Methods
Methods
The author of the study deployed a survey so as to understand the manner in which Instagram and other social platforms affect the wellbeing of millennial generation, especially in school. The habitual monitoring of their physical aspects and photos grows into a destructive obsession as the individual have to uphold certain body image goals to patronize their social class.
Participants
The survey was conducted among 38 students drawn from the Columbia University with a mean age of 22.3 years. The number of female students was 28 which stood at 74% of the total participants. The study targeted participants from both genders who were aged between 18-29 years. The reason as to why the author did this as explained earlier in the proposal is because of the need to gather data from all genders to explore the effects of the research question. The participants were experimental psychology students.
Procedure
A written questionnaire was administered to all the participants through google forms which allocated the respondents around six minutes to respond accordingly. To explore the hypothesis, the study employed two scales on the questionnaire which included The Social Media Use Scale by Gardner, Jappe, and Gardner (2009). In addition, there was the body objectification scale developed by Fredrickson and Roberts (1997). which proved essential for the collection of the results.
Measures:
Social Media Use Scale
The following questions were used to obtain the information below:
- An initial question asked the participant if they used social media.
- Asking if the participant had an Instagram account.
- The number of hours they spent on Instagram each day.
- How they compare their look to that of other people including celebrities and models.
The first two questions on the survey were incorporated to establish whether the participant uses SNS, specifically Instagram, which included yes/no questions. The predictor variable, time spent on Instagram in a day, was indicated on a 12-point scale, that is; 0–15 min, 15–30 min, 1–2 h, 2–3 h, 3–4 h, 4–5 h, 5–6 h, 6–7 h, 7–8 h, 8–9 h, 9–10 h, 10 or more.
Body Objectification Scale
The predicted variable, objectified body image was measured using the McKinley et al. Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (OBSC) with a range of 1-7. It employed a seven-point response format with values ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ (1) to ‘strongly agree’ (7) (Szymanski, Moffitt and Carr, 2011). There is also the use of a 23-item Body-esteem scale BESSA to measure Instagram habits. The researchers used the scoring method on the questionnaire scales as well as composite scores to allow comparison.
Participants
Graph 2 OBCS Results
An increase in Instagram usage was linked to reduced body esteem scores and OBCS. There also exists gender discrepancy on OBCS and body esteem scores. The study found significant negative correlations between time and body esteem scores and OBCS. In addition, there were also significant negative correlations between OBCS and Body Esteem Scores with appearance related content.
Figure 1 Statistical Significance results
The results from this study were expected to reveal a positive correlation between the number of hours spent on Instagram as well as negative body image among college students. We had earlier anticipated these finding will be seen regardless of the content being followed since the effects are mainly correlated with the amount of time spent using Instagram. Also, we predicted that gender would have been the damaging factor in this study with data confirming our hypothesis regardless of gender.
As per the questionnaire, we expected that the time spent on Instagram among all the participants to have at least a score of 2 on the scale (15-30 min). Most people were expected to lie on position 10 in the range (8-9 hours). There were also some extremes in the scale of the predictor variable. In-line with the expected findings that an increase in the number of hours spent on Instagram ended up developing a negative self-body image.
Therefore, as expected in OBSC most participants lied between value 6-7. This kind of data between the two variables hence confirms the hypothesis of the study. Additionally, there is a possibility of the results obtained from the research disconfirming the hypothesis. This is in case that the time spent on Instagram does not reflect a negative body image from the analysis of OBSC.
Instagram is a social media tool used by the youthful generation who are commonly referred to as millennials. According to Wagner (2016), this generation has an obsession with taking photos and uploading them on the android application to allow others to like, comment as well as share on other social media platforms such as Google plus, Twitter, Snapchat and Facebook. Negative body image is dissatisfaction with the evaluation of ones’ physical appearance, body shape, and size (Furnham, Badmin and Sneade, 2002).
Procedure
Research conducted recently indicate that social media sites are mostly used by college-aged students. Also, the literature suggests that social media sites have become very addictive (Cash, 2002). The hypothesis of the current study is that there is a link between the number of hours that an individual spends on Instagram and a negative body image among students in colleges. Media is an essential factor that determines the societal perception of the suitable body image, this has led to the development of dieting and body image concerns in young adults. This is according to a correlational, survey and structure modeling investigation conducted by Champion (2012). Moreover, appearance surveillance constantly occurs while using body image centered media that act to set the cultural or societal standard for body image for the user (Dittmar, 2009).
