The Effects Of Facebook 's Mood And Body Image Perception Essay

According to recent research, the tremendous exposure to the media has a negative impact in the consumers and their health, as well as their body image. The ideal body image that is seen by today’s society is tall, thin, muscular, and fit. It is constantly advertised in various forms of media including, such as televisions, magazines, internet, and smartphone devices, which make others feel insecure about appearance and health. The constant reinforcement of the ideal body image throughout the media negatively impacts society through self-esteem, rise of self-enhancements, and health. There are many different factors that play a role in obtaining the ideal body image that meets the society’s norm.

The body image movement aims to improve the relationship between women and their bodies in a more positive manner (Dove 2014). Currently, women are suffering from an increase in body self-consciousness as a result of medias role regarding beauty ideals. Researchers have found that women worldwide do not view themselves as beautiful and are consistently troubled about their appearance and concluded that six out of ten girls are concerned about their appearances (Dove 2014). As a result, anxiety and self-consciousness are all contributing factors producing significant health concerns among women (Aubrey 2007). Media has developed a reputation in society for women to be held to unachievable beauty standards as they promote a “thin culture” (Hesse-Biber et al. 2006). This promotion of beauty standards has inspired the body image movement to educate and encourage women to love their bodies in order to achieve more self-esteem and confidence (Dove 2014). As well as, corporations are beginning to

Many people have a habit of asking others on the internet for opinions on what they look like. This creates body image anxieties. At the same time, women were being more objectified in media, with an extreme emphasis placed on their bodies (Klein). Some people believe that the answer to body anxiety is to give a bigger range of body examples in the media. Dr. Phillipa Diedrichs, University of West of England’s Centre for Appearance Research, said,“The more time spent on Facebook, the more likely people are self-objectify.” Media is everywhere, so telling them to ignore it is not going to work. Steps could be taken to help girls to not compare themselves to the unrealistic

The study of body image is a broad topic that touches many subjects including gender. However, the study of body image has been focused mainly on females. This is because the physical shape and image of male bodies have not changed over the history. From the ancient Greek until the modern era, the masculinity is the predominant stereotype for men. Masculine traits include courage, independence and assertiveness (Judith, 2001; Murray, 2000). In contrast to the male body, the female figures have been varied over time and across culture. In the modern era, the thin shaped figure is the ultimate desire of most women because it reflects the beauty and attractiveness of women according to our modern culture (Thompson et al, 1999; Thompson and Stice, 2001). Therefore, failing to meet the societal expectations of being muscular male or thin female may lead to a separation between virtual and actual social identity.

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

Finally, social media has become a way individuals negatively judge themselves as inferior to others. Americans have taken extreme actions to live up to the impractical social expectations. This is connected to self-esteem and to the individual’s emotions. People change their image for society acceptance, and personal acceptance, because many want to fit the image social media says is right. An article published by CNN states that “the more time adolescent spent on Facebook, the more likely they were to develop a negative body image and eating disorders” (Mary). A person’s body changes from day to day, a lot of people think they are overweight, ugly, etc. which in reality they almost certainly aren’t. They are used to what society says one

Crain begins with the obsession and craze of social media and how people uses application to alter their pictures to achieve a perfect picture to post. Afterwards continues by comparing a model's average size and weight to a regular man and women size and it is revealed the most drastic differences are within the women's categories. Finally the article returns to talking about social media's constant easy access and the use of applications to alter images helps users change their appearances and this leads to dissatisfaction with themselves and their bodies. The common victims of this are females and it causes devastating

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.

The body image only grows and becomes more and more unrealistic as more people access photoshop and as more pictures are edited and posted on the web. No matter where people go, the ideal body image is everywhere and that is not changing anytime soon. While it is idolized by some, to most it is an expectation that is unreachable and unhealthy. The perception of the ideal body image is entirely our own to change and it must change. “It is not the photoshopped female who is our enemy; we do a good enough job destroying ourselves on our own” (Reimold,

In our contemporary Western society, body image has become an obsession. In any advertisement, shop window, magazine, movie, social media, there are strong suggestions on the way we should look to be trendy, cool, and desirable. Without emphasizing the increasing popularity of plastic surgery, the amount of money, time, and effort that people spent on fashion, skin-care creams, makeup, lotions, and hair products, indicate how deeply this culture pursues beauty. At the same time, there is a great deal of data that suggest how body image is experienced negatively by countless men and women.

Different types of media shape perceptions of ideal bodies greatly. The picture of an ideal body is everywhere, on magazine covers, commercials, tv shows, celebrities, and many other forms of media. Society, by being surrounded by these images, has developed an ideal body and pressures people to fit into that mold. This is especially evident when looking at young females. The effect or media on body image can best be observed when looking at the media itself, how people view their own bodies, and how the youth has been affected. The media’s ideal body has created an unhealthy and unreachable standard of beauty.

In fact, a small but growing percentage of the media have made strides in positively influencing their consumers. For example, popular magazines such as Maxim and Sports Illustrated have featured average and plus sized models on their covers (Diedrichs & Lee, 2010). In addition, there is a recent trend of campaigns focused on promoting an image of beauty beyond the prototypical media figures. Research regarding such campaigns has proven to be successful in building a positive image. In fact, a study conducted by researchers in the United Kingdom found that frequent exposure to media containing average-sized models related to lower levels of body-focused anxiety amongst its participants (Hobza et al., 2007). These participants also reported higher levels of body satisfaction than those exposed to typical

Body image is commonly defined as “the degree of satisfaction with one’s current physical self—size, shape, or physical appearance” (Jones, 2001, p.1). Many studies have shown that

Body image dissatisfaction is arising in modern society, amongst all sexes due to the media promoting ideal bodily features. Western culture has consistently emphasized, through the media that the ideal body figure for a woman is to be thin (Thompson &

Contrasting hypotheses were posed to test the effect of Facebook exposure on self-esteem. Objective SelfAwareness (OSA) from social psychology and the Hyperpersonal Model from computer-mediated communication were used to argue that Facebook would either diminish or enhance self-esteem respectively. The results revealed that, in contrast to previous work on OSA, becoming self-aware by viewing one’s own Facebook profile enhances self-esteem rather than