Social Media Is A Positive Influence On Body Image And Self-Perceptions

Social media has a big influence on this generation when it comes to “body image.” Many women, or “models,” will post pictures of themselves showing off their body with thousands of likes and many comments saying “body goals” or “I wish I looked like that.” This

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.

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

According to the article, “Low Self-Esteem at Crisis Levels for Girls,” “If the media did not have such a strong influence on today’s generation, then low self-esteem would not be in its highest percentile than all past decades” (Liebet). The issue of body positivity on social media is detrimental. Users of social media commonly say posting body-positive images online is uplifting and results in society’s acceptance of various body types. Although body positivity is improving society’s outlook on ideal bodies, it actually has harmful effects on society psychologically and physically and, therefore, should be protested.

Over the time, the concept of body image is influenced by external factors as culture, society norms, especially with the development of modern social media, it has grown up to be an important element in affecting the perception of body image to shape the body image. The influence of mass media may be related to the social comparison process of appearance in female and male. The ideal media body image, it is easy to compare in everyday life, and that will result to dissatisfaction with people 's body size. On the one hand, Orbach (1987) briefly posted that the western media produced a picture tender the ideal female body as "thinness,curvy,free of unwanted hair,deodorized,perfumed and clothed". The pictures they produced are long way from the normal women 's life. On the other hand, numbers of studies demonstrate that not only are women dissatisfied with their body, but also men indicated that they dissatisfied with the body. there is a gap between the ideal size in the magazine and themselves. in order to reduce the gap, people often use the methods of diet or exercise to achieve the target. it was not always an advantaged approach for the purpose, with the appearing of discorded eating pattern like anorexia and bulimia, there no doubt that the power of media has been changing people ' daily life and social norms.

What impact does social media have in our lives? Does it affect us in a way that’s damaging to our health? I believe that social media is promoting society’s standards of ‘perfection’ that causes others to feel bad about themselves, and may lead to harmful thoughts/actions such as low self-esteem and eating disorders. In this generation, we have new technology that’s so advanced that almost everyone has a smartphone, with access to social media.

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

With broad information outputs, the internet has widely shaped the world we live in today. From being a source that can aid one with education such as homework or a tool to be tutored online, to helping one do last minute online holiday shopping if one procrastinated and is now in a rush to find gifts for one’s family. Therefore, the question ponders when does one draw the line on the magnificently powerful tool we call “the internet” as it stops aiding one and starts becoming harmful to one’s mental and physical state. This can be illustrated through theoretical scenarios such as one can begin to commit self-harm to oneself trying to achieve what is seen online. Advertisements all the way to friends on social media all have an influence on

Additionally, when people feel accepted, they feel better about themselves. Accepting a person because they are plus-size does not necessarily encourage them to live an unhealthy lifestyle. In fact, these women may feel more confident and actually take the initiative to get active, and not because they are chasing the need to feel accepted, but because they are less self-conscious and able to walk out in public without feeling inferior due to lowered self-esteem. As we know, self-esteem influences consumer behavior (Solomon, 2017). Social media is providing a platform for plus-size women to have a voice. There are so many plus-size models and bloggers that have created pages strictly built to encourage and empower women who may feel like they do not fit society’s mode. Social media has brought about a self-acceptance to the masses. It allows consumers to voice their stance, which often times expresses the way many others feel, and set a tone to make changes. For example, a blogger Jes Baker, also known as Militant Baker, posted a letter to Abercrombie & Fitch regarding his “sizeism.” (Katz, 2015). Her voice was heard throughout social media. Hence, social media is impacting beauty

Many studies analyze the effects of social media has on our body-image. They consist of the relationship that mass media has on how we perceive our bodies and how body dissatisfaction occurs consequently. Correlational studies have been conducted that support the idea that many women worry about their body image because they do not fit the stereotypical body portrayed through media. Studies by Vonderan and Kinnally (2012) show that television and media exposure seem to have very significant correlations to internalization of the thin ideal, still their impact was overshadowed by other factors. These factors will be discussed in the next section. The strongest media factor related to internalization of the thin ideal and it contribution to the

For years the media such as, television, magazines, Instagram, twitter, and numerous other internet outlets have been encouraging women to have a lack of confidence in themselves and their body image. They promote unrealistic ideas of what women’s bodies should look like by constantly advertising the thinnest women in the world. When selling products by creating unnatural body types first started, the media probably did not understand what they were doing, or that more and more negative effects will come out of this the longer it occurs. The number of damaging outcomes that continues to occur is at an all-time high and will only continue to grow. The media is putting too much pressure on women by allowing fitness journeys to be posted on social

We each perceive ourselves very differently. Not everyone sees themselves in a positive light. Everyone has something they would like to change about themselves. May it be their nose, eyes, mouth, hair, etc. The one that is chosen mostly is their body. Our body is very important in our eyes. We see it as a treasure that should be taken care of and kept in shape. No one however can say they are truly happy with themselves until they feel like they are able to keep a good body image of themselves. Social media however, has caused female’s body image to be distorted with the help of magazines, commercials, and celebrities.

Body image dissatisfaction has always been prevalent, however, with social media now, the chances of insecurities are even higher. The media only compounds the problem, bombarding society with what they define as acceptable and beautiful. When females go out looking for acceptance, they will always fail because it’s impossible to please everyone. “All of this could feel overwhelming, and it would certainly be a lot easier if we really could purchase social acceptance and a positive

According to the article, “Low Self-Esteem at Crisis Levels for Girls,” if the media did not have such a strong influence on today’s generation, then low self-esteem would not be in its highest percentile than all past decades. The issue of Body Positivity on Social media is detrimental. Users of social media commonly say posting body positive images online is uplifting as a result of society becoming more accepting of other body types. Although body positivity is improving society’s outlook on ideal bodies, it actually has harmful effects on society psychologically and physically.

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