Does social media negatively affect our body image as often as we think?

Lydia Ward

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” Most people recognize this famous line from Snow White. The queen is constantly asking the mirror if she is the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. This shows us that people have always been worried about their appearance and how they look in others eyes. We often compare our looks to the beauty and fashion influencers, models, and athletes we follow. “Over 30 per cent of my clients come with visual references of social media influencers to demonstrate the look they’d like,” award-winning cosmetic doctor Dr Esho said. “We have a large group of patients between the ages of 25 and 35 who are most connected to social media trends.”The world where we live today is surrounded by technology. Some might even say we could not live without our phones or computers. With these devices come Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. It is these apps where users post photos of themselves and see what others are posting. Media platforms like these are what most often cause us to be insecure. Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat are the most popular apps that models and influencers use to post their content. These apps host the people who post edited, photoshopped, and unrealistic photos that give us the idea that you must look a certain way to be considered beautiful. The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) defines body image as “how you see yourself when you look in the mirror or when you picture yourself in your mind.” This term imcompasses; what you believe about your own appearance (including your memories, generalizations, or assumptions), how you feel about your body (including shape, height, and weight), and how you sense and control your body as you move. Your body image can start to become negative when comparisons start. Social media begins to negatively affect users’ body image when they are constantly comparing themselves to peers, friends, celebrities or even strangers. The worse our body image gets, the more problems and unhealthy behaviors it can cause. Studies have shown that there is a big correlation between time spent on social media, negative body image, and eating disorders. Research has shown us that the more time we spend on social media apps, the worse we begin to feel about our appearance. The most popular social media apps for teens are Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube; it is these apps that cause the most damage. All of these apps are predominantly image-based. The people posting on these apps are only posting the “highlight reels” or best versions of themselves and their lives. These apps all also offer a comment or message component which allow for appearance related comments to be made.

It is estimated that there are 3.6 billion social media users in the world. The usage of social media has been on a steady incline over the last decade and will only continue to go up. The Pew Research Center tells us that 95% of 13–17 year olds have access to a smartphone, 72% use Instagram, and 41% use Snapchat. 70% of teens report that they use social media more than once a day. (The Inquisitive Mind) It is quite obvious that teens are spending a lot of their time on social media. A small study was done in 2018 and found a correlation between our time spent on social media, negative body image, and eating disorders. This was very true if participants were specifically scrolling through appearance-related content, such as celebrities, models or fitness accounts. Many psychologists have also seen evidence linking social media use to body image issues, dieting, a want for thinness, etc. Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat allow teens easy access to an endless amount of pictures and people to compare themselves too. When scrolling through social media platforms like Instagram, teens may not even realize that they are comparing themselves to users with the seemingly “perfect body” or the unrealistic lives of celebrities. As this is slowly becoming the new normal, doctors are seeing what body image is causing first hand. A study was performed at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and it was found that “approximately 40% of 9–10 year-old girls are already trying to lose weight.” This is what the media has caused by painting the picture of “ideal” bodies: the model who is tall, long legs, and stick thin or the perfect hourglass shape girl who has a super small waist, big breasts, and wide hips . It is these specific bodies that young girls are chasing after but may have no clue how unrealistic it really is. Kim Kardashian is an example of a body that many girls stove for. Her whole brand is surrounded by her tiny waist and large butt and the photos she posts of herself. Most of her photos reach over one million likes… Another body that many girls want is the one of a Victoria’s Secret model. Every year the brand puts on a fashion show to reveal their new pieces, worn by all the top models in the industry. From personal experience, I know how tough it can be to see girls who look like that and only want the same for myself. Sports Illustrated Swim is known to use women with a very sexy body type for their magazine. Although all these girls are fit, they do a good job incorporating more curvy girls into their brand. The portrayal the media shows of the “perfect” body has caused a rise in eating disorders, mainly in young girls and women. NHS Digital released their data in 2018 which showed the number of hospital admissions from eating disorders had doubled over a six year time period. Body image issues can start to affect our mental health as well. It is very common for people with body dissatisfaction to develop a low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression.

Many things go into the issues of body image on social media. What some may not realize is that it is specific styles of photos that are most damaging. “Fitspiration” or “fitspo” are terms used to describe social media accounts that are dedicated to diet and fitness. In 2017, a study surveyed US college women and found that 10% had created social media posts about their weight, body image, fitness, or dieting throughout a one month time frame. 27.4% of women also would comment on friends’ posts about these topics. Many fitness Instagram accounts are posting this content to motivate users to watch their videos and use their workouts, when in reality they are slowly destroying them. Many fitness influencers offer their followers diet and exercise “plans” to help them achieve a certain body type. Samantha Lego, a college student, was introduced to Kayla Itsines and her fitness account. Kayla Itsines is a personal trainer based out of Australia and developed a 12-week “Bikini Body Guide.”

