The Relationship between Social Media and Body Image
What is the impact of social media on the perception of the body image of young adults?
The past few decades have been witnessing social media as a well-evaluated investigated area in relation to the effect and impact on body image, anxiety along with self-esteem in young adults (Thompson and Lougheed 2012). The social media has been playing a consequential and outsized role in the process of communication of cultural stereotypes in relation to the aesthetics of body image. Social media has been reflecting both positive and negative impact on individuals’ self-esteem often relying on the nature of the comments posted on social media platform (Eyal and Te’eni-Harari 2013). The social media particularly has been increasingly developing as a domain that underlines cultural and intellectual beliefs and perceives strong views on the way a person looks, that individuals repeatedly have been assessing and perpetuating. The thesis statement of this paper is “Social media has greater impact on the perception of the body image of young adults and teenagers”. The significance of the essay is to highlight the evaluating effects on social networking sites like Facebook on the people belonging to the young adult generation.
In recent years, it has been evaluated that over 75% of people belonging to the young adult generation have active membership on at least one social networking site. Among the plethora of social media sites, Facebook has been one of the leading site that has been regarded as a comparatively a recent phenomenon, playing a dominant role in the lives of both young adults and teenagers (Grover, Foreman and Burckes 2016). Several arguments have been highlighted regarding the concerns related to the social adjustment issues as online communication is often regarded as ineffective and less valued form of communication than interpersonal communication or whether social networking platforms play an effective role in assisting young adults and teenagers to interact with existing friends, relatives and other people (Mitra, Ray and Das 2015). However, several studies conducted in the US, UK and Australia has gathered relative evidence related to social media impact on slimness ideologies and discontentment with their body visibility.
The idea behind the concept of ‘body image’ can be further evaluated into an efficient factor on the way people perceive their own bodies along with a cognitive element on the way young adults assume their bodies would be like (Gezgin, Dev and Clarissa 2014). It must important to note that several aspects of social media like Facebook has significantly contributed to the body image not only of the young adults but also of the ones belonging to teenage, which are mostly been culturally indomitable (Xu 2017). In recent era, the society has been witnessing an alarming and starling global increase related to overweight and obesity. This issue concerning the rise of obesity has been predominant among the young adults resulting due to eating disorder symptoms (Carper, Negy and Tantleff 2010). However, certain investigations have revealed that among the population of Australian high school students in the Tamworth area of New South Wales and Sydney, twenty-one percent of male teenagers and eleven percent of female teenage population have been evaluated to have greater inclination towards overeating (Miller and Halberstadt 2005). This involves obsessive occupation along with problems related to food diet, external looks and appearance and lack of control over food. Considering these distressing attitudes and behaviours are considered as posing negative perceptions of the external appearance of this population, their body shape, factors related to weight along with low level self esteem, self-confidence and an internalization of a cultural ideology of being ‘slim’ and ‘beautiful’ (Krayer, Ingledew and Iphofen 2007) in comparison to the young adult generation. However, rising questions related to the significance of social media usage in acknowledging and further reinforcing indistinct eating habits, which can further result in issues related to health phenomenon (Perloff 2014). However, studies reveal that young women adults are more exposed towards social media content like Facebook, Instagram and other networking sites that show the thinness or slimness as the definitive and ultimate desired body structure (Te’eni-Harari and Eyal 2017).
Facebook as a Leading Social Media Platform
This ideology behind being slim and certain beauty standards in particular have contributed to the increase in eating disorders among them whereas the teenagers indulge in overeating and obesity. This has been resulting in psychological factors concerning depression, anger, stress, and low self-esteem in comparison to the disclosure to the content that does not reveal a human model and content that shows model having average or above average body shapes (Hanna et al.2017 ). It is important to note that most investigation have revealed that young women adults younger than 20 years of age, have been immensely exposed to excessively attractive and engaging social media (Miller and Halberstadt 2005). Furthermore, symptoms of disorder of eating have been highlighted in undergraduate or high schools teenage female students. It has been further identified that several studies on Facebook users in recent times has been a rise of eating problems and unhappiness and frustration related to their body structure, stress and anxiety (Gezgin, Dev and Clarissa 2014). The idea and perception behind ‘thinness’, ‘beauty’ has been regarded as an internalized set of notions that young adult women may establish themselves concerning their individual and personal values and principles about size and weight, looks, appearance and associated distinctiveness and characteristics whereby they struggle to maintain it (Mitra, Ray and Das 2015). Since Facebook, Instagram and other social media sites has been playing a vital character within the lives of majority of the adolescent and young men and women, its impact on perception of body along with the observation and notion of beauty and appearance has continued to develop (Thompson and Lougheed 2012). Excessive social media usage not only interprets young woman adults to certain sets of beauty standards as well as cultural notions and ideologies of womanhood. It must be taken into consideration that despite of increasing knowledge and awareness of this situation, the role of Facebook in rising aspects of discontentment, body dysmorphia along with eating habits has not altered among this generation (Perloff 2014). Facebook, being the only networking site with an average of 900 million people scrolling through their news update, among them almost 50% of the viewers belong to the young adult generation. The body image unhappiness has been revealed to cause by Facebook that has taken into account while interacting to individuals about their unhappiness and frustration related to body image (Te’eni-Harari and Eyal 2017). It must be highlighted that in spite of actual body weight, majority of young women adults belonging to western cultures are immensely concerned about loss of body weight and promoting thinness. However, it must be noted that excessive usage of Facebook has resulted teenagers to indulge in developing ideas related to body shaming and bullying. Recent investigation evaluated social comparison that is considered as a personality and characteristics variable that further anticipate the negative and damaging effects of Facebook exposure in body image (Te’eni-Harari and Eyal 2017). It has been evaluated that young female adults who face severe dissatisfaction to body image as an outcome of unfavourable body judgment that raises frustration among this young generation further destructing and hampering their future competences. Free and unlimited accessibility to create a personal profile on a social networking site have caused immense exposure to negative and distressing media standards through social media platform (Hanna et al.2017 ). The major section of young college learners especially women have been extensively vulnerable towards Facebook and thus have been experiencing repeated coverage to negative and depressing body sensitivity like thin ideology and self comparison or assessment to renowned personalities (Perloff 2014). They further provide the opportunity of consumers to present themselves based on their preferences on their personal Facebook profiles, which could contribute to a degraded sense of self-esteem and perception of body image.
