Social Media Impact On Body Image

How do you look to yourself? When you walk past a mirror, do you stop and stare? Are your first thoughts “Dang, I look good” or “I could be look better in this area”? These questions are designed to make you think about how you feel about yourself self-consciously. According to Carolyn Ross of PsychCentral, “Currently 80% of women in the U.S are dissatisfied with their appearance. “ If you are not satisfied with your body in anyway, that may be because you answer have been influenced by social media. For example, if you were flipping through a magazine, you would come across not only skinny models but sections on dieting and exercise as well. Seeing this may trigger thoughts of uncertainty in one’s self and cause you to develop a negative body image outlook. Even though there hasn’t been a single declared cause to the dissatisfaction of the body or eating disorders, research has proven that is it a big contributor to the fact. Many studies have shown how social media has been linked to many people being unsatisfied with themselves. Social media is becoming a chronic problem when it comes to body image distortion or negative body imaging because these can lead some individuals into an unhealthy state. Some of these outcomes being anxiety, depression, and eating disorders amongst women.

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.

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.

Research shows that over 80 percent of 10-year-old girls fear becoming “fat” (NYC). Young girls are not satisfied by their body image and it is causing many issues. Even though young girls may subject themselves to body image issues, social media destroys girl’s self-worth because of the fashion industry and prolonged time and use on social media.

Approximately 14 million U.S. teenage girls don’t like how they look. The number of women who feel confident in their bodies is dwindling quickly and is being fueled by edited pictures they are comparing themselves to on social media. The Time magazine article “How Social Media Is a Toxic Mirror” by Rachel Simmons tells of the risk for everyone to feel self-conscious about their bodies. However, those most at risk are teenage girls who spend a significant amount of time on any form of social media. In response to the article, I agree with the negative effects social media has on the body image of teenage girls because I have seen girls trying to change their bodies. I also see the effects logos and pathos have on the strength of the article and what would make it a stronger and more credible source for information on teen body image.

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

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.

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.

Social media has become a part of everyone’s life. The media gives people the opportunity to communicate with families, friends and it also provides the opportunity to meet new people. Furthermore, the media gives you the opportunity to share your most intimate inner thoughts, your picture, and your activity. Nevertheless, the media has had an enormous impact on the way people do the things, and it influences how we shop and is changing the way we look.

Social media has become one of the most popular sources of communication for the upcoming generation. For young people growing up in today’s society, social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have provided pictures and news that have become the first thing that their eyes see in the morning and the last thing that they see before bed. These pictures have provided unrealistic standards as to what is considered beautiful in today’s society. As young people refer to these images as a form of comparison, it has created harmful circumstances. These influences on the lives of young people have forced them to take extreme measures and in some cases, has been the cause of death. Social media in today’s society has proven to

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

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.

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