social media and body image essay conclusion

Social Media and Body Image Essay

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Have you ever looked in the mirror and said something negative about yourself?

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary body image is, “”a subjective picture of one’s own physical appearance established both by self-observation and by noting the reactions of other. Negative body image and low self-esteem are real problems and I want to discover the causes, how much of a factor social media is, and ways that people can get help to move past it.

Many people see things they do not like about their body that others do not even notice.

Negative body image is on the rise and some believe that it could be due to mass media. There is a high quantity of research being done because negative body image does not need to happen. Most researchers are focusing on the main causes of low self-esteem and body image, the effects mass media has created, and how someone can overcome their problems.

Researchers are identifying what in the first-place causes someone to one day love their body to all of the sudden hating it. Negative body-image and low self-esteem are very similar things. Low self-esteem is when someone lacks confidence in themselves often. According to the “”Department of Health & Human Services, (Department of Health & Human Services May 2014), some of the causes for low self-esteem are an unhappy childhood, poor academic performance, a stressful life, poor treatment from a partner or parent, ongoing medical issues, and also mental illness. In another article the Department of Health & Human Services, (Department of Health & Human Services August 2014) states that things such as, being teased about the way one looked in their childhood, having dieting parents, and the medias tendency to promote thinner people, are all causes of negative body image. All of these things that are listed above are things that could lead to low self-esteem and create a negative body image. Through exploration one can discover that there are many things that are said to cause negative body image and low self-esteem. Another cause of negative body image is fat talk.

Some researchers are also discovering what fat talk is and why it happens. Fat talk is as simple as its name suggests. It is talking about someone’s body in a negative way while emphasizing on weight and shape. In the journal, “”Body Image, (Chow, Hart, Tan 2018) it states that 93% of young women had fat talked while only 11% of men had been in this situation. Fat talk could be talking about oneself or it could also be talking about someone else’s body. No matter how it is being done such as about oneself, someone else’s body, or even their appearance it could affect them more than people realize. In the article, “”Fat Talk, written by Sarah Royal for “”The National Eating Disorder Information Centre (Fat Talk 2012) she states that fat talk often happens, and it is not realized that it is being done. These fat talk conversations also happen very often in the dressing room while people are trying on clothing. Social media is said to have caused a raise in the amount of fat talk online.

Researchers are discovering what amount of negative body image and low self-esteem that mass media is blamed for. Social media can be used for very good things, but it can also cause some not so good things. There have been studies that show that when someone looks at a picture of a skinny model they then compare themselves to that model. In the journal “”#SocialMedia, (Santarossa & Woodruff 2017), it explains that the online environment is full of pictures of celebrity and models for someone to compare themselves to other people. Social media is also used as a platform for influencers to help others with things that they themselves have gone through in the past. Richard Perloff says that the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia have all conducted experiments and research that have evidence that social media has effects on body image problems (Perloff 2014). With the rise of users on social media there are a lot of opportunities for people to see others and compare their body to the fit model on social media. Fat talk and social media may cause negative body image and low self-esteem but how does someone who has these things get over it?

Once someone has low self-esteem and see their body negatively, it is very important that they seek help or work on gaining confidence themselves. According to “”The Department of Health and Human Services a few ways to build one’s self-esteem are talking to oneself positively, do not compare yourself to others, do not worry, and there are also many more small things someone can do. People should always talk positively about themselves but if someone is going through low self-esteem it is very important that they find something positive to talk about. One way that would be very simple is to find something positive that they like about themselves every day and this will eventually be a habit. Comparing to others is a very easy thing to do especially because with every advertisement if there is someone on the ad then it is normally a skinny, beautiful girl or a fit, muscular guy. If someone worries often then it is very easy to worry about their body and what everyone else thinks about them but that should not matter. What other people say about you should not bother you at all, but this is easier to say then to actually do. As Bob Marley said, “”Don’t worry be happy.

According to the BYU Counseling Center, at any one point in time 50% of women are on a diet. BYU also reports that 14% of five-year-old girls say that they go on diets. It also stated in the article that 98% of people who diet gain their weight back in five years (Ways to Overcome a Negative Body Image, BYU). Another thing to take in to account when someone is trying to get over their negative body image is their genetics. Everyone is made a different way and not one person looks exactly the same as another. According to “”Building Self-esteem: A Self-Help Guide (Building Self-esteem: A Self-Help Guide), a few other things someone can do to help themself are things such as, wear outfits that make someone feel good about themselves, do things nice to other people and it will make them feel good, and they could also reward themselves for little things that they have accomplished. In conclusion there are many ways for someone to get over their negative body image and low self-esteem problems.

As you can see, negative body image and low self-esteem are major problems in our society today. This can be caused by things such as social media, family problems, academic problems, fat talk, and many other things. People are constantly researching to find what specific things trigger negative body image and low self-esteem. As often as they are researching what causes it, they are also researching what can be done to help people who have already been affected to get over this. There are many more things to be discovered about negative body image and its causes.

In the future I plan on arguing that women are more effected with body image and self-esteem problems than men. Everyone needs to be informed about the causes of negative body images and also how to recover from negative body images and self-esteem, but I want to look at the research on who is affected more and I believe it is young women.

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Impact of Media on Body Image

Media is everywhere. It is on our phones, our computers and laptops, on television, on public transport, at shopping centers, everywhere. Whether we like it or not, we encounter media on a regular basis and will inevitably be influenced by it. Moreover, one does not have to be an expert to recognize that, subconsciously, media is forming the way in which people look at themselves and the world around them. Body image is especially relevant in the context of media because beautiful bodies are often used for advertisement purposes. From gluten-free cereal to a car rental service, adverts often show retouched images of female or male models or celebrities who constantly work on their appearance. Looking at such ads, it is hard not to get self-conscious about one’s appearance, whether it is the body, skin, or hair. Therefore, the influence of media, regardless of its form and method of transfer, is detrimental in establishing a negative perception of the population’s body image.

Researchers have extensively studied the connections between the active engagement of people with different forms of media and their perceptions of their bodies. A recent study by Hogue and Mills (2019) found that engagement with attractive peers on social media increased negative perceptions of body image. The research included 143 young women from York University and concluded that people’s comparisons with individuals of “better” appearance on social media could lower females’ body image concerns. Such findings allow with the previous recommendation that body image gets lower when individuals view images of women who are considered attractive by the social standard. This points to the need to establish body image media literacy programs to highlight the adverse effects of media use. In this context, media literacy refers to the ability of a person to understand when information is needed, as well as recognize how to evaluate, locate, and use it (McLean, Paxton, & Wertheim, 2016). This points to the need to educate the public about a healthy relationship with the media and how it can be managed.

As the world relies heavily on media, the population is bombarded by the images of successful people who have worked on their image for years and even decades. The main issue within this is not the fact that famous people have invested time, effort and money into themselves. Rather, the key problem is that the standard for beauty that is being set is unobtainable for the general public. The way in which many media personalities look is not realistic not only because of heavy makeup or years of exercising but also due to heavy retouching of their images. There are multiple instances in which companies have been caught retouching their advertisements that should have shown realistic images. For example, a skincare brand Dove has admitted to retouching their advertisements the message of which was ‘real beauty.’ Dove faced significant backlash when it turned out that the images were photoshopped to make them more appealing to the target audience. Turns out, even real beauty is being modified on media, with people expected to believe corporations, which, in turn, harms their personal self-perception.

While expecting that TV, advertisements, and posts on social media would become 100% truthful is unrealistic expectations, it is important to voice the concerns about their impact. The airbrushed images of models or actors cause unhealthy habits in vulnerable individuals, especially younger people. Some of the pressing concerns regarding the adverse impact of media have been associated with eating disorders that develop as a result of unrealistic expectations about one’s body. For instance, anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by a perceptual issue called body dysmorphia. It refers to a misalignment between the way a person looks and the way they think they look (Richards, 2017). Despite being quite slim, people with anorexia feel that they are overweight and try to lose more weight by refusing to eat or over-exercising. Bulimia nervosa is a disorder during which individuals control their weight through fasting or purging, although the condition is harder to spot compared to anorexia. Therefore, apart from general emotional distress, the unrealistic images on media exacerbate the psychological condition to such a degree that a serious intervention could be needed.

