresses the relationship between body image and social media use but does not factor in dietary choices.