As a kid, I never gave a second thought to the way that I looked or obsessed over imperfections. Then at a certain age that became almost all that I could think about. Whether it be from staring at myself in the mirror for too long or constantly comparing myself to others or celebrities I saw all over the media. Suddenly that became such a crucial and unhealthy part of my life. Growing up with social media I felt that it influenced my perception of body image in a negative way and I do not think that I am the only one. I believe that the growth of social media over the past years has negatively affected teenagers, especially young women’s relationship with body image. Social media increases how often individuals are comparing themselves to others and questioning the way they look, which can lead to eating disorders or unhappiness with one’s body. With the easy access of social media to teenagers or even kids, these individuals have a higher chance of growing up with unhealthy relationships with their bodies and not understanding the proper way to love their bodies.
I remember when Instagram came out around when I was around ten years old and it was a fun place for me to post silly photos or funny memes with my friends. Then over the years, it seemed to have changed into almost a competition of how many likes I could get, how many followers I had, or worrying that I looked ugly in a photo posted of me. It completely lost its purpose of posting about my life, being my authentic self, and instead changed into portraying my “perfect” self. I found myself mindlessly scrolling through apps comparing myself to others, and questioning if I was pretty enough. At such a young age I was worrying so much about the way that I looked… if I had the right clothing or if I looked skinny enough in a photo.
I know that I am not the only one who struggled with body image growing up because of social media, seeing that there have been scores of experiments observing social media’s negative effect on body image and body dissatisfaction. Social media has increased how much we focus on the way that we look and compare ourselves to others (Perloff, 2014). Individuals already tend to compare themselves to others in real life now imagine the effects of comparing yourself to the “perfect” life or body someone has presented on social media. An article about social media and body image written by a teenage girl talked about her views and personal experience and quoted her health teacher Andrew Kinney who said, “[Instagram pictures] creates a false image, and kids think that its attainable, and they think it’s necessary to get that in order to achieve happiness” (Macaulay, 2022). Kids are still learning about themselves and developing in the way that they think with the presence of social media they are influenced to think a certain way, especially about their bodies.
Over the years, maturity, and learning how to love my own body and self I have found myself on social media a lot less or using it in a different way from the way that I once had before. I try my best to be my most authentic silly self instead of trying to fit into a certain stereotype. Posting photos without the intention of perfection has allowed me to not overanalyze every photo, question the way I look, or compare myself to others but instead allowed me to feel happy with the way that I look and the person I am. Also, I had a realization about what little point there was in trying to be someone you are not or appear to always look a certain way because social media is not what defines you or determines your personality what does that is who you are in person when you are truly your authentic self and people should have no reason to hide that from the world.
I think by now people have also become more aware of the unhealthy relationship social media can have on body image and tried to promote a healthier relationship to body image on social media, giving a more realistic lifestyle. But there is still content promoting the “perfect” or ideal body and it is hard not to fall down that rabbit hole. Luckily, I can catch when I find myself comparing myself to others or feeling unsatisfied with my body and know to get off social media and find a way to change that mindset. But my worry is will younger generations realize that or will they fall into the unhealthy habits other teenagers did growing up around social media? Since they are still learning their own relationship with themselves it is easy for them to not realize the unhealthy effects social media is having on themselves and create unrealistic standards for themselves, leading to serious negative effects. A quote I found that really embodies youth’s relationship between social media and body image specifically for females comes from a student, responding to a NY Times forum, Katie N,
Social media greatly affects my body image. There are beautiful people online, and with TikTok’s “that girl” or “small waist” trends, I wonder why I can’t have the same flat, toned stomach or the same tiny, hourglass waist despite all the exercising and healthy eating I do. Recently I have been feeling bad about my appearance, fully knowing that I have a healthy body and that I should be grateful to have a body that other girls want. This leads me to another question, about the line between fit and fanatical. I have seen weight loss videos that make no physical sense, and I know girls take unreasonable measures to achieve their goals. But even knowing that it can be unhealthy, I can’t help but ask myself if just a little overexercising or a little starvation could pay off (The Learning Network, 2022).
Social media is too accessible to all audiences and should be limited to kids and at least somewhat limited to teenagers in order for them to create healthy relationships with themselves without growing up with the negative influence of social media. Or social media should transform itself into a healthier platform, trying to spread a more authentic self to the world. People should not have to go out of their way to find a healthy relationship with social media.
Work Cited
Perloff RM. Social Media Effects on Young Women’s Body Image Concerns: Theoretical Perspectives and an Agenda for Research. Sex roles. 2014;71(11-12):363-377. doi:10.1007/s11199-014-0384-6
Macaulay, Caroline. “Social Media Impacts Body Image for Many Teens.” THE ALGONQUIN HARBINGER, 1 Mar. 2022, https://arhsharbinger.com/29542/news/social-medias-effect-on-teen-body-image/.
Network, The Learning. “What Students Are Saying about How Social Media Affects Their Body Image.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 31 Mar. 2022,https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/31/learning/what-students-are-saying-about-how-social-media-affects-their-body-image.html.
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