Media is here to stay. People will continue being exposed to unrealistic images because the latter are the driving force for advertising and making money. However, there is a high need to educate the population, especially younger people, that they are not expected to look the same as the retouched and airbrushed celebrities. It is imperative for young people to understand that media is only a part of society and will never represent it to the fullest extent. However, one of the main goals is to foster an environment of acceptance that celebrates the diversity of appearance, thought, life choices, and perspectives. In the wake of the recent global turmoil, we should all aim our strength at creating something positive rather than focusing on the negative.

Hogue, J., & Mills, J. (2019). The effects of active social media engagement with peers on body image in young women. Body Image, 28 , 1-5.

McLean, S., Paxton, S., & Wertheim, E. (2016). The role of media in body dissatisfaction and disordered eating: A systematic review. Body Image, 19 , 9-23.

Richards, P. (2017). How does media impact body image and eating disorder rates?  Web.

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Effects of Social Media on Body Image Essay Example

Social media and family shape people's perspectives on physical activity in society. Without a doubt, social media impacts our perceptions of appearance and fitness. Despite the negative connotations associated with social media, we are continuously exposed to photos uploaded online. As a result, body image and social media have become intertwined. As a result, social media seems to have a beneficial and negative impact on how we see ourselves.

Body image is strongly intertwined with sports participation, and sports interaction enhances body image. Ricciardelli and McCabe discovered in 2004 that one's body image had a beneficial impact on sports involvement; in other words, the much more positive one's body image becomes, the more active one will be in sports. Further, social media challenges us to make beneficial changes in our daily lives, such as eating healthy, getting regular exercise, and working hard to reach our objectives. Social media users can keep a healthy and positive attitude towards their bodies by adopting these adjustments. Regrettably, social media has more detrimental effects on our body image than positive effects. It establishes unreasonable standards and encourages us to compare ourselves to others, leading to self-doubt. Both women and men compare their bodies to those in the media, according to a survey performed by the Florida House Experience, a healthcare organisation. A total of 1,000 men and women participated in the poll, which focused on their body image, confidence, and use of social media. According to the findings, 87 per cent of women and 65 per cent of men compare their bodies to social media photographs. In that comparison, 50% of women and 37% of men think their bodies are unattractive. People who have a negative attitude towards their bodies are more likely to have social body anxiety, which lowers their self-esteem.

I find myself comparing myself to others on social media more than I'd want to admit, whether it's professional athletes, collegiate athletes, peers, or simply random people with a large fan base. It has a significant impact on my body image, though it does not always affect me negatively. My perceptions of myself and my athleticism are influenced by how social media presents being "fit" or "athletic." I don't fit into the stereotypes that social media has imposed on athletes. In sports, having a negative body image is a huge barrier that demotivates me to engage in training or games, because people will always have an opinion on your physical appearance, even if you don't want them to. Serena Williams, an American tennis star who revolutionised women's tennis with her forceful style of play and won more Grand Slam singles titles than any other woman or man during the open period, is another example of someone whose body image is influenced by social media. "What was celebrated while I was growing up was different," Serena Williams continued in an article. "Venus appeared to be more of what is truly acceptable: she had incredibly long legs and is extremely slim. I didn't see any thick folks on TV who looked like myself. There was no such thing as a positive body image. It was a different era back then." She was affected by social media and began to feel uncomfortable in her own skin.

Knowing more is one of the most effective strategies to overcome this issue. Unexpected mental health and body image difficulties will continue to arise as a result of social media, particularly in terms of how we perceive our own body image. A lot more research is needed in terms of preventative measures and treatment for a negative body image generated by social media. Fortunately, there are still things that can be done, such as following accounts that promote healthy living with factual information or learning how body-positive influencers approach body image or withdrawing from social media to be more active. 

It probably won't surprise you to find that our families shape a lot of our attitudes towards our bodies. From a young age, many of us are aware of this influence on our body image.

According to the Girl Scout Research Group, 5 out of 10 girls believe that their families have an impact on how they feel about their bodies. But, are the values we receive from our family motivating or disheartening?

This may sound like a far-fetched scenario, but parents and families regularly discuss food and weight with their children in similar ways. "You've put on a few pounds, haven't you?" For example, a family member may make remarks. "Here's a diet soda can." In the case of an overweight child, a parent may propose that the child accompany her on a diet plan. While having well-organized, healthy eating habits is a crucial component of living a healthy lifestyle, even well-intentioned comments and dietary restrictions can impact a teen's self-esteem and development. Peer pressure and media depictions of bodies and health have a big influence on a teen's body image. As previously said, our perceptions of ourselves and our bodies have an impact on our engagement in sports and physical activities. Family members, on the other hand, encourage and support their children to be more active and participate in and enjoy physical activity. In most cases, family is one of the most powerful motivators for their children's participation in sports.

It's difficult to get out of being body-conscious when you've already become self-conscious. I've tried to weigh all of the advantages and disadvantages. But the truth is that I am still self-conscious about my appearance, and I can confidently say that I am not over it. No media or film industry has the power to influence us as much as our own family, but with so many families failing to acknowledge how their concerns are affecting their children to become self-conscious regarding their bodies. Family members are not always aware of how their words affect their child's body image and self-esteem. It's obvious to see how remarks regarding weight gains might harm one's consciousness. They may have a similar impact in that they give us the feeling that others are continuously evaluating our bodies, making us feel even more self-conscious. I find myself hearing jokes made about my fitness or weight from family members and taking them too seriously at times, which discourages me from participating in sports. These comments and jokes that are made lead to constant negative thoughts and self-doubt. Similarly, a close friend of mine who was a netball player and an athlete also has this issue, her parents constantly commenting on how skinny she is has a tremendous impact on how she perceives her body. She has resulted in eating excessively to gain weight and she engaged less in physical activity as she thought that, being active was the cause of her weight loss and why she was skinny. This lead to her losing her passion for her sports and she was hesitant and self-conscious about participating in physical activity in physical education classes or extracurricular activities. 

The problem is that there is no such thing as a "perfect" body, at least not in the way that the media defines it. Models' photos are routinely altered in order to make them appear thinner or to improve their features. As a result, chasing the "perfect" figure will only leave you disappointed. Low self-esteem results, which can have a detrimental impact on every aspect of one's life. Instead of discussing dieting, a family member should focus on eating healthily and encouraging their children to exercise more, not to lose or gain weight, but to grow healthier and stronger. 

In conclusion, I have weighed up all the positives and negatives that family and social media has on our body image and how it affects our physical activity in the process and have found that it is one of the biggest barriers and demotivators to participating in physical activities.

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Social Media Use and Body Image Disorders: Association between Frequency of Comparing One’s Own Physical Appearance to That of People Being Followed on Social Media and Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness

Barbara jiotsa.

1 Addictology and Liaison Psychiatry Department, Nantes University Hospital, 44000 Nantes, France; [email protected] (B.J.); [email protected] (B.N.); [email protected] (B.R.)

Benjamin Naccache

Mélanie duval.

2 Public Health Department, Nantes University Hospital, 44000 Nantes, France; [email protected]

Bruno Rocher

Marie grall-bronnec.

3 Inserm UMR 1246, Nantes and Tours Universities, 44200 Nantes, France

Associated Data

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

(1) Summary: Many studies have evaluated the association between traditional media exposure and the presence of body dissatisfaction and body image disorders. The last decade has borne witness to the rise of social media, predominantly used by teenagers and young adults. This study’s main objective was to investigate the association between how often one compares their physical appearance to that of the people they follow on social media, and one’s body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness. (2) Method: A sample composed of 1331 subjects aged 15 to 35 (mean age = 24.2), including 1138 subjects recruited from the general population and 193 patients suffering from eating disorders, completed an online questionnaire assessing social media use (followed accounts, selfies posted, image comparison frequency). This questionnaire incorporated two items originating from the Eating Disorder Inventory Scale (Body Dissatisfaction: EDI-BD and Drive for Thinness: EDI-DT). (3) Results: We found an association between the frequency of comparing one’s own physical appearance to that of people followed on social media and body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness. Interestingly, the level of education was a confounding factor in this relationship, while BMI was not. (4) Discussion: The widespread use of social media in teenagers and young adults could increase body dissatisfaction as well as their drive for thinness, therefore rendering them more vulnerable to eating disorders. We should consequently take this social evolution into account, including it in general population prevention programs and in patients’ specific treatment plans.

1. Introduction

Body image is defined as one’s perception, thoughts, and emotions revolving around one’s own body. It is the depiction of one’s body representation, including their mirror reflection, and it reflects social constructs, which depend on a society’s culture and norms. This conception is created using body ideals, substantially communicated via media, family, and peers.