Lego took part of this plan and saw results that she liked:her body was tight and toned and her abs were visible for the first time in her life. Lego, along with thousands of others, posted before and after photos and tagged Itsines account. Things were great until food slowly became a source of torture instead of nutrients. For Lego, the promised “bikini body” that many women achieved from the plan caused obsessive comparison. “I would panic every time I would eat bad food, and I would get bloated. And I would look at all of these posts on Instagram and be like, how do I not have these six pack abs?” She would sometimes go as far as forcing herself to vomit after eating “bad” food. “Literally workout every day and nowhere near as fit looking as you.” “I wish I was so skinny please help me.” “I would do anything to look like you.” These are just a few of the comments that can be seen on these “fitness inspo” accounts. Some of these girls do not realize that editing, angles, and lighting all go into these photos. Fitness pages and celebrities are known for their use of photoshop and editing programs to adjust their photos. “Photoshop and filters that alter or edit images can also contribute to negative body image,” says Jill Emanuele, PhD, the senior director of the Mood Disorders Center at the CHild Mind Institute, a national nonprofit that supports families with mental health and learning disorders. “Photoshop and filters present people and things in their best light. It creates a distorted fantasy world and raises the bar on what people perceive is the best way to be,” says Emanuele. “I don’t get to choose how I’m going to leave my apartment today,” a young woman said. “If I could, my body would look different. But I can choose which picture makes my arms look thinner.” Millions of people are seeing perfect celebrity bodies that have more than likely undergone some form of editing or plastic surgery. This causes us to ask, “Why don’t I look like this?” “Why wasn’t I born with a body like this?” This is because more than not, it isn’t real. These people’s bodies are not natural. Filters can be added to make your skin look more tan, photoshop allows you to lengthen your legs, create an hourglass shape, get rid of blemishes or acne, make their breasts bigger or smaller, and highlight your skin. You could say the Kardashian family is quite famous for utilizing these apps and filters. An article by Mirror Magazine pointed out how many fans have criticized the sisters for unrealistic alterations to make themselves look thinner. And it is not just girls who do this…Some may not be aware, but body image can have an impact on men just as easily as women. Although it is girls who report more body image issues and disordered eating, studies have shown us that it can be just as damaging for boys.

We can read about how fake Instagram is all day long, but do we really believe it? Essena O’Neill, a 19 year old Australian influencer told all. (The Inquisitive Mind) She quit social media back in November of 2015 to prove the point that social media is just a way of fake self promotion. Essena left behind her Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube and other social media accounts. “Social media is not real life,” stated Essena. Once Essena left the platforms, her 600,000 plus fans were not happy. People started to accuse Essena of intentionally shutting down her accounts just to gain more fame. The week that Essena cut off Instagram, The Guardian’s Mahita Gajanan went around and asked other women about their personal self esteem experiences with social media. Her results were quite similar to Essena’s; almost all of the women stated that it made them feel very insecure. Many would obsess over the likes they received or how many comments were posted. People began to look up to Essena for taking that step.

Ashley Graham is also a public figure who many look up to and consider a role model. Ashley is a supermodel, but is not a size zero. She uses her platform and large following to fight for size inclusivity in the fashion world. Graham began her modeling career at the age of 13 and made the move to New York at 17. “While most kids are going through their self-discovery stage in college, my self-discovery stage was in the midst of catwalks, catalogs, and casting calls,” she said in her 2015 TED Talk, “Plus-size? More like my size.” Her large following began when she made her appearance on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue-which made her the first “plus-size” model to make the cover. Graham is very vocal when it comes to retouching; she refuses it. In August of 2019, she announced her pregnancy and started posting pictures to Instagram of her body changing and celebrating it.

So, what can we do to change this? Although it is impossible to fully block out these types of accounts and photos, we can try our best to fill our social media feeds with other things. By blocking or unfollowing certain accounts, we are instantly boosting our body confidence. Without constantly seeing these accounts, we stop the comparison. To replace the accounts of models and influencers, we should be following body positive accounts. The “BoPo’’ or “body positivity” trend has really emerged in the last few years and is making a difference.

The body positivity trend aims to challenge the standard beauty standards and encourage bodies of all shapes, colors, sizes, and appearances to be accepted. Many of these accounts have emerged throughout the years and rack up over one million followers on Instagram. The hashtag #bodypositive is also quite popular and has almost ten million posts under it. The content under the hashtag is full of all different sized women posting photos of their cellulite, “real vs. edited” pictures of their bodies, encouraging quotes, stomach rolls, and an overall celebration of the woman’s body. In the The Conversation’s new study, 195 young women (18–30) all viewed body positive content, content of thin women, or neutral content all taken straight from Instagram. The women participating were then asked to rate their mood, body satisfactory and the extent of which they were fully focused on their body and appearance. It was found that the exposure to the body positive content on Instagram concluded in improved body image and moods, compared to the neutrals and thin posts. Recently, multiple influencers have started addressing the difference between their posed selfies and the way their bodies really look relaxed.

Anna Victoria, the creator of Fit Body Guides, made the front page after taking to her Instagram and posting a photo of her stomach fully relaxed. “This fact weighs heavily on me and is why I make a consistent effort to make my online presence […] be much less about how I look, and focus just as much on the mental and emotional benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle,” she wrote in an email. “Fitness is so much more than a sweaty selfie, and it’s our job as fitness personalities, trainers, and influencers to show that.” Because social media is such a big part of our lives, it is essential to know the type of use that can have a positive or negative impact on our body image. Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat are very different from magazines and television, because users are “active content creators” and have the ability to control what they post on their accounts and see on their feed.

Overall, it is tough being a teenager or young adult in this world. Sadly, social media does not help make it any easier. Photos of Victoria’s Secret models, the Kardashian and Jenner girls, Sport Illustrated Swim models, and beauty, fashion, and fitness influencers are constantly seen on our screens through social media. When we constantly compare ourselves, it gets harder and harder to see ourselves in a positive light. We can not let these standards that society has created tear us down. You are enough, you are beautiful, you should post that picture on Instagram, and you should be confident in yourself. A “bikini body” is simply just your body in a bikini. There is no certain weight, look, or size that defines you or how you feel. Do not forget, body image is something everyone of us has, some might just be affected by it a little more or a little less.

Bibliography

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