User:Caprimartinez/sandbox

Social Media and Body Image

By: Capri Martinez, Beverly Bruno, Ava Maurillo, Lily Stearns, Gabriel Lugo, and Yueyue Xiong

Overview

Body image is defined as a person's perceptions, thoughts, and feelings about their body and is often affected by one’s social environment. With the recent rise in social media usage, social media has transformed social spaces and constitutes a significant portion of human social interactions today. Social media can be defined as any website or application that enables users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. The accessibility and connectivity provided by social media allows for easier disposal of information that can influence perceptions of the human body, which in turn, affects criteria and interpretations of body image.

Social media use has been predictive of body image concerns and related health implications, including the development of eating disorders, excessive muscle building behaviors, and the pursuit of unattainable body features. Social media platforms display both user and commercial generated content that is heavily edited and unrealistic, which oftentimes encourages social media users to aspire to these standards. Failure to emulate such standards can contribute to body dissatisfaction, where individuals internalize the differences between their bodies and the highly manufactured depictions of bodies on social media, thereby leading to detrimental health outcomes.

This video segment from the Denver Channel News explains social media's impact on eating disorders.

Research suggests that women and adolescent girls experience more body dissatisfaction in comparison to their male counterparts, particularly in regard to disordered eating and appearance comparisons. Data on male body image is more scarce, but existing studies have observed that social media continues to promote unhealthy appearance comparisons and high drives for muscularity.

Despite controversies surrounding social media and body image in the general press and scientific literature, social media serves as a mode of communication between extensive populations and allows for the dispersal of information, including that of positive body behaviors. The dispersal of healthy habits are commonly observed in apps like Strava, where exercise activity is logged and shared with one’s followers, and TikTok, where certified doctors and nutritionists can rapidly spread recommendations. Self-selected and personally curated content combined with anonymity and privacy features allow individuals to use social media as a tool to promote their own health at their own convenience, but perspectives of the lay arena and surrounding scientific communities convey that social media’s correlations to body image have adverse physical, emotional and social health implications.

Brief Summary of the Topic in Lay Arena

Since social media platforms heavily rely on algorithms to provide its users with content similar to which they’ve viewed and interacted with previously, it is easy to be inundated with either body-positive content or toxic body image content.

Certain social media accounts, including influencers, strive to improve their audience’s body image by advocating for body neutrality and diversity, health at every size, and more. This content helps to normalize and promote acceptance of a wider range of body types, thus being beneficial to users’ body image. For example, social media influencer Brittani Lancaster uses her platforms to document her eating disorder recovery journey, fight diet culture and teach others to accept and love their bodies. Hundreds of thousands of people follow Brittani Lancaster on her platforms, so they too can work to love and accept their bodies rather than following negative, toxic body accounts. Likewise, social media can be helpful for holding oneself accountable on health and fitness journeys. Whether this be posting one’s progress or trying healthy recipes found online, social media can help one adhere to fitness goals.

Social media can also be extremely detrimental to body image. Social media use and negative body image have been found to have a positive correlation. This is due to people comparing themselves to those they see on the internet and consequently feeling bad about themselves. One factor allowing for social media to be so detrimental to body image is the ability to edit photos before posting them. It is extremely common for people, before posting, to do things such as blurring out acne, stretch marks and cellulite, and even shrinking the size of their body to appear skinnier. Furthermore, social media allows you to view and connect with people that you do not know in real life. Thus, it is nearly impossible to know that the images you are seeing of the other people online are edited. This reinforces unrealistic beauty standards and fosters insecurities.

This Allure video interviews young girls, aged 6-18 years old, who share their negative body image and how it is exacerbated by social media.

Current Issues, Controversies, and General Media Press

Portrayal of Eating Disorders in Media

Media plays an important role in the development and maintenance of eating disorders. Modeling and fashion industries have been partaking in the “body positivity” movement, but have also come under fire for promoting unhealthy body images in campaigns and events that young people aspire to emulate. After experiencing a decline in viewership and sales, the annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show was cancelled in 2019 due to its lack of body diversity in marketing and model selection, especially in comparison to other lingerie brands such as Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty. Former Victoria’s Secret “angels” such as Adriana Lima and Bridget Malcolm have spoken out about their experiences with body dysmorphia and pressure to portray a particular image of beauty. Such representation can contribute to the development of unhealthy eating habits and restrictive behaviors that ultimately lead to disordered eating and body dysmorphia.