For the last 30 years, media have been over-exposing people to thinness ideals, starting from a young age [ 1 ], turning this ideal into a new reference standard [ 2 ]. Young women, who are most sensitive to thinness ideals, tend to liken them to beauty and success [ 3 ]. Thus, etiologic models incorporating environmental factors consider social pressure about physical appearance to be a determining factor in developing eating disorders (EDs) [ 4 , 5 ].

However, even though this social pressure is indisputable, not all people are vulnerable to it. It is the degree with which they will relate to these thinness standards, namely how they internalize this ideal, that will help to predict the risk of developing an ED [ 6 ]. Indeed, internalizing thinness standards can lead to an alteration in body image, resulting in body dissatisfaction and exaggerated concerns about body and weight [ 4 ]. Body dissatisfaction is characterized by an inconsistency between one’s real body and the idealized body. It is one of the most studied psychological constructs in body image disorders literature [ 4 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. According to the literature, it is often linked to psychological distress [ 10 , 11 ] and is a proven risk factor for developing an ED [ 12 , 13 ], through, in particular, the implementation of food restriction that can lead to anorexia nervosa (AN) [ 14 , 15 ] or to the onset of binge eating episodes (with or without compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain). According to several authors, body dissatisfaction found in AN patients differs from that of control subjects by a greater feeling of inconsistency between their actual body and the desired body [ 16 ]. Indeed, in addition to overestimating the size of their actual shape, AN patients seek to resemble an ideal significantly thinner than subjects without EDs do. People with AN and bulimia nervosa share the same body image obsession, with the pervasive fear of gaining weight [ 4 ]. Finally, subjects with binge eating disorders tend to be overweight, or even obese, which can reinforce body dissatisfaction [ 17 ].

Social comparison, combined with the internalization of ideals, is one of the main mechanisms participating in one’s body image perception. These two mechanisms are instrumental in developing body dissatisfaction [ 1 , 18 , 19 ]. Several studies have shown that individuals who compare their physical appearance to that of others they considered to be more attractive than them, such as models or celebrities, had a higher chance of being dissatisfied with their body image and developing an ED [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ].

Although historically speaking, body norms have been mainly conveyed through traditional media (TV, radio, newspaper, magazines), the last few years have borne witness to the rise and expansion of social media use. The term “social media” refers to every website and online mobile app with user-generated content. They enable their users to participate in online exchanges, broadcast self-made content, and join virtual communities. They are mostly used by teenagers and young adults, and the most common ones are Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. Several studies have suggested that social media exposure could foster body dissatisfaction and result in risky eating behaviors by broadcasting thinness ideals individuals thus long for [ 18 , 24 , 25 ]. Among the identified mechanisms that explain this outcome, the most common ones are social comparison based on physical appearance and thinness ideals’ internalization through daily exposure to idealized bodies. Indeed, physical appearance holds a central place in social media today [ 26 ].

There is, to this day, a lack of scientific data, and in particular French data, about the association between the use of social media and risky eating behaviors [ 27 ]. In this context, this study’s main objective was to study the association between, on one hand, daily exposure to idealized bodies through social media and, on the other hand, the presence of two dimensions fostering body image disorders: body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness. A secondary objective was to compare two populations, one with a risk of suffering from ED, and the other one free of that risk, using different variables. The hypothesis was that at-risk participants were more dissatisfied with their physical appearance, had a higher drive for thinness, and compared themselves more often to social-media-conveyed images.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. study design and ethics statements.

This is a transversal observational study. Participants had to answer a questionnaire available online. Since it was an investigation involving the health field, but with an objective that did not involve the developing of biological or medical knowledge, it not fit in the French Jardé legal framework (and thus, approval from an ethics committee was not required). Data collection was made anonymously, was digitalized, and was realized outside of a care setting. Answering the questionnaire was interpreted as consent for data use, as it displayed that the results would be used in a survey, but that the participation would be anonymous, and that there were no data that would lead them to be recognized should they decide to participate.

2.2. Participants Recruitment

The study’s general population participants were enlisted via a social media publication (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and via posters in gyms. These posters were also sent to health workers with a practice in Nantes and in different French cities (psychiatrists, GPs, psychologists, etc.), who were tasked with informing their ED patients about this study. The Fédération Française Anorexie Boulimie (FFAB, French Federation for Anorexia and Bulimia), which is an association regrouping professionals working in the ED field, helped to broadcast the questionnaire using mailing lists, social media, and websites. Recruitment occurred between September 2019 and December 2019.

The inclusion criteria were as follows: using their Facebook and/or Instagram account daily and being 15 to 35 years old. This age range was chosen in light of the current literature, which shows that use of social media and body image concerns involved mainly teenagers and young people [ 28 , 29 ]. Moreover, participants recruited via a health professional had to register their ED diagnosis for which they were treated.

2.3. Evaluation

2.3.1. general data.

The questionnaire’s first part was designed to register sex, age, degrees, and current height and weight to measure body mass index (BMI).

2.3.2. Social Media Use

The questionnaire’s second part interrogated the participants about their use of social media: platform, frequency (number of uses per day), time spent (hours per day), frequency of comparing one’s physical appearance to that of people followed on social media, and the frequency of posting “selfies” (a photograph that you take of yourself).

2.3.3. Body Image

The questionnaire’s third part evaluated body image perception, using the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2) scale, translated and adapted in French [ 30 , 31 ]. It is a self-rated questionnaire evaluating psychological characteristics and symptoms associated with ED, using 11 subscales. We used the “Drive for Thinness” subscale (EDI-DT), composed of 7 questions (score of 0 to 21), and “Body Dissatisfaction” subscale (EDI-BD), composed of 9 questions (score of 0 to 27). The subscales are presented in Table 1 .

Drive for Thinness and Body Dissatisfaction subscales of Eating Disorder Inventory-2.

2.3.4. ED Screening

The questionnaire’s last part aimed at screening ED, using the Sick-Control-One Stone-Fat-Food (SCOFF) self-questionnaire. It is a simple survey of 5 questions used to screen eating disorders in general population [ 32 ]. The French validation depicted this questionnaire to be as efficient and relatable as the original, with a great sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing ED when a patient has a score of 2 or over [ 33 ]. It enabled us to sort the population sample into two groups depending on their risk of having an ED: when their score was ≥2, they were sorted in the “SCOFF positive” group, and when their score was <2, in the “SCOFF negative” group. The SCOFF questionnaire is presented in Table 2 .

Sick-Control-One Stone-Fat-Food (SCOFF) questionnaire.

Yes = 1 point; score of ≥2 suggests an eating disorder.

2.4. Statistical Analysis

A descriptive statistical analysis was conducted for the entire sample. Continuous variables are described by means and standard deviations, while categorical variables are presented as numbers and percentages.

We asked all participants to complete the SCOFF questionnaire, so that they were sorted into two groups depending on their results: the “SCOFF+” group gathering all participants with a SCOFF score of 2 or over, and therefore with the risk of suffering from an ED, and the “SCOFF−” group gathering all participants with a SCOFF score under 2. These two groups were then compared based on all collected variables. We applied a Student’s t -test for quantitative variables (“age”, “EDI-BD”, “EDI-DT”, and “average BMI”), a Chi-squared test for qualitative variables (“sex”, “level of education”, “social media use frequency”, “time spent”, “body comparison”, “groups of BMI”), and Fisher exact test for multimodal qualitative variables whose theoretical headcount did not allow the use of the Chi-squared test (“posting selfies”).

Then, we looked for an association between the frequency of comparing one’s own physical appearance to that of people followed on social media and the scores measured using the EDI Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness subscales. We thus performed two linear regressions with adjustment for two potential confounding factors (BMI and level of education). Confounding factor status was assessed by searching for an association of the two variables with EDI subscores on the one hand and with the frequency of comparing one’s own physical appearance to that of people followed on social media on the other hand.

The significance threshold for all these analyses was set at p = 0.05 (α risk of 5%).

Statistical analyses were done using the SPSS software (Statistical Package for Social Science, IBM, Armonk, NY, USA).

3.1. Population Description

In total, 1407 questionnaires were completed, and 1331 were analyzed. A total of 1138 subjects were from the general population, and 193 were ED patients recruited via health workers. Seventy-six completed questionnaires (5.4%) were excluded from the analysis because they did not match the age criteria or because their ED diagnosis was not communicated (for ED patients recruited via health workers). Figure 1 represents the study’s flowchart.

Flow chart of subjects’ inclusion.