Body Image Perception in Young Adults
However, social cognitive theory of body image has facilitated the usage of comprehensive theoretical approach in order to shed light on the interaction between psychological and social impact that have its occurrence within as well as beyond the social media domain (Thompson and Lougheed 2012). The social cognitive theoretical approach has been dependent upon in order to evaluate the negative impact of social media or Facebook on several consequences associated to social media aggression and sadism (Thompson and Lougheed 2012). According to this theory, young adults utilize several symbolic frameworks to comprehend the appropriate behaviours that provides a transactional perception of self and society, along with interpersonal aspects in the form of cognitive, influential and biological occurrences, whereby all function as communicating determinants that give impact each other (Te’eni-Harari and Eyal 2017). This theoretical strategy of SCT includes both mediated as well as nonmediated aspects that have facilitated to concentrate on the influence beyond social media exposure in the process of shaping the perceptions and views or beliefs related to body image standards and principles (Te’eni-Harari and Eyal 2017). It further evaluates the feasible distinction between direct and indirect social media effect. While Facebook emphasizes for women on ideals of thin and the notion for men has been portrayed of lean or well-built body type. This focus on muscularity, heftiness and bulkiness has been further characterized in pop-culture in several ways (Hanna et al.2017 ). In recent times, the trend on eating and body image has concerned the young male adults to focus on gay men in particular. Several explorations have emerged as to the reason gay men are more reliant to strict eating and body image issues (Gezgin, Dev and Clarissa 2014).
It has been evaluated that both gay men and straight young female adults have similar concerns and objectives of gathering the attractions of men who generally position their preference on the visual and aesthetic value of their partners. While straight young male adults and lesbian women belonging to the young generation possess common purposes of trying to attract women thus indulging into sever eating disorders (Thompson and Lougheed 2012). Facebook and other social media sites have been identified as significant contributors to eating as well as body image pathology (Perloff 2014). With the rising rate of recognition of awareness towards health risks and have been posed by ultra slim visuals and relative comments of feminine beauty that has been causing detrimental effects on both young male and female adults (Thompson and Lougheed 2012).
The Prevalence of Thinness Ideologies
Thus, it can be seen that relevant exposures and explanations have successfully been enlightened through the aforementioned PICO question related to the impact of social media usage on the perception of body image. While Facebook usage has resulted teenagers to develop ideas related to body shaming, on the other hand both male and female young adults within the age of 35 being influenced by excessive social media usage thereby giving rise to the notions related to thinness and body dissatisfaction.
References
Carper, T.L.M., Negy, C. and Tantleff-Dunn, S., 2010. Relations among media influence, body image, eating concerns, and sexual orientation in men: A preliminary investigation. Body Image, 7(4), pp.301-309.
Eyal, K. and Te’eni-Harari, T., 2013. Explaining the relationship between media exposure and early adolescents’ body image perceptions: The role of favorite characters. Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications, 25(3), p.129.
Gezgin, U.B., Dev, A. and Clarissa, V., 2014. Of Kate Moss & Marilyn Monroe: Body Dissatisfaction and its Relation to Media Consumption, Body Mass Index and Self-Esteem in Malaysian College Women. Akdeniz Iletisim, (22).
Grover, A., Foreman, J. and Burckes-Miller, M., 2016. “Infecting” those we care about: social network effects on body image. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, 10(3), pp.323-338.
Hanna, E., Ward, L.M., Seabrook, R.C., Jerald, M., Reed, L., Giaccardi, S. and Lippman, J.R., 2017. Contributions of social comparison and self-objectification in mediating associations between facebook use and emergent adults’ psychological well-being. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(3), pp.172-179.
Krayer, A., Ingledew, D.K. and Iphofen, R., 2007. Social comparison and body image in adolescence: a grounded theory approach. Health Education Research, 23(5), pp.892-903.
Miller, E. and Halberstadt, J., 2005. Media consumption, body image and thin ideals in New Zealand men and women. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 34(3), pp.189-195.
Mitra, S.A., Ray, D. and Das, S., 2015. Influence of media on body image satisfaction an exploratory study on urban Bengali females. Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing, 6(11), p.1100.
Perloff, R.M., 2014. Social media effects on young women’s body image concerns: Theoretical perspectives and an agenda for research. Sex Roles, 71(11-12), pp.363-377.
Te’eni-Harari, T. and Eyal, K., 2017. The Psychology of Social Networking: the Challenges of Social Networking for Fame-Valuing Teens’ Body Image. Philosophia, 45(3), pp.947-956.
Thompson, S.H. and Lougheed, E., 2012. Frazzled by Facebook? An exploratory study of gender differences in social network communication among undergraduate men and women. College Student Journal, 46(1), pp.88-99.
Xu, J., 2017. Media Exposure or Pressure? The Mediating Role of Nonmediated Norms in Young Adults’ Body Esteem. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 25(5), pp.280-
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