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Social Media: Body Image and Distortion
Content Warning: Eating disorders
The way we view our bodies is complexly linked to our media intake. Media is everywhere in our society from billboards on the highway to commercials on television to the articles we read online. Media is any means of communicating, informing, or entertaining society. Media, and specifically social media, is everywhere and with the developments in technology over time it has become an extremely integrated into our everyday lives.
It is logical that something so ingrained into our lives could have such an effect on us. There have been several studies on the effects social media has on user’s body image, body satisfaction, and self-esteem/self-confidence. One study found evidence correlating social media use and body image concerns, self-objectification, dieting, a drive for thinness, and body surveillance cross-culturally among adolescents. Particularly in image based platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. Users of social media are constantly barraged with photo shopped images of people with body types that make up a small percentage of the population but also make up the majority of the images used for media.
These images can even pop up under the disguise of the popular hashtag “fitspiration.” The hashtag “fitspiration” seems like it would be positive and promote healthy living an analysis of 50 of these websites showed very little difference from “thinspiration” or pro-anorexia (pro-ana) websites. In many ways these effects are very similar to the “compare and despair” factor mentioned in the last post. Social media provides endless images and comments for users to compare themselves against.
This is an extremely important issue because body image issues can lead to some devastating and dangerous consequences such as depression and eating disorders. Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are characterized by having a distorted body image and abnormal and compulsory eating behaviors. Eating disorders are psychological disorders that greatly impact the physical wellbeing of an individual and can even lead to death if left untreated.
While social media has not been shown to directly cause body image issues and eating disorders it can serve as a trigger for those with genetic or psychological predispositions. It is important to remind ourselves that images on social media are not always truthful or representational and to make sure we are being mindful of potential effects on how we view ourselves. It is also very important that we all remember to not body shame others. Be aware of your impact.
If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder please seek help. Call the NEDA national helpline at (800) 937-2237 (Available Mon-Thurs 9am to 9pm ET; Fri 9am to 5pm). Or check out your local mental health centers or crisis helplines.
Till next time, xoxo.