The participants’ age ranged from 15 to 35 (M = 24.2, σ = 4.2). Most were women (97.7%). They had, for the most part, a Bachelor’s degree. Mean BMI was 22.3 (σ = 4.2).

Table 3 presents the final sample’s characteristics.

Final sample characteristics and comparison between SCOFF+ and SCOFF− groups.

Note. BDI: body mass index; EDI-IC: Eating Disorder Inventory—Body Dissatisfaction; EDI-RM: Eating Disorder Inventory—Drive for Thinness. *: p < 0.05; **: p < 0.01; ***: p < 0.001. According to the International Classification of Diseases, anorexia nervosa is associated with a BMI < 17.5.

Most participants declared using Facebook (93%) and Instagram (92.8%). Other social media were less frequently used: Snapchat (68.4%), Twitter (29.1%), and Tiktok (2.5%).

In total, 57.3% of participants had a private account and 42.7% an account open to the public. Users declared that they used social media mainly to “like posts” (82.7%) and to “observe content, as ghost followers (bots or inactive accounts)” (65.4%). In total, 92.7% said that they used social media to “follow friends and acquaintances”, “follow healthy food content” (68%), “follow the news” (67%), and “follow fitness content” (61.2%).

Regarding participants recruited via health workers for whom data were analyzed (N = 193), the most frequently reported ED was anorexia nervosa restricting type (41%), followed by anorexia nervosa purging type (28%), binge eating disorder (16%), bulimia nervosa (12%), and unspecified feeding or eating disorder (9%).

3.2. Comparing Participants Based on Their ED Screening

The final sample was sorted into two groups according to the SCOFF’s results ( n = 953 in the SCOFF+ group; n = 378 in the SCOFF− group). These groups were compared using all described variables, and the results are showcased in Table 3 .

SCOFF+ group subjects had a significantly higher social media use (regarding both frequency and time spent), a significantly higher frequency of comparing their physical appearance to that of people they followed, and of posting selfies.

In addition, they declared having significantly higher EDI-BD and EDI-DT scores than SCOFF− subjects ( p < 0.001), and they more frequently had BMI both in the lower and higher ranges.

3.3. Association between the Frequency of Comparing One’s Own Physical Appearance to That of People Followed on Social Media and EDI Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness

In the search for confounding factors associated with both the frequency of comparing one’s own physical appearance to that of people followed on social media and EDI-BD and EDI-DT scores, we found a significant association between the level of education and the frequency of comparing one’s own physical appearance to that of people followed on social media ( Table 4 ). Similarly, we observed an association between the modality “Level of education ≥12” and EDI-BD: participants with a level of education ≥12 had a mean EDI-BD score 2.5 points lower compared to that of participants with a level of education <12 ( Table 5 ). We also found a similar association between the modality “Level of education ≥12” and EDI-DT: participants with a level of education ≥12 had a mean EDI-DT score 3 points lower compared to that of participants with a level of education <12 ( Table 6 ).

Association between level of education and frequency of comparing one’s own physical appearance to that of people followed on social media.

Note. **: p < 0.01.

One-way ANOVA results looking for a link between EDI-BD score and level of education.

Global p -value = 0.1338. Note: The modality “Less than level 12” was chosen as the reference modality for this analysis. *: p < 0.05; ***: p < 0.001.

One-way ANOVA results looking for a link between EDI-DT score and level of education.

Global p -value = 0.0016. Note: The modality “Less than level 12” was chosen as the reference modality for this analysis. ***: p < 0.001.

Furthermore, we did not find any significant association between BMI and the frequency of comparing one’s own physical appearance to that of people followed on social media ( Table 7 ). A significant but very weak correlation (<0.3) was found between the BMI and the two EDI subscores ( Table 8 ). In view of these results, we did not retain BMI as a confounding factor for the following analysis.

One-way ANOVA results looking for a link between BMI and frequency of comparing one’s own physical appearance to that of people followed on social media.

Global p -value = 0.4368. Note: The modality “Never” was chosen as the reference modality for this analysis. ***: p < 0.001.

Results of association between BMI and EDI scores.

Note. EDI-BD: Eating Disorder Inventory—Body Dissatisfaction. **: p < 0.01; ***: p < 0.001.

The results of the search for an association between the frequency of comparing one’s own physical appearance to that of people followed on social media and EDI Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness scores are presented in Table 9 and Table 10 . As showcased in Table 9 , the “Sometimes”, “Often”, and “Always” frequency of comparing modalities were significantly associated with the EDI-DT score. Participants who sometimes compared their own physical appearance to that of people followed on social media had a mean EDI-DT score 2.0 points higher than that of those who never compared themselves; those who often compared themselves had a mean EDI-DT score 5.3 points higher; and those who always compared themselves had a mean EDI-DT score 8.4 points higher.

Linear regression looking for a link between EDI-DT score and frequency of comparing one’s own physical appearance to that of people followed on social media.

Global p -value <2.2 × 10 −16 ***. Note: Modalities “Less than level 12” and “Never” were chosen as the reference modalities for this analysis. *: p < 0.05; **: p < 0.01; ***: p < 0.001.

Linear regression looking for a link between EDI-BD score and frequency of comparing one’s own physical appearance to that of people followed on social media.

Global p -value <2.2 × 10 −16 ***. Note: Modalities “Less than level 12” and “Never” were chosen as the reference modalities for this analysis. *: p < 0.05; ***: p < 0.001.

In addition, according to Table 10 , the “Often” and “Always” frequency of comparing modalities were significantly associated with the EDI-BD score. Participants who often compared their own physical appearance to that of people followed on social media had a mean EDI-BD score 5.6 points higher than that of those who did not, and those who always compared themselves to social media images had an average EDI-BD score 9.2 points higher than that of those who never did.

4. Discussion

4.1. discussing the main results.

Our survey aimed to study the links between social media use, body image disorders, and ED prevalence in a teenage and young adult population.

First, we found that ED or at-risk of ED subjects presented significantly different results concerning all social media use parameters. Using platforms such as Facebook and Instagram has been particularly associated with a higher body dissatisfaction and the appearance of ED symptoms [ 27 , 34 ]. As was expected, in ED or at-risk of ED patients, Body Dissatisfaction rates were higher, as was their Drive for Thinness. A common ED assumption is that ED patients develop a cognitive structure that focalizes on weight, combined with, most of the time, a mistaken perception of their own body image, especially in anorexia nervosa. These subjects tend to yearn for a thinner body ideal than the general population, thus creating a substantial inconsistency between what they think they look like and what they yearn to look like [ 35 ]. Leahey and her colleagues in 2011 [ 36 ] found that, in addition to increasing body dissatisfaction, social comparisons have an influence on negative effects, guilt, as well as diets and physical-activity-centered thoughts.

Participants in general were seldom prone to posting selfies. Ridgway and her colleagues [ 37 ] conducted in 2018 a study on Instagram and posting selfies, which showed that a higher body image satisfaction was associated with an increase in posting selfies. This could explain the low percentage of self-promoting subjects found in this study.

Second, we confirmed the existence of a significant association between, on one hand, the frequency of comparing one’s own physical appearance to that of people followed on social media and, on the other hand, Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness scores measured using the EDI scale. It seems that the more the subjects compared themselves to the images, the more they increased their body dissatisfaction and their drive for thinness. However, this association can work two ways. Indeed, it could be that the depth of body dissatisfaction and the drive for thinness increase the inclination to compare oneself to images. Our results are in accordance with those found in the literature, which identified a link between social media use and body image disorders [ 26 , 38 , 39 ]. It has also been found that subjects who often compared their physical appearance to that of idealized images were more dissatisfied with their body and had a higher drive for thinness than those who compared themselves less often [ 40 , 41 ]. Interestingly, the level of education was a confounding factor in this relationship, while BMI was not. Indeed, the relation between frequency of comparing one’s own physical appearance to that of people followed on social media on the one hand and EDI DT and BD subscores on the other hand is modified by the level of education, starting from a level corresponding to a Bachelor’s degree (>12 + 3 years).