The word millennial generation has gained popularity due to the reference made to persons born between the age of 1981 and 1997. According to Fry (2016), each generation adopts shared characteristics and traits that tend to come up with the shared identity due to shared social as well as historical experiences. The current study used the named target group as they are the only population to have matured through the digital era. When the author mentions body image, he refers to the perception that individuals have regarding their own body.
In the earlier years of the 21st century, most of the socialization occurred through radio broadcasts as well as media television which allowed family viewing. As a consequence, the internet has allowed most of the population to access data through gadgets such as smartphones, tablets, laptops connected to high-speed network thus the creation of a bedroom culture (Bergstrom, Neighbors, and Malheim, 2009). According to Boyd and Ellison (2007), there is a growing rise in social network sites as well as other avenues that provide individuals with a proper chance to display their identity as they interact with their virtual friends. At times, Grabe, Ward and Hyde (2008) argue that such ventures include taking hard decisions such as forced fasting or feeding so as to keep up the high standards set for their followers.
Body image refers to the attitudes as well as the perceptions that are given to individuals as well as those that they have regarding themselves. Such comparisons are usually made in reference to various cultural expectations whereby body image incorporates assessments made on the individual depending on the different factors used to assert beauty. These may include proportions of the skin, skin tone besides the size of the hips, waists as well as other body muscles that define a good appearance. Body image is an essential topic especially amongst ladies in colleges and in the modern society whereby the beauty of an individual’s body is defined by various classes of thinness. These may vary from athletic to slim and lanky.
Measures
These expectations have varying ramification on the confidence of various persons regarding their body image. There is a risk of bad repercussions as the female body typically ranges in outlook and weight whereby more than half the adults in the USA could be classified as obese. As a result, the author of the current study reported the capability of college students to go to extreme heights as they try to maintain the social image they have set for themselves on Instagram. As reported, most of these females and college students are unhappy with their bodies which accounts for 11-16% of the surveyed population. Women had greater complaints in terms of loss esteem and confidence as compared to men.
References:
Bennett, J. (2014). Our bodies, our selfies: The feminist photo revolution, Time (11 August), at https://www.time.com/3099103/feminist-selfies-uglyfeminists-iwokeuplikedis/, accessed 30 April 2018.
Bergstrom, R.L., Neighbors, C., and Malheim, J.E. (2009). Media comparisons and threat to body image: Seeking evidence of self-affirmation. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, volume 28, number 2, pp. 264–280. doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2009.28.2.264, accessed 30 April 2018.
Cash, T.F. (2002). Cognitive behavioral perspectives on body image, In Cash, T F., and Pruzinsky, T. (editors). Body image: A handbook of theory, research, and clinical practice. New York: Guilford Press, pp. 38–46.
Champion, C. (2012). Instagram: Je-Suis-là? Philosophy of Photography,3(1), pp. 83–88.doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1386/pop.3.1.83_7, accessed 30 April 2018.
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Fredrickson, B.L., and Roberts, T.A. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21(2), pp. 173–206. doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00108.x, accessed 30 April 2018.
Fry, R. (2016). Millennials overtake baby boomers as America’s largest generation, Pew Research Center (29 April), at https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/25/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers/, accessed 30 April 2018.
Furnham, A., Badmin, N. and Sneade, I. (2002). Body image dissatisfaction: Gender differences in eating attitudes, self-esteem, and reasons for exercise, Journal of Psychology, 136(6), pp. 581–596. doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00223980209604820, accessed 30 April 2018.
Gardner, R.L. Jappe, L.M., and Gardner, L. (2009). Development and validation of a new figural drawing scale for body-image assessment: The BIAS-BD, Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65(1), pp. 113–122. doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20526, accessed 30 April 2018.
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Wagner, C., Aguirre, E., & Sumner, E. (2016). The relationship between Instagram selfies and body image in young adult women. First Monday, 21(9). doi:https://dx.doi.org/10.5210/fm. v21i9.6390
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