Body image and self-esteem are important issues for people of all ages, but they can be especially damaging for young people. The pressure to meet unrealistic beauty standards can lead to serious health problems, including eating disorders, anxiety, and depression.
Social media plays a big role in perpetuating these harmful ideals. Every day, users are bombarded with images of perfectly-styled celebrities and models. It’s no wonder that so many people develop body image issues.
The good news is that there is increasing awareness of the problem and more people are speaking out against unrealistic beauty standards. There is also a growing movement of body positive influencers who are promoting healthy attitudes towards appearance. Hopefully, these trends will help to create a more realistic and healthy standard of beauty.
It’s difficult to imagine a world without idealized female imagery, but our current situation is a relatively new occurrence. Before the mass media existed, our notions of beauty were confined to our own communities.
We compare ourselves to those around us, and our idea of beauty is based on what we see. Now, with social media, we are constantly bombarded with images of perfectly sculpted women, and it’s having a damaging effect on our body image.
A study conducted by the University of North Carolina revealed that “women who frequently browsed Facebook felt worse about their own bodies.” The constant stream of images depicting the “perfect” female form can lead to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. In a culture that already puts so much emphasis on physical appearance, social media is exacerbating the problem.
It’s not just women who are affected by these standards; men feel the pressure as well. In a study conducted by the University of Phoenix, it was found that “men who frequently used social media sites were more likely to compare their physiques to others.” This comparison can lead to body dysmorphic disorder, a condition characterized by an obsession with perceived physical defects.
The images we see on social media are often Photoshopped and unrealistic, which furthers the problem. A study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders found that “comparing oneself to retouched images of models in magazines was associated with increased body dissatisfaction, dieting, and bulimic symptoms for both men and women.”
These standards are having a negative impact on our mental and physical health. Body dissatisfaction can lead to disordered eating, depression, and anxiety. It’s time for us to break free from these unrealistic ideals and learn to love our bodies just the way they are.
Society has always been obsessed with appearance, but until 1839, people were not exposed to real-life images of faces and bodies. Most people did not even own mirrors. Today, we are more fixated on our looks than ever before; however, it is quite normal and understandable given society’s standards.
The standards of beauty that we see in the media are unrealistic and unattainable for most people. The average fashion model weighs 23% less than the average woman, and has a Body Mass Index (BMI) that is considered underweight. In addition, photoshop is used to edit images of models so that they appear even thinner and have perfect skin. As a result, many people develop body image issues and eating disorders from comparing themselves to these unrealistic standards.
Social media plays a big role in perpetuating these beauty standards. We are constantly bombarded with images of perfectly-styled celebrities and Instagram influencers. It’s easy to forget that these pictures are often edited and don’t represent reality.
For many young people, especially girls, the ideal continues to pursue them as they mature into young women. Young ladies begin to internalize the preconceptions and judge themselves based on media’s impossible criteria. The influence that the media has over youngsters’ lives is damaging, and it eventually has an impact on their body image, enjoyment of their own body, and portrayal of their body as an object.
Body image is “the way you see yourself when you look in the mirror or how you picture yourself in your mind” (NEDA 1). It affects both girls and boys, but girls seem to be more prone to developing Body Dysmorphic Disorder and eating disorders because of the overwhelming pressure to be thin and beautiful that society puts on them. Social media plays a big role in young people’s lives, and it has a significant impact on their body image.
One study found that for every hour spent on Facebook, participants reported a lower body satisfaction (Tiggemann & Slater 546). Another study done with adolescents showed that those who used social media more had 2.6 times the odds of reporting poor body image (Paxton, Wertheim, Gibbons, & Lamble 6).
Social media not only has an impact on how people see themselves, but it also changes the way they perceive other people’s lives. A study done with young adults showed that those who spend more time on social media sites such as Facebook tend to believe that others are leading happier and more successful lives than them (Tong, Van Der Pligt, & Verwijmeren 566).
This can lead to feelings of envy and jealousy, as well as a decrease in self-esteem. Social media also has a huge impact on the way people diet and exercise. Studies have shown that seeing pictures of thin models or friends on social media can lead to unhealthy dieting and exercise habits (Tiggemann & Slater 547). In one study, participants who were exposed to thin-ideal images on Facebook reported more body dissatisfaction and desire to diet than those who were not (Paxton et al. 6).
It is clear that social media has a negative impact on the way people see themselves and others. This can lead to a number of health problems, such as Body Dysmorphic Disorder, eating disorders, and body image issues. It is important for young people to be aware of the dangers of social media and its impact on their lives.
Ongoing exposure to certain ideas can shape and distort our perceptions of reality. This is especially true for young girls, who are constantly bombarded with images of perfect-looking people in the media. As a result, they often develop negative body image issues.
Body image is “the way we see ourselves when we look in the mirror and how we feel about our bodies.” (NEDA) It becomes an obsession when someone “can think of nothing else but their appearance and how they can change their looks, no matter how often they diet or exercise.” (NEDA)
The media is partly to blame for this Body Dysmorphic Disorder because it is “plagued with images of perfect people with perfect lives.” (Mintz 2007) Television, movies, magazines, and now social media, are all outlets that display these so-called “perfect people”. With the rise of social media came a new form of advertisement: influencers.
An influencer is “a person with the ability to influence potential customers’ purchasing decisions because they have authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with their audience.” (Meyerson) There are two types of influencers: micro-influencers and macro-influencers. Micro-influencers have a smaller following, usually between 1,000 to 100,000 people, but they have “much higher engagement rates than macro-influencers.” (Meyerson)