Self-assessment is a fundamental reflexive analysis tool [ 42 ]. It plays an essential part in self-positioning among others and oneself. This self-evaluation must resort to social comparisons, which have a direct link to self-esteem. Body image’s sociocultural construct takes shape using body ideals that are broadcasted through, in particular, media, family, and peers and are thereafter internalized by individuals [ 43 ]. Reaching these body norms is usually perceived as proof of self-control and success, which leads one to stand out from the crowd in a positive way [ 44 ]. Internalizing body ideals thus creates an authentic concern for one’s physical appearance, which will be observed and judged by others [ 45 ]. This can trigger body dissatisfaction, which usually involves feeling inadequate in one’s body, estranged from the ideal one pursues [ 43 ]. Fear of gaining weight can be exacerbated when thinness is one of narcissism’s only tools. It can lead to behaviors such as food restriction, excessive physical activity, with the aim of modifying one’s appearance and thus fit into social standards. This excessive self-surveillance can bring about emotional and psychological consequences, including shame about one’s own body, self-bashing, anxiety, and depression, up to ED [ 46 ].

Finally, although estimating ED prevalence in a young adult population was not an objective determined beforehand, we must point out that most participants had a SCOFF+ result (71%), suggesting they might suffer from an ED. This questions whether a more systematic ED screening should be done in teenage and young adult populations, which are ED’s main targets. Several studies in which teenagers were interviewed have shown that they often are dissatisfied with their bodies, feeling like they are “too fat”, and most of them have already followed a diet [ 47 , 48 , 49 ]. These diets can include ingesting smaller portions, eating healthier food, up to major food restrictions and complete removal of some types of food, which can be found in ED.

4.2. Study’s Strengths and Weaknesses

There are several limits to this study. First, it is a transversal study, which cannot prove the existence of a causal relationship between the studied variables. Therefore, longitudinal studies are necessary in finding out how this association works. Second, the online questionnaire was not designed to collect data that could be considered as indicators of individual or family vulnerabilities for ED, which did not allow for stratified analyses. Third, measuring the time spent on social media and how often participants used it was done through self-reported data, which could induce a declaration bias, thus limiting the data’s precision. Future studies could use technologies such as data tracking (virtual counter measuring connection frequency and time spent) in order to have more precise data and thus be more confident in the data’s reliability. Fourth, the participants’ recruitment induced a selection bias. Indeed, having used daily use of social media as an inclusion criterion leads to selecting a certain type of population and renders irrelevant any extrapolation to the general population. Moreover, recruiting via gyms may have led to selecting individuals with a specific concern for their body image. We can assume that these subjects, who paid specific attention to their physical appearance, might have certain demands concerning themselves, which might involve body dissatisfaction and an exaggerated drive for thinness. The daily use of social networks could also be a reflection of excessive body concerns, which could lead to more body dissatisfaction and a more pronounced drive for thinness compared to subjects who are less exposed to these kinds of media. Fifth, our participants recruited via health workers may not be representative of all ED patients for several reasons: ED diagnosis was self-reported, anorexia nervosa restricting type was overrepresented in our sample, and the most severe patients may not be psychologically available to participate in a study like this one. Finally, the SCOFF questionnaire is a screening tool and not a diagnostic one. It does not enable discriminating between anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder among participants, but we can assume that all types of ED were present in the SCOFF+ group, as the participants in this group more frequently had BMI both in the lower and higher ranges.

However, these limits are balanced by the study’s strengths. First, the sample rallied a significant number of participants, and their sorting into two groups after ED screening was quite proportionate, which ensured the statistical analyses’ power. Second, EDs were screened using a validated tool for the general population, and the Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness dimensions were evaluated using a self-questionnaire whose psychometric characteristics have been validated in clinical populations. Finally, to the extent of our knowledge, this type of study had never been conducted in France, thus bringing forth unprecedented data.

4.3. Perspectives

This study’s results open new avenues for clinicians to explore social media use and cognitive pathways in ED. Indeed, social media exposure and, in particular, exposure to edited and idealized images could contribute to inaccurate thought processes about body image, internalizing what is socially valued on social media as a personal goal. Since we know that cognitive pathways play an important part in ED development and continuation [ 50 ], it seems relevant to explore patients’ use of social media and the cognitions associated. This could contribute to increasing psychotherapy’s efficacy, enriching prevention programs using cognitive dissonance, therapies that have been proven to be effective in reducing ED symptoms’ intensity [ 51 ]. A way to implement this could be to encourage the development of the ability to question social media, encouraging patients to think of arguments that go against posting idealized photos on social media [ 27 ].

When considering the general population, when we see how important social comparison based on physical appearance is in developing body dissatisfaction, prevention programs could be useful. It seems relevant to encourage teenagers, particularly those with the tendency to compare themselves to their peers, to evaluate their body using health criteria instead of using other peoples’ bodies as a standard. Additionally, it would be interesting to intervene by deconstructing the “ideal body” myth, with the goal of diminishing the comparison to “idols”. Finally, it seems relevant to inform people that some role models’ BMI and body type are not representative of those of most of the population and that trying to reach their body type could be harmful. ED screening in this population should thus be more systematic.

5. Conclusions

To summarize, we found an association between the frequency of comparing one’s own physical appearance to that of people followed on social media and body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness. Interestingly, the level of education was a confounding factor in this relationship, while BMI was not. The widespread use of social media in teenagers and young adults could increase body dissatisfaction as well as their drive for thinness, therefore rendering them more vulnerable to eating disorders.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the French Federation for Anorexia and Bulimia (Fédération Française Anorexie-Boulimie (FFAB)), who allowed the broadcasting of the questionnaire to its members, ED-specialized health workers.

Author Contributions

Study concept and design: B.J., B.R., and M.G.-B. Analysis and interpretation of data: B.J., B.N., B.R., and M.G.-B. Statistical analysis: M.D. Study supervision: B.R. and M.G.-B. Investigation (data collection): B.J., B.R., and M.G.-B. Writing—original draft: B.J. and B.N. Critical revision: M.D., B.R., and M.G.-B. Writing—revised version of the manuscript: B.J., M.D., and M.G.-B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Since the study was an investigation involving the health field, but with an objective that did not involve the development of biological or medical knowledge, it not fit in the French Jardé legal framework. The approval from an ethics committee was not required according to the current French legislation.

Informed Consent Statement

Data collection was made anonymously. According to the current French legislation, answering the questionnaire was interpreted as consent for data use.

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Social Media Effects on Adolescents’ Body Image Essay

Adolescents are heavy users of social networking sites. Studies indicate that exposure to media ads influences teenagers’ body satisfaction and dietary habits. The purpose of the proposed research is to investigate the effect of social media on the body image of adolescents. This paper describes the methods and procedures that will be used in sample selection, data collection, and assessment of the study’s variables.

Research Question

The study will involve one central research question, namely, is social media affecting body image in adolescents? Although online networking sites are popular among adolescents, the effect of one social media on their body image and self-esteem is not well understood (Vries, Peter, Nikken & Graaf, 2014). By examining social media depictions of ideal body figures, the study aims to elucidate how social media use shapes body image perceptions among adolescents.

The research hypothesizes that heavy use of social media causes physical appearance dissatisfaction and poor self-image among teenagers. The second hypothesis is that high social media activity promotes the internalization of socialized appearances and body figures. The null hypothesis is that social networking sites have no influence on teenage self-image attitudes.

Sample Size

The study will use a sample of 30 participants drawn from a middle school. Since data collection will primarily involve questionnaires, this sample size is sufficient for achieving data saturation while eliminating redundancy (Warren & Karner, 2005).

Additionally, the sample size is large enough to capture the variability within the target population (adolescents) at minimal costs. In selecting the sample, the study will use the following inclusion criteria: students who are aged between 13 and 18, frequent social media users (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, among others), both male and female subjects, and participants drawn from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The sample will need to be diverse in terms of age, gender, race/ethnicity, and grade level to enhance its representativeness of the parent population.

Sampling Technique

The study will use snowball-sampling technique to select participants. According to Camic, Rhodes, and Yardley (2003), this approach will help identify “cases of interest” or a hidden population that is information-rich (p. 14). Additionally, snowballing will protect the confidentiality and privacy of the respondents because recruited participants will identify potential cases of interest in the study (referrals). In this study, the diverse sample of 30 participants generalizes to the adolescent (13-18 years) student population. This demographic includes teenage boys and girls who are heavy users of social media networks.

Study Variables

The study will measure body image satisfaction and correlate it with social media use among the respondents. The key variables will include weight satisfaction, preference for thin figures (girls) and muscular shapes (boys), physical self-concept, and internalized body ideals. It will also measure aspects of user activity on social media such as exposure/frequency, status updates, comments/feedback, and photo uploads and tags.

