Our insecurities are being bought and sold by social media
The relationship between social media and the image of women
Introduction
In today's media environment, people can no longer live without the convenience of social media, and their minds are gradually being influenced by the contents of social media. In order to attract attention and profit from the public, prevalent content and advertising trends across different media coincidentally promote and consume the perfect image of women. Women's insecurities are thus bought and sold by social media.
Are You Living an Insta Lie? Social Media Vs. Reality
In the following, I will explore the relationship between today's social media and the negative impact it has on women through some examples of relevant media. The project explains the way in which social media contribute to women's general insecurities, the causes and effects of this situation and the importance of media literacy. By explicating this position, the project hopes to shed new light on how modern social media can create self-objectification, self-doubt, and ultimately self-denial in women by promoting the perfect image of femininity.
The negative impact of social media on women
In traditional media such as television and movies, there is a tendency to promote an idealized body image. People are accustomed to seeing superheroes with superpowers rescuing heroines in peril. Men are typically tall and muscular, whereas women tend to have a thin or seductive side. These idealized representations of the body solidify people's aesthetic standards for ideal appearance.
Lots of studies have shown a connection between social media and body image. Anixiadis et al. (2019) claim that young women with a high degree of internalization of the thin ideal and appearance comparisons are the most susceptible. Young women are more likely to be influenced and internalize beauty standards. It is believed that this internalization of aesthetics and the comparison of better appearance (with those who are viewed as looking better) result in a decline in body satisfaction ( Anixiadis et al., 2019 ). Young girls who use social media frequently often experience negative emotions as a result of body dissatisfaction.
Increased body image comparisons and internalization of self-monitoring may make people feel more self-conscious about their appearance, which can lead to anxiety related to body image and appearance. A number of detrimental physical health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and eating disorders, can be brought on by body image and appearance anxiety. These phenomena, which are more common in females, are thought to be connected to the degree of social media participation.
Instagram: body dissatisfaction and eating disorder
Beauty Redefined by Michelle Christensen
According to Holland and Tiggemann (2016) , women and adolescent girls experience higher levels of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating patterns than men, and the increased use of social media platforms and posting of images are most likely contributing factors to trends in body dissatisfaction among young women and adolescent girls.
A growing body of research indicates that selfie modification activity on social media is positively associated with eating disorder symptoms ( Lee-Won et al., 2020 ). This is because the perceived discrepancy between a person's actual appearance and ideal self-image is reinforced by frequent selfie modification ( Lee-Won et al., 2020 ). Therefore, modifying selfies frequently can make it harder to control one's body and appearance, which can result in eating disorders and more severe anxiety. Moreover, the healthy eating promoted on Instagram also contributes to the eating disorders of women.
Recovery or regression, image by The Feed
Healthy food in Instagram / beautyblends
This social media platform that emphasizes photos is dominated by perfectionism and fake performances. Instead of posting the most realistic images, bloggers who identify as professionals frequently post the most good-looking ones. However, young girls who participate in social media discussions frequently purposefully alter their daily diets to adhere to these so-called healthy diets, primarily in an effort to lose weight or to appear attractive on social media ( Riesmeyer et al., 2019 ).
According to The Aesthetic Society's new annual Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Statistics for 2022, there is a surge in aesthetic plastic surgery in 2021. The data reveals a noticeable increase in procedures for the face, breasts, and body. Since 2020, there has been a 54% rise in facelifts, a 48% rise in breast operations, and a 63% rise in body operations, with liposuction seeing the biggest rise.
Social media helps increase plastic surgery
These data show how much the plastic surgery market is thriving right now. In order to achieve their ideal appearance, more and more women are choosing plastic surgery. As a result, an increasing number of businesses are promoting unrealistic perceptions and toxic ideologies without considering the consequences.
Related causes and social factors
In advertisements for fashion, attractive and thin female models are frequently featured. According to research, being exposed to gendered visual media, such as sexy fashion images, can cause body dissatisfaction and self-objectification ( Holland and Tiggemann, 2016 ).
It has been demonstrated that exposure to these idealized advertising images negatively impacts women's well-being by evoking emotions, lowering body satisfaction, and increasing weight anxiety ( Harper and Tiggemann, 2008 ). This is because seeing pictures of typically tall and thin female models can encourage women to perceive and evaluate the way their bodies through a third-person perspective ( Harper and Tiggemann, 2008 ).
The prevalence of selfies on Instagram supports the idea that women are being objectified in social media. More than a million selfies are taken every day around the world, and these selfie habits may promote self-objectification by encouraging women to view their own images from the perspective of an observer ( Cohen et al., 2018) .
Media Literacy
The Objectification of Women, image by Just Spilled It Out.
The standards of popular aesthetics are being lowered and becoming more firmly established as a result of a large number of photos adhering to stereotypes. Women's self-worth typically takes a backseat to concerns about appearance and body image. On this issue, a recent study found that media literacy was a protective factor for adolescent girls ( Tamplin et al., 2018 ).
In social media, media literacy is defined as the capacity to evaluate the veracity of images and think critically about them. This is due to the media literacy model's emphasis on critical thinking. By reducing the persuasive influence of the media, having some media literacy skills can decrease the internalization and comparison of oneself to media images.
When it comes to social media platforms with a focus on appearance, such as Instagram, media literacy involves comprehending not only the purposes and methods of commercial images and advertisements but also the purposes of friends and famous people who post ( Tamplin et al., 2018 ). The majority of the content shared by self-published accounts is produced for commercial gain and influence, and neither amazing looks nor healthy eating can attest to the authenticity of the meaning contained therein.
Meanwhile, the tendency to present one's "best self" in one's own accounts may be motivated by the desire for social and group acceptance and is not necessarily indicative of reality. Therefore, people are empowered to determine whether some current trending content and perfect photos are worth believing and following when they can independently generate critical thinking about social media content.
According to the Open Society Institute’s 2021 Media Literacy Index , there are 5 countries at the top of 44 countries.
Finland
Denmark
Sweden
Canada
Estonia
Finland
Denmark
Sweden
Canada
Estonia
Conclusion
Laura Porter / Verywell
Social media's promotion of the ideal female image exacerbates women's body image and appearance anxiety and further leads to self-doubt, self-objectification, and ultimately self-denial. More and more young girls are being poisoned by the information on social media. We need to pay more attention to how the female population is threatened by seemingly pervasive media phenomena.
This project draws attention to how the female population is threatened by seemingly pervasive media phenomena. In order to address the negative issues that media can enable, future research should continue to deepen our understanding of the relationship between social media content and the health of its users.
