Social Media And Body Image

Throughout the years, the definition of beauty constantly changes. In our society today many children are told to be true to themselves, to be unique, to be who they are, etc.; But on the other hand social media and the celebrities on there are a constant reminder that there is a certain type of beautiful. The juxtaposition between being yourself and being what is “beautiful” has consistent grey areas and blurred lines making it almost impossible to keep up with what’s “beautiful”. The media, whether intentional or not, portrays this certain body image that you have to be in order to qualify as beautiful.

The media group that retouches images skews the “normal” body image of people through many of its outlets, including models in advertising and magazines, and actors in TV and movie productions. “The average model portrayed in the media is approximately 5’11” and 120 pounds. By contrast, the average American woman is 5’4” and 140 pounds” (Holmstrom, 2004). This statistic shows how the media manipulates consumers into believing that because they are not what the average model looks like, they are not living up to a certain standard which implies that they need to look like that to be beautiful. Another research fact that shows a similar concept is that, “In the United States, 94% of female characters in television programs are thinner than the average American woman, with whom the media frequently associate happiness, desirability, and success in life” (Yamamiya et al., 2005). This association of female thinness and happiness, desirability and success makes consumers believe they must achieve this unrealistic thinness to achieve more ultimate goals and fulfillment in life. “The media also explicitly instruct how to attain thin bodies by dieting, exercising, and body-contouring surgery, encouraging female consumers to believe that they can and should be thin” (Yamamiya et al., 2005). This idealization of thinness in the media is seen so much, and is extremely harmful to women’s self confidence and is often associated with body image dissatisfaction, which can be a precursor to social anxiety, depression, eating disturbances, and poor self-esteem (Yamamiya et al.,

The source discuss the effect that the media has on body image. The writer of Media and Body Image said that "the major reason many people has a negative body image is because of the impact that the media have had on our perception of body image" (Walden Center, n.d.). This statements shows us that the media finds thinness attractive, so they promote thin body has the one body type that is beautiful knowing that there are many types that are beautiful. What we see on social media is something that could actually not be real, most of the actors and actresses that we would see on television could actually

“Appearance is more important in our society than ever,” said Dr. Thompson in the New York Times. Undoubtedly, self-image has become an important trait for people to have. Unfortunately, some people go to extremes to get the so called “perfect body” to attempt to look like the models shown in the media. “Researchers have believed that the media may play a central role in creating the phenomenon of body dissatisfaction and consequently, may be partly responsible for the increase in eating disorders” (Paediatr Child Health). In fact, girls who are average weight, believe they are overweight or actively trying to lose weight. With out a doubt, media is at the palms of our hands, considering that most people have cell

I often find myself criticizing my physical appearance, especially after looking at some online pictures, which I see through Instagram or Facebook. I find myself adoring the pictures of perfectly thin women that are depicted in the media and asking myself the reason of media’s depictions and presentations of those women as “better” compared to women who are regarded as average-weighted. This “perfect body image” has been created by the media and has been affected many women in regards of their perspectives about their physical appearances and relatedly their worth to themselves and to the society. It is extremely crucial to understand the importance of the manipulation of the media instruments on women and realize the relationship between those perfect body images and women’s self-esteem and self-worth to themselves.

According to Health Weekly Digest it is asserted that young women voluntarily expose themselves to thin media and the media just gets blamed for spreading the message that women must be thin. Casey believes that the media is a world of fantasy that has no direct relation to life, and all who view it need to keep that in mind. He goes on to compare the media to art. Henderson-King & Henderson-King also allude to this by examining other factors that moderate the effects of media images on a young women?s body esteem.

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

As children we are taught to love ourselves and that we are all beautiful. But with growth of social media and the influence it has on today’s image displayed, it has lead the children of today to believe that beauty consist of how much makeup you apply to your face, how little clothing it wore and what size body image is excepted. Images of female bodies are everywhere, with women and girls selling everything from food to clothing. Popular film and television actresses are becoming younger, taller and thinner. Women’s magazines are full of articles urging that if you can just lose those last twenty pounds, you will have the perfect body. Traditionally, most of the concerns about media and body image have revolved around women but more and

(Posavac, Posavac & Posavac, 1998). It has even been suggested that the Medias overwhelming representation of thinness has a large contributing factor towards young women’s attitudes of their own body weight dissatisfaction (Jacobi & Cash‚ 1994). This dissatisfaction stems from discrepancies between the accepted standard of female body image repeatedly shown in today’s media and their own bodies leading to the formation of attitudes that their own weight is not adequate. For example, a meta-analysis comparing the results of 25 studies that presented media images of thin models, reported a significant effect size (of d= -0.31) across all studies, showing that women feel worse about their own body image after exposure to thin images than

Unfortunately for young women, they must live up to the ideals of what society expects. One way society implicates itself and its standards onto women is through social media. Social media affects women’s body image of themselves through unrealistic and phony pictures. Our textbook clarifies that “It is estimated that the average woman is exposed to thousands of advertisements a day…” (Shaw 222). Through advertisements, videos, and various other forms of social media that all have the underlying message of what society expects women to represent, which is an object of impossible attainment. Shaw states in the textbook, “Corporate powers, advertising, and the fashion, cosmetics, and entertainment industries all help create standards for us…” (Shaw 222). All of these aspects of social media confronting and condemning women’s body image, leads to unreasonable expectations for women to uphold.

Once upon a time, social media sites were a platform to stay connected with on another but over the years they have changed as a place to compare one another. Lydia Davies, author of the book “Raw, the diary of an anorexic”, in her blog post “The negative effect of (social) media on body image” explores the negative effects social media has on one’s body image. Davies develops this idea by sharing her personal battles with eating disorders, relating to all girls on an emotional level, and mentioning Instagram famous, Essena O’Neil, who told society the truth about her pictures on social media. Her purpose is to make her readers aware of the dangerous mental and physical problems that social media can cause. She establishes a relaxed relationship with the readers of her blog who might be struggling with their body image due to social media.

Teenage years start a time of rapid and intense emotional and physical changes. There is a rise in value and acceptance from others and with a big attention with external influences and social media culture. It promotes a specific image and standard image of beauty. The Us places tremendous value on physical appearance that is impossible for most. Girls are often targeted by social media and body image ideolistics. How does one choose to be themselves or follow social norms? Going through high school is where i suffered feeling not good enough the most. It felt like the whole world was against me. You would always think why couldn’t I have the most perfect body, because then all your problems would just go away but that’s far from the case.

According to to the National Association for Self Esteem, approximately 92% of all teen girls want to change something about their bodies. Consequently, over half of them go to extreme measures to “fix” what they see is wrong with them. All of the possible outcomes of those measures are dangerous, as dangerous as paralyzation or even death. In order to change this negative trend, we must acknowledge that teens feel too much pressure to have perfect body image. This negative message comes from social media and it can lead to diseases such as Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexia Nervosa.

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

There is no doubt that Western women are subject to a great deal of pressure to conform to the thin ideal of feminine beauty. As a result, many experience body dissatisfaction in the form of weight concern, and a sizeable majority will actively seek to reduce their weight. Current sociocultural theory offers the most robust theoretical framework for understanding body dissatisfaction, contending that the thin ideal is created and reinforced by a number of social influences. Among these, the mass media have been identified as the most pervasive and the most powerful. (649)