Operational Definitions of the Variables

• Weight satisfaction is a measure of how participants perceive their body weight. McCabe and Ricciardelli (2001) establish that females tend to adopt weight loss methods, while males use weight-gaining interventions to build muscles. The weight satisfaction measure will determine whether weight dissatisfaction causes adolescents to use body change strategies.
• Body figure preference is the pursuit of ‘idealized’ body shapes.
• Physical self-concept describes how one feels about his or her attractiveness and appearance.
• Internalized body ideals describe the degree to which the participants pursue the ‘perfect’ body type portrayed in social media.
• Social media exposure is the total time a user spends in online networking sites in a day. It entails activities such as the status updates made by a user, the type and amount of information shared with friends, and the feedback/comments and photo uploads/tags made or received by a respondent.

Measurement of the Variables

The researcher will use the Body-Esteem Scale (BES) developed by Mendelson, Mendelson, and White (2001) to measure how each participant feels about his or her weight. This validated scale is specifically designed to measure adolescent weight satisfaction based on five Likert scale options. Lower scores suggest body weight dissatisfaction.

The measurement of body figure preference will involve the eating disorder inventory that evaluates a person’s drive for thin figures (Garner, Olmsted & Polivy, 1983). The subjects’ responses will be ranked using a Likert scale. This instrument measures eating disorders, which indicate the fear of gaining weight. Thus, it is a reliable method for assessing body figure preference.

The assessment of the subject’s physical self-concept will involve the self-objectification questionnaire that ranks ten physical characteristics in terms of their effect on a person’s self-concept (Noll & Fredrickson, 1998). It is a validated self-objectification measure that relates physical attractiveness to individual health perceptions to determine a person’s level of emphasis on appearance.

The socio-cultural internalization questionnaire will be used to measure the degree to which the subjects have internalized the ‘ideal’ body types depicted in social media. This instrument was designed using normative data drawn from three different nations (Keery et al., 2004). This makes it a reliable psychometric tool for measuring internalized values and attitudes.

The measurement of social media exposure will involve a questionnaire designed by the researcher to assess the subjects’ use of social networking sites. It will contain yes/no items that measure each respondent’s online activity in terms of photo sharing, feedback sent or received, status updates, profile interests, and sites visited. A pilot testing will be done prior to the actual study to validate the questionnaire (Patton, 2001).

Data Collection Technique

In this study, data collection will involve the survey method. Survey questionnaires will be used to measure the variables related to body image and social media use among the respondents.

Research Design

The study will use a quantitative research design. A quantitative method is appropriate when the purpose of a study is to establish the cause/effect relationship between an independent variable (social media) and a dependent one (body image) (Creswell, 1998). This approach will be used to determine how social media use affects adolescents’ body image.

The researcher will recruit 30 participants from a middle school in VA State after gaining the approval of the school’s administration and the relevant institutional review board. Online newsletters will be placed on the school’s website requesting students to sign up for the study. Sampling will involve the snowballing technique. Interested participants below 18 years will be required to obtain parental consent. Informed consent will be sought from those who have attained 18 years. Data collection will involve survey questionnaires to measure the independent variable (use of social networking sites) and the dependent variable (body image). The survey will be administered after class hours in a lecture room and will take about 30 minutes.

Potential Ethical Issues

One of the major ethical issues relevant to this study is the protection of the privacy of personal information. To protect their privacy, the participants will be identified using codes. The other ethical issue relates to informed consent requirements. Parents will sign consent forms on behalf of minors to permit them to participate in this study.

Literature Review

This topic is very important to me because I have adolescents in my house who constantly use social media. I decided to research the potential causes of using social media and the effects on their body image. There is a lot of harm in this world, and if I can avoid any to their self-esteem, then I feel I have done well.

While writing the following research paper, a great number of different sources were used. Having understood the great importance of social research, the decision to conduct our own investigation was made. The book by Warren, C., and Karner, T Discovering Qualitative Methods: Field Research, Interviews, and Analysis served as the basis for the work because the main peculiarities of qualitative research and its applications are outlined there.

One more work, Qualitative Research in Psychology: Expanding Perspectives in Methodology and Design by Camic, P., Rhodes, E. and Yardley, L also describes the main peculiarities of conducting research in psychology. It was used to create credible and scholarly work in which results can be trusted. The book Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing Among Five Traditions by J. Creswell always severs to the same purpose.

It describes different approaches to qualitative inquiry and how 5 different forms of studies can be conducted. Patton, M., in his work Qualitative evaluation and research methods also supplies readers with information about the main peculiarities of qualitative researches and main regularities, which should be necessarily observed. Main patterns, which were described in the book, were taken into account and used in the following work. The next work used in the research is written by Garner, D., Olmsted, M. and Polivy, J and is called Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Eating Disorder Inventory for Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia.. It investigates the cases of anorexia nervosa and bulimia peculiar for normal-weight women. It shows the main peculiarities of people who were affected by the wrong conceptualization of beauty and their body.

The issue of the great importance of social norms and influence which they have on people is investigated in the article The Sociocultural Internalization of Appearance Questionnaire—Adolescents (SIAQ—A): Psychometric Analysis and Normative Data for Three Countries by Keery, H et al.. It investigates six female samples from different countries to prove the idea of the great level of internalization of appearance. Similar issue investigates the work Parent, Peer, and Media Influences on Body Image and Strategies to both Increase and Decrease Body Size among Adolescent Boys and Girls by McCabe, M., and Ricciardelli, L. Its main aim is to determine the nature of body image peculiar for adolescents and the factors which influence its formation.

The term Body Esteem is very important for our research that is why the work by Mendelson, B., Mendelson, M. and White, D. Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults was taken into account. It researches peculiarities of the appearance and formation of the BE and main aspects of its development. To analyze the peculiarities of disorders connected with eating the work by Noll, S. and Fredrickson, B A Mediational Model Linking Self-objectification, Body Shame, and Disordered Eating was taken into account.

It suggests some research and statistics support the idea that the emotion of body shape influences the food habits of adolescents. Moreover, the article underlines mutual dependence between the feeling of body shame and investment in appearance. This issue is also investigated in the article The Effect of Social Network Site Use on Appearance Investment and Desire for Cosmetic Surgery Among Adolescent Boys and Girls by Vries et al.. It states the fact that communication in networks and difference in behavior peculiar for boys and girls lead to appearance of different ideals. Moreover, the dependence between social network site use and investment in appearance is made.

Results Section

In the course of the study, the statistical tests such as the Tukey’s Honestly Significance Difference Test should be used. The reason for employing the test in question is predetermined by the necessity to demonstrate the correlation between the body image of adolescents and the one that is suggested to the latter as the ideal one with the help of various media tools. It is essential that the above-mentioned research tool helps draw the line between the effects of exposure to certain sets of factors in different groups. In other words, the instrument in question will help measure the rates of dependency on the body image promoted by modern media among two groups of adolescents. The first group will be subjected to the influence of a certain type of media, whereas the other one will be exposed to the influence of an entirely different type.

The effects of media on shaping the body image of adolescents are quite drastic. The research is bound to show that the body image promoted by media is perceived as positive in most cases, which prompts adolescents to the immediate comparison between the ideal body image and their body characteristics. It is expected that the study will prove that in case the results do not coincide with the ones that are promoted by modern media as the acceptable ones, young people attempt at shaping their look.

The specified phenomenon can explain the popularity of plastic surgery among young people as the tool for altering their appearance so that they could resemble the ideal image foisted on them by the popular media. It is assumed that the test results will demonstrate the dependency of young people on the opinions promoted to them by modern media. More importantly, both groups are likely to display a similar tendency to copy the images suggested to them as the ideal ones.

Internal and External Validity

Among the key factors, which may affect the supposed results of the study and, therefore, jeopardize the veracity of the research outcomes, the individual characteristics of each member of the groups and their convictions deserve to be mentioned. It would be naïve to assume that each of the participants will be fully open to new ideas and experiments with their image. In case the ideas, which are foisted onto them by the modern media, are not compatible with their own vision of the world, the adolescents are most likely to dismiss these ideas, and the body image suggested without considering either as a possible part of their life philosophy.

As far as the external validity is concerned, the external validity elements such as the specific setting, the unique ideas, which the participants were introduced to, and the above-mentioned individual characteristics of the research members can be viewed as the impediments to the objectivity of the study. What will ostensibly affect the two groups of people mentioned above may have no tangible effect on other individuals.