A 2013 Body Image study analyzed a series of tweets sent before and after the 2011 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show to track viewers’ comparisons to the models and likelihood to engage in harmful behaviors. Many tweets showed evidence of “fat talk” and upward comparisons to the models such as the following tweet: “The Victoria's Secret fashion show = an hour to feel bad about yourself.”

A research brief from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health noted that the average American is exposed to approximately 3000 advertisements daily and spends a total of two years of their life watching television commercials. A significant portion of these advertisements pushes messaging that normalizes disordered eating behaviors such as binge eating. One advertisement depicted a slim model with cinnamon buns attached to her hips, an image that can incite feelings of shame within viewer populations.

Evolution of Beauty Standards and Social Media

Social media has created beauty standards and expectations for society across different platforms. All of the time, if not majority of the time, the ideal beauty image on social media is portrayed as thinness, blemish-free skin, and essentially possessing an overall flawless appearance. This is seen primarily from influencers, celebrities, and models that post photographs taken and edited by digital media production specialists. These media specialists are able to use Photoshop tools to correct any imperfections, whether it is to change skin tone, remove wrinkles and blemishes, or alter body size and shape in order to depict prevailing standards of beauty. Such unrealistic images produced by digital media productions contribute to the glamorization of these expectations.

Several studies have found that exposure to unrealistic, popularized content on social media has caused individuals, especially young women, to compare themselves to such unrealistic photos. It has also been found that when media consumption is high, there is an even greater risk for poor mental health and can lead to dieting, increased body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating habits.

Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee and whistleblower, exposed Instagram by stating that their staff and leadership has acknowledged that their algorithms have an influence on the downward spiral in teens’ mental health and higher rates of eating disorder development, but they have made little change. Furthermore, Haugen shared that when someone views a healthy recipe on Facebook, the algorithm proceeds to place pro-anorexia content on one’s feed.

Since 2011, the American Medical Association has been concerned by the effects that social media has on mental health and body image. They have released statements that encourage guidelines to be established for advertisement to discourage photo editing and enhancement that promote unrealistic ideals, however, there has been hardly any change.

Rise of Cosmetic Procedures and Body Modifications

Mass media and entertainment industries are the main sources of inspiration for cosmetic surgery. Not only are images of idealized physical beauty projected onto consumers, but also advances in aesthetic medicine such as safety procedures are being promoted, which has fueled the growth of cosmetic procedures in recent years. Based on surveys completed by cosmetic procedure patients, it has been found that increased social media use is associated with increased consideration of cosmetic surgery. The constructed beauty standards that pervade social media contribute to increased dissatisfaction within those who feel they do not fit society’s expectations, eventually leading to cosmetic surgery with hopes of increasing self-esteem and external validation.

Research has suggested that body image dissatisfaction is the primary motivation for cosmetic surgery. Since body dissatisfaction is common among patients with eating disorders, these disorders are also seen regularly among patients seeking cosmetic procedures. It is also common for people with increased investment in their appearance to participate in other appearance-enhancing behaviors along with aesthetic procedures such as weight loss, intense physical activity, and skin treatments.

Those who seek aesthetic procedures do so with the belief that they will become more attractive to others. In several studies, patients that received cosmetic surgery have reported improvement in self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and other psychological outcomes. However, in other studies, patients have reported worsening symptoms of body dysmorphia or no change in body image at all.

Diet Culture

“Diet culture” is the belief and related behaviors that prioritize the benefits of dieting above all else. Stereotypical views of diet culture including excessive exercise, restrictive eating, fad diets, use of laxatives and related weight control substances, and emulating fitness role models/public figures.  

One study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Boston Children’s Hospital found that those who reported using diet pills and laxatives for weight control were more likely to receive an eating disorder diagnosis within 1-3 years. Such substances can lead to unintended consequences such as high blood pressure, liver damage, and dependence on unhealthy nutritional coping mechanisms.  

Based on such readings, policies have circulated concerning the restriction of access to these products by minors. In 2019, Instagram and Facebook banned the promotion of diet-related advertisements to minors such over-the-counter diet pills, detox teas, and appetite suppressants. Boston Children’s Hospital’s clinical research assistant, Jordan Levinson, emphasized the significance of policy making to regulate the influence of the diet industry on younger audiences, stating that “It’s time for retailers and policymakers to take the dangers of these products seriously and take steps to protect youth”.

Brief Summary of the Topic in Scientific Literature

The Inspiration of Social Media

Since the creation of social media, it has influenced many people around the world causing a cascade of both positive and negative effects. This has prompted several populations to conduct studies on the specific effects social media has upon its consumers. Since social media has transformed the way humans communicate and establish relationships, it is not too outlandish of an idea to examine.

