The Influence of Social Media on the Image of a Person

We are living in an era of technology which it is constantly growing and expanding. In an era that depends on websites like Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook. This dependency has increased with the creation of Social media. According to Dictionary.com, Social Media is any type of websites and other online means of communication that are used by large groups of people to share information and to develop social and professional contacts. Still, social media goes beyond that definition. Now a days, it is a phrase that we use around a lot, often to express what or how we feel, or to find society’s approval.

The term is defined as the website itself yet, it is more than just a link or an app. It is something that’s taking control of ourselves. Social media has revolutionized the way people communicate and socialize; the way people see the world and feel about someone or something. It has revolutionized the perspective we have about ideal body shapes, people, attitudes, genders, places, razes, thoughts, and so on. But most important, it has altered the way we view ourselves and other people.

At the same time, over the years, society has come to a firm conclusion of a how a perfect female body should be. We are constantly portraying an ideal body shape. Being in magazines, advertisements, social media, movies, newspapers, ads. Women are continually trying to look better, feel better, be better. Some feel like they need to work out and set themselves to diets to obtain the perfect body shape, and others go through unhealthy habits like starvation and consuming abundant amounts of alcohol. Either way, when a woman is not able to have the ideal body shape, society expects her to change and influence them, in some way or another, to transform their bodies.

Order custom essay The Influence of Social Media on the Image of a Person with free plagiarism report

450+ experts on 30 subjects Starting from 3 hours delivery

Get Essay Help

It all started years ago, with Jane Fonda, an American actress, writer, and fashion model, who created an aerobics trend in the 1980s. This passion made women want to be fit. Supermodels like Cindy Crawford characterized the ideal body of the era: slim, athletic, tall but still curvy. This era also led to an increase in eating disorders such as anorexia. Many experts thought that it might have been related to the sudden attention to exercise. After the materialism and fashion of the 1980s, trends rotated directions. Kate Moss reflected the top fashion look in the 1990s, being thin, pale, introverted and tall.

Around the 2000s until today, women have been harassed with different requirements of beauty. Women should be skinny, but healthy. They should have a large butt and large breasts, but a flat stomach. They should be tall, thin, athletic, pale and so on. To accomplish all this, women have progressively been using plastic surgery, unhealthy diets, drugs, and over exercise. According to Richard M Perloff, studies have shown that butt enlargement procedures from patients under the age of 30, and them saying that pictures are the main reason for plastic surgery have all increased in recent years.

Social media play an important role in the expression of cultural stereotypes about the ideal image of a woman's body. It indirectly puts pressure on women by establishing an idea of how they should strive for as individuals and also, with one another. Women are more and more aware of what and how much they eat, what clothes they wear, and even what other people will think about them right after they step outside. For example, when summer is approaching, it is very common to hear or see women feeling like they are too fat for swimsuits or that they are not ready for summer simply because of their physical appearance. It is actually ridiculous how often women get criticized for their bodies just because society says they should look a certain way.

The representation of unrealistic beauty and body images in social media is a global issue that leads to negative effects on society, mainly on women. Digitally altered and photoshopped photos give the misinterpretation of reality. This fake world on social media, of perfection and ideal body shape leads to different negative effects such as eating disorders and low self esteem. According to the study done by Teen Beauty Tips, 80% of women say that the images of women on television, movies, fashion magazines, social media and advertising makes them feel insecure. The 42% of girls that go to first through third grades want to be thinner.

And finally, 81% of 10 year old are afraid of being fat. This statistics show that social media promotes and creates a standard of beauty that leads many women to feel body dissatisfaction and insecure about themselves. According to Jacob S. Turner 37% of articles published on social media are focused on physical appearance. And 50% of this advertisements and articles promote the importance of physical image and beauty. The problem is that only 5% of society looks like the images that are shown in the media. That leaves the rest, the 95% of society suffering from low self esteem and low confidence because they feel like they don’t belong.

Pictures on social media send a message that our beauty determines our worth and our body. It sends an indirect message of who we should be or how we should look at. The nature of social media also takes us toward comparison, as we normally judge ourselves against others success and happiness. For example, for someone with an eating disorder, this can be toxic as they compare their body image to those seen on social media. And for women that are not going through an eating disorder still, it affects their self-esteem. The worst thing of this is that all these images are often altered and photoshopped. It is an unrealistic picture of how we think we should look.

Researchers did an experiment in which they measured women’s body satisfaction, modd, eating desires, and self esteem before and after the exposure of looking through different pictures on social media from thin and young models. According to The Canadian Child and adolescent Psychiatry Review, the results demonstrated that body satisfaction for females is significantly lower after viewing thin media images. All this research indicated that social media is a causal factor for the development of eating disorders since it makes us feel uncomfortable with our bodies and we try to fit in by doing diets or by not eating. Meaning being anorexic or bulimic. A recent study also shows that social media has an indirect influence on boy’s expectations on female’s appearance which would also affect women's.

However, social media could also have a positive influence on women and society. From global campaigns and popular hashtags promoting body image support, to online groups that encourage self-love at any size, social media could create a sense of community that would make everyone overcome body image issues and feel less alone. It could bring people from all over the world together and help us realize that at the end our struggles are more similar than what we thought.

Although social media itself has its advantages and can transmit positivity in many ways, in the case of “body image” it brings more negative effects than positive effects. People could be using social media to change the perspective society has of ideal body image and transmit a message of self love and self appreciation. Instead, society is oppressed by mass media’s fake world and continue supporting and following what they are being transmitted from posts, pictures, videos and comments.

Changing the way that media represents women is a long-term goal and almost imposible. Yet, there are currently national and international industries that are trying to make marketers take responsibility for showing and using pictures of men and women that are unrealistic. The #truthinads campaign is an example of this and some clothing producers have reacted to public pressure by promising never to use photoshopped models in their advertisements. Another big campaign that is going on right now is #WhatMakesMeBeautiful. It was mostly known between the community of people with eating disorders; once again exposing the extreme need for social media movements that celebrate self-love and looking at beauty through different eyes.

On the individual level, there are some simple things we can do to improve self-esteem. For example, focusing on our accomplishments and good qualities, repeating affirmations and working with self-esteem books and documentaries. Also try to use social media to empower others and encourage a change on the ideal body shape. For those with serious anxiety, depression or eating disorders related to poor body image, however, psychotherapy or other mental health treatment is recommended. There is no reason that we should feel embarrassed about low self-esteem as we have all had it at some point. If it is affecting our ability to be happy we should certainly ask for help and overcome that problem.

In conclusion, learning to love and embrace our bodies can be difficult, particularly if social media exposes an ideal body shape that it is not real. Day by day, we can make small changes that encourage body acceptance and self-love. Even if you think it’s impossible to love yourself or your body, know that there is hope, healing, and restoration in every journey. Encourage women to celebrate personality traits, talents, and other factors outside of appearance that make them beautiful. Don’t let social media influence you. Don’t let it control your perspective on women's body image.

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Run a free check or have your essay done for you

Check my essay Hire Writer