Implications

Although the research to be carried out may not reinvent adolescent psychology as it is, it will still provide rather interesting results in terms of the effects, which media has on young people. The traditional myth concerning the vulnerability of adolescents may finally be subverted, and new areas for research may be opened. The study in question is bound to provide a basis for the further study of the means for young people to resist the obtrusive body image concept, which modern media promotes to them.

Argosy Online University (2015) Module 2&3 Readings . Web.

Camic, P., Rhodes, E., & Yardley, L. (2003). Qualitative Research in Psychology: Expanding Perspectives in Methodology and Design . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Creswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing Among Five Traditions. Thousand Oaks: CA. Sage Publications, Inc.

Garner, D., Olmsted, M., & Polivy, J. (1983). Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Eating Disorder Inventory for Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 2 , 25–34.

Keery, H., Shroff, H., Thompson, J., Wertheim, E., & Smolak, L. (2004). The Sociocultural Internalization of Appearance Questionnaire—Adolescents (SIAQ—A): Psychometric Analysis and Normative Data for Three Countries. Eating & Weight Disorders, 9 , 56–61.

McCabe, M., & Ricciardelli, L. (2001). Parent, Peer, and Media Influences on Body Image and Strategies to both Increase and Decrease Body Size among Adolescent Boys and Girls. Adolescence, 36 (142), 225-40.

Mendelson, B., Mendelson, M., & White, D. (2001). Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults. Journal Personality Assessment, 76 , 90–106.

Patton, M. Q. (2001). Qualitative evaluation and research methods . Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Noll, S., & Fredrickson, B. (1998). A Mediational Model Linking Self-objectification, Body Shame, and Disordered Eating. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 22 , 623–636.

Vries, D., Peter, J., Nikken, P., & Graaf, H. (2014). The Effect of Social Network Site Use on Appearance Investment and Desire for Cosmetic Surgery Among Adolescent Boys and Girls. Sex Role, 71 (9), 283-295.

Warren, C., & Karner, T. (2005). Discovering Qualitative Methods: Field Research, Interviews, and Analysis . Los Angeles: Roxbury.

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Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Social Media Effects on Adolescents’ Body Image." August 16, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/social-media-effects-on-adolescents-body-image/.

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Home Essay Samples Sociology Effects of Social Media

Analysis of Social Media Effects on Body Image

Table of contents, the perceived ideal: unrealistic standards, positive reinforcement: empowerment and diversity, the dark side: mental health implications, moving forward: media literacy and self-care.

• Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, P. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Halliwell, E. (2015). Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women's body image concerns and mood. Body Image, 13, 38-45.
• 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), 363-377.
• Holland, G., & Tiggemann, M. (2017). A systematic review of the impact of the use of social networking sites on body image and disordered eating outcomes. Body Image, 23, 101-109.
• Ferguson, C. J., Muñoz, M. E., Garza, A., & Galindo, M. (2014). Concurrent and prospective analyses of peer, television and social media influences on body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms and life satisfaction in adolescent girls. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43(1), 1-14.
• Yamamiya, Y., Cash, T. F., Melnyk, S. E., Posavac, H. D., & Posavac, S. S. (2005). Women's exposure to thin-and-beautiful media images: Body image effects of media-ideal internalization and impact-reduction interventions. Body Image, 2(1), 74-80.

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Essays About Body Image: Top 5 Examples Plus Prompts

Essays about body image tackle delicate subjects like insecurities and mental illnesses; to effectively discuss it with tact, see our top essay examples.

The term “body image” refers to how you see and feel about your appearance. Although many support body positivity today and push for body acceptance, studies still show that 86% of women suffer from negative body image and want to lose weight . The inability to accept oneself results in low self-esteem, stress, and depression. Picking body image as your essay topic lets you join the discussion regarding this always-timely issue. Consider the examples listed below as inspiration for your essay:

1. Long Essay on Body Image by Prasanna

2. gender and body image essay by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 3. the negative body image presented by the media by anonymous on gradesfixer.com, 4. social media and body image by anonymous on edubirdie.com, 5. negative body images essay by writer valeria, 1. aspects of body image, 2. body image: the good and the bad, 3. factors affecting teenager body image, 4. beauty pageants: pros and cons, 5. body image and mental health, 6. victoria’s secret models and body image, 7. men’s body image, 8. what is body shaming, 9. knowing what’s real: curating my body image, 10. my journey to self-love.

“People have forgotten the concept of inner beauty. A person should always think of themselves to be perfect in front of the mirror.”

Prasanna explains what body image means, including its consequences in the form of disorders. She delves into how a person’s perception of their physical appearance affects their lives and how it’s now a big problem in today’s society. The author believes cultivating a supportive environment dramatically improves one’s body image. In the end, she reminds the readers how God made everyone unique in their own right and to start having a positive attitude towards their bodies.

You might also be interested in these articles and essays about appearance .

“Online blogs, television, and films all provide examples of perfect female and male bodies. When real people compare themselves to these ideals, they experience dissatisfaction with their body that results in body image issues.”

The essay scrutinizes ideals that trigger someone’s body issues, often leading to physical and mental problems. For example, today’s ideal female body is fit, with low body fat and a slim waist. Meanwhile, men should be muscular with sharp facial features. Because these are the only acceptable “right” bodies, many go through unhealthy diets, take dubious pills, and engage in strenuous exercises. The writer supports the body positivity movement that demands diversity from mass media.

See how to write an essay about diversity if you want to write about it instead.

“The media also provide unrealistic body image that no human can meet without causing harm to themselves.”

Harmful diets, dangerous treatments, expensive surgeries – people do these and many more to achieve and maintain the perfect body presented in mass media. This “false advertising” even results in eating disorders and food-related diseases. The essay adds research findings and relevant cases to support the author’s distaste for mass media’s impact on individuals’ perceptions of themselves.

“… social networking can cause an individual to set a high expectation on themselves. The media encompasses a set thought of what is attractive and what is not attractive.”

While social media is a great platform to promote healthy living, the author brings up how it also presents unrealistic body standards. Although most are thanks to digital editing, photos depicting perfect body images of celebrities, models, and influencers on social media still affect individuals’ concept of how they should look. By constantly seeing these “perfect” photos online, people turn to doctoring their pictures and deluding themselves into thinking they look like something they aren’t. Sometimes, people even go under the knife to replicate their altered photos.

“Seeing overly skinny models in the media does not enhance women’s self-esteem, self-worth or self-image.”

In this essay, Valeria shares her review of the book Understanding Negative Body Image by Barbara Moe which focuses on the culture’s obsession with weight, shape, and body image. The writer includes her favorite part of the book, where flat chests are fashionable in Ms. America. She compares it to today, where bigger breasts and thinner bodies are preferred. Valeria believes the media needs to show more diverse and realistic body shapes to reduce negative body image.

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10 Helpful Writing Prompts On Essays About Body Image

Are the samples above effective in giving you inspiration for your essay? If you’re still thinking of what to write about, you can use the following prompts:

Identify and explain the four main aspects of body image: perceptual, affective, cognitive, and behavioral. Provide examples to make it easier for the readers to understand how they differ and contribute to a person’s overall body image. Add surveys or research findings to support your statements and increase your essay’s credibility.

You don’t create your body image with your eyes alone. Your feelings and thoughts about your body are also part of the equation. These are all the results of your experiences, whether they are positive or negative. For this prompt, share any encounters that affected how you look at your body. 

Youngsters in their puberty are the most affected by today’s body image pressures. First, discuss factors that significantly impact how teenagers value themselves. Then, share steps to help young people overcome these issues. You can also write down the causes and warning signs of a negative body image.

Write your opinion about the “beauty” standards in beauty pageants and whether you favor them or not. Talk about its benefits and drawbacks to children, adult participants, and anyone who consumes such media. To demonstrate the severity of these standards, present cases where a contestant’s appearance or body became the matter in question.

The pressures of attaining a perfect body take their toll on an individual’s quality of life. These taxing pressures, such as eating disorders, anxiety, and mood swings, spill over the person’s relations and even hinder everyday living. Therefore, incorporate the importance of maintaining a positive body image to achieve healthy psychological and physical well-being.

Victoria’s Secret, a brand known for its skinny models, hired its first-ever plus-size model in 2019 . Find out why the brand made this significant change and how its customers received it. Include your opinion about the brand’s decision. Add if you believe the company did what it did to start a more diverse line of clothing or because it succumbed to people’s demand of wanting to see more realistic bodies in media.