Social media tends to receive a lot of negative backlash from critics, however it also can sustain a positive environment. Beth Daley, who wrote for the Conversation, had conducted research to examine the relationship between body positivity and social media. The study had found that brief exposure to body-positive Instagram posts resulted in an improved outlook on body image and mood in young women. Comparably, Sarah Gervais, Ph.D. of psychology, has also been able to demonstrate that certain social media platforms have the ability to uplift and encourage users through efforts to make eating disorder keywords or hashtags unsearchable. This allowed many people experiencing sensitive topics to nullify their effects on social media. Furthermore, social media has had a positive correlation on its consumers as well, as studies tend to show social media can help some users navigate sensitive stigmatized topics of the body with different support groups accessible across different platforms. Thus, allowing a more unified community with people who share similar interests and stories.

The Consequences of Social Media

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Social Media and Body Image

On the other hand, social media is mainly studied in a negative light. Mental health and body satisfaction tend to show a greater negative decline as users of social media tend to compare themselves to people who use Instagram and Facebook mainly along with those around them. It has been found that 87% of women and 65% of men tend to compare themselves to images of others they view on online platforms. Consequently, social media users have stated that they experience pressure to look perfect on social media. Accordingly, they tend to carefully select posts and edit their image to appeal to what is believed to be ideal. In turn, they might also receive more feedback about their appearance from their peers, friends, family, and strangers online. This leads to the following cycle where users:

1. View “ideal” social media post
2. Strive to achieve “ideal” characteristics
3. Post an “ideal” photo
4. Receive positive or negative feedback
5. Cycle repeats

In a related study, 93% of female participants had the desire to change at least three zones of their body using at least two different methods displayed in the study. The most commonly stated methods included 92% in physical activity,  48% in diet, 24% in surgery, and 23% in beauty or alimentary products.  A mean score of 2.81 and a standard deviation score of 1.43 had been calculated to demonstrate an increase in body dissatisfaction. Such studies highlight the extent to which both men and women care about social media and their desire to receive societal validation.

Current Research Supports Intended for Lay Audience

Although there are positive effects regarding social media on body image, both research and general newspapers intended for lay audiences tend to emphasize the harmful effects of social media. Emotional impacts such as dissatisfaction, distorted body image, and eating disorders are the top three topics and effects related to the influence of social media. CNN Health focuses on the study of teenagers and points out that “teens with negative body image may experience depression as adults,” which is synonymous with literature that demonstrates the positive correlation between social media and body dissatisfaction. Furthermore, teenagers' relationships with their parents have been influenced by social media. Viewing heavily edited photos frequently have toxic effects on body image, as proven by a 2015 Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health study conducted by Jean Kilbourne; the effect is also addressed more frequently on public news in recent years. The New York Times discusses how Instagram, a social media platform based on photo and video sharing, affects teenage girls’ body image and mental health. Dissatisfaction and distorted body image can both result in eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder. People suffering from these disorders are severely ill due to their excessive attention to weight loss and unwarranted fear of being or being viewed as overweight. As around 28.8 million Americans have eating disorders in their lifetime in the U.S., mainstream news reports are actively writing about the cause of these disorders and preventative measures. One example being Forbes News writing about how social media can increase risk of eating disorders and negative body image.

Public news intended for lay audiences, different from research, promote changes in people who affected by social media. Articles like “Instagram can make teens feel bad about their body, but parents can help" on The Conversation actively provides advice and solutions such as “seeing positive body image content” and creating new social media accounts to avoid “seeing too much content that makes users unhappy."

Summary of Key Points For Lay Audience

In general, the technological development and increased consumership of social media in recent years has allowed the internet to dictate the course of how humans perceive others, and how humans perceive themselves. One of the major outcomes of increased social media dependency is the skewed perception of how humans should be treating their bodies. Social media has created a space for connectivity, greater accessibility to knowledge, and widespread human interactions, but comes with consequences. While individuals are able to encourage others to pursue healthy dietary patterns and forms of exercise through posts on social media, social media provides the same amount of space to promote toxic behaviors, such as eating disorders and unattainable body standards. These unrealistic body standards are perpetuated through phenomena of our society today, such as internet algorithms, the promotion of cosmetic procedures, and diet culture. Scientific literature has even confirmed lay arena opinions surrounding social media, revealing that most social media users use the platforms as tools for comparison within these phenomena. As more individuals become aware of the underlying dangers of social media, literature shows that platforms have the ability to promote uplifting, factual content. With these features, social media can provide a space for negatively impacted individuals to find support within other groups, and to revive the original narrative for social media’s purpose: bringing individuals together.