Although most body image essays are about women, men also cope with self-acceptance. Discuss common problems men have to deal with daily regarding their appearance. Integrate how men are described in books and movies and probe how these visuals can affect a man’s ego. To make your essay more compelling, you can also delve into why there are more rigid rules on beauty standards imposed on women versus men.

Explore what encompasses body shaming and add why people do it. Relay to your readers how it affects people with a history of depression, low self-esteem, trauma, and other mental illnesses. Through this prompt, your essay will help raise awareness against body shaming. You might also be interested in these articles about eating disorders .

One excellent way to improve body image is to tailor what you see, especially on social media. Then, remind yourself that these photos are altered and unnatural. For this essay, list steps that can help protect one’s self-image away from the fake “perfect” bodies flooding mass media. For example, add joining groups highlighting edits in photoshop pictures, etc.

Everyone has something they want to change regarding their appearance. Through this essay, share what you did to overcome the struggles of accepting yourself as you are. You can also recommend books that helped change your perspective.

If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips !

If you still need help, our guide to grammar and punctuation explains more.

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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The Effects of Social Media Use on Teens' Body Image

Can the negative impact of social media use on body image in youth be reversed.

Posted December 31, 2023 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

• Social media and body image concerns are prevalent among youth.
• Social media may impact body image and mental health via unfavourable social comparisons.
• Reducing social media use can improve body image in youth.

Social media has become the primary form of interaction amongst Gen Z “tech-savvy” adolescents and young adults. You know, the ones we go to when we can’t figure out how to reset our password. It’s such an ingrained part of their youth and modern-day culture, that a life without social media or a smartphone is unfathomable. Given that social media is still a relatively new form of communication, combined with its now omnipresent use, there is widespread concern about its effects on mental health in youth. Adolescence and young adulthood are stages of life known to have rapid social, emotional, and physical changes. This makes the teen years and transition to early adulthood a particularly vulnerable period for developing mental health issues.

The most obvious benefit of social media is that it allows youth, no matter where they are situated, to instantly connect, to engage with their peers through messaging, and to share pictures and videos. While this connectedness to the world around them can be positive, it comes with a cost, at least for some youth. Common features such as the number of friends or followers, or the number of likes of pictures or posts are often viewed as a reflection of one’s popularity. The social comparisons that impressionable young teens make can influence how they feel about themselves and their bodies.

We have long known that exposure to unrealistic beauty standards that are portrayed in popular culture can have a negative effect on body image . However, in the modern digital era, youth are exposed to hundreds, if not thousands, of images a day. Photos and posts on social media are chosen to present and maintain a carefully constructed image of one’s best self. They are frequently enhanced by photo and body-editing program “filters,” making appearance comparisons unattainable and dangerous. These online portrayals of overly positive and oftentimes false “realities“ can leave youth feeling dissatisfied with their appearance, and that their lives don’t measure up. This virtual popularity contest can also lead to a strong pressure to post and “keep up” or risk being perceived as unpopular or leading less interesting lives, resulting in even greater dissatisfaction. The unending search for the perfect picture inevitably takes valuable time away from activities that could actually make youth feel better about themselves.

What’s known about social media’s influence on body image?

Many studies have shown a rising trend for greater body and weight dissatisfaction amongst youth who are heavy or frequent users of social media. However, these studies are largely correlational rather than causal in nature. Simply put, those studies did not determine if high exposure to social media created poorer body image amongst its users, or whether those suffering from body image concerns spent more time on social media. This lack of clarity led my students and me to embark on a study to better understand the causal effects of social media on body image and mental health.

We recruited a group of Canadian youth aged 17-24 years who were using social media for more than two hours per day and also experiencing higher levels of emotional distress. We tracked their social media use for one week by having participants send daily screenshots of their usage. These youth spent approximately two and a half hours per day on social media. During this same period, we also assessed their body image and other mental health measures. Participants were then assigned to two groups. The intervention group reduced their daily social media use to one hour per day. The control group continued to have unrestricted use of social media. After the three-week intervention period ended, those who reduced daily social media use reported significantly greater improvements in appearance esteem and weight esteem compared to those who had not reduced their social media use.

What does this mean going forward?

In a society where demands for child and youth mental health services are increasing and waitlists for care are long, we urgently need to identify simple but effective strategies that parents and youth can do to feel better. The good news is that the results of this study suggest that reducing social media use to more moderate levels—about one hour per day—is a good place to start.

Replacing social media use with more mental health-promoting activities such as physical activity, time in nature, pursuing hobbies, and spending quality time with friends and family can yield even greater psychological benefits.

Stay tuned for future posts as my laboratory and others continue to explore the relationship between various forms of digital media use, mental health, and social and cognitive development among our most precious resources: our children and youth.

Thai, H., Davis, C. G., Mahboob, W., Perry, S., Adams, A., & Goldfield, G. S. (In Press). Reducing social media use improves appearance and weight esteem in youth with emotional distress. Psychology of Popular Media , online February, 2023 https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fppm0000460

Gary Goldfield, PhD., C. Psych., is a Senior Scientist with the Healthy Active Living & Obesity (HALO) Research Group at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute in Ottawa, Canada.

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Does Social Media Affect Your Body Image?

What messages have you received from social media about how your body should look?

By Callie Holtermann

What do the posts in your social media feeds tell you about how your body should look? How do they affect the way you feel about your body?

In general, how does what you see on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube or other social media sites affect your body image, which is defined as “a combination of the thoughts and feelings that you have about your body”?

In “ What Is ‘Bigorexia’? ” Alex Hawgood writes that some teenage boys feel pressure to build muscle because of what they see on social media:

Like many high school athletes, Bobby , 16, a junior from Long Island, has spent years whipping his body into shape through protein diets and workouts. Between rounds of Fortnite and homework, Bobby goes online to study bodybuilders like Greg Doucette , a 46-year-old fitness personality who has more than 1.3 million YouTube subscribers. Bobby also hits his local gym as frequently as six days a week. “Those guys made me realize I wanted to get bodies like them and post stuff like them,” said Bobby, who has fluffy curls of dark hair and the compact frame of a gymnast. (The New York Times is not publishing the surnames of minors or the names of their parents in this article to protect their privacy.) He makes sure to hit the fridge, too, grazing on protein-packed Kodiak Cakes and muscle-mass-building Oreo shakes. He consumes so much protein that classmates sometimes gawk at him for eating upward of eight chicken-and-rice meals at school. But Bobby isn’t getting buff so he can stand out during varsity tryouts. His goal is to compete in a different arena: TikTok. Bobby now posts his own workout TikToks. Shot on his iPhone 11, usually at the gym or in his family’s living room, the videos are devoted to topics like how to get a “gorilla chest,” “Popeye forearms” or “Lil Uzi’s abs.”

The article continues:

For many boys and young men, muscle worship has become practically a digital rite of passage in today’s beefcake-saturated culture. Examples are everywhere — the hypermasculine video games they play, the mesomorphic superheroes in the movies they watch. The top grossing films of last year were ruled by C.G.I.-enhanced masculine clichés: Spider-Man, Shang Chi, Venom and the entire Marvel universe. Many doctors and researchers say that the relentless online adulation of muscular male bodies can have a toxic effect on the self-esteem of young men, with the never-ending scroll of six packs and boy-band faces making them feel inadequate and anxious. And while there has been increased public awareness about how social media can be harmful to teenagers — spurred in part by the leak of internal research from Facebook showing that the company hid the negative effects of Instagram — much of that focus has been on girls. Recent reports, however, have found that those same online pressures can also cause teenage boys to feel bad about their bodies.

Students, read or listen to the entire article , then tell us:

How does social media affect the way you feel about your body? Has it ever made you feel bad about the way you look? Has it ever made you feel good?

Did you relate to any of the teenagers quoted in this article? If so, which ones, and why?

What messages have you received about how your body should look from social media and what you should do to make it look that way? Pick one of these messages and evaluate it: Is it good advice for teenagers? Would you share it with one of your friends?

Do you feel that men are encouraged or discouraged in sharing struggles or insecurities related to their bodies? Why do you think that is?

“The line between getting fit and fanatical is not always clear,” Mr. Hawgood writes. Do you agree? Do you think teenagers can learn useful lessons about fitness online without becoming obsessive or unhealthy? How?

Have you ever encountered body-positive content on social media? How has it made you feel? Do you think posts of this kind are useful? Why or why not?

Want more writing prompts? You can find all of our questions in our Student Opinion column . Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate them into your classroom.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Callie Holtermann joined The Learning Network as a senior news assistant in 2020. More about Callie Holtermann