Social media sway women’s perceptions of body image
Reporting by Isabella Campione
When she inspects her pictures after a photoshoot in
the search for her next Instagram post, Sam Feher
usually finds herself criticizing the way she looks.
Feher frequently posts pictures of herself on social
media and is a well-known influencer in the Instagram
fashion and beauty world. Often Sam feels as if the
pictures she takes for her feed aren’t good enough
because she looks “too fat.” So they get tucked away
in her photo roll never to be posted.
But fast forward a few months or a year later, and she
will come across the photo she once hated and
question why she was so harsh on herself in the first
place.
“The competitive nature of humans really comes out Sam Feher
when they begin comparing themselves to strangers
on the internet,” Feher said. “It can be really damaging because of the unattainable standards the
social media in question creates.”
Many social media influencers like Feher struggle with body image perception issues. It’s a
struggle that not only affects influencers, but also many young women. And the effects of a
negative body image can lead to bigger problems later on.
Researchers Jennifer Lewallen and Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz found that young women who
look at fitness social media accounts were more likely to engage in extreme weight-loss
behaviors, such as radical exercise plans. When the young women viewed the fitness accounts,
they would reflect the images on themselves, which increased the extreme behaviors. The study
also found that social media may be a major reason as to why women compare themselves to
others, leading to overall body dissatisfaction.
The impact that social media has on many young women has created unrealistic expectations for
how women should look, leading to dangerous health practices and mental health issues.
Social Media and Peer Influence
Social media promotes many of the best parts of people’s lives.
With many editing apps available to quickly alter pictures and
make them look better, it is no surprise many people find
themselves constantly comparing themselves to others. While
models, influencers and celebrities are all major influences, it
has been proven that peers play a larger role in body image
comparisons.
“Social media may have a stronger impact on children’s body image than traditional media,” said
Dina Borzekowski, a professor at Johns Hopkins school of Public Health in her study Body
Image and Media Use Among Adolescents. “Messages and images are more targeted: If the
message comes from a friend, it is perceived as more meaningful and credible.”
Elon University counselor Christine Borzumato-Gainey sees many
of her clients struggle with body comparison issues on a daily
basis. She said many people do not know how to live without
social media. They can’t relax and give themselves a break, opting
instead to stay socially connected. Eventually, much of the content
is viewed through a comparative lens.
A recent Pew Research Study showed that 51 percent of social
media users between the ages of 18 to 24 would have a hard time
giving up social media.
A study by researchers Tricia J. Burke and Stephen A. Rains
looked at the outcomes of observing exercise behaviors of peers
on social media. It showed that many young people’s body image
concerns stem from their friendships. The pressure to maintain a
particular body image increases diet concerns and reinforces
Christine Borzumato-Gainey
unhealthy comparison and health practices.
A junior at Auburn University Annabelle Capstick feels like social media offers fake portrayals
of how people live.
“There are so many editing apps on the market today and I think many girls use them before
posting anything,” Capstick said. “Since ‘everyone is doing it,’ people feel as if they have to
uphold a fake image of who they are to make their life look perfect. It makes people, especially
women, self-conscious about their own pictures, making them feel as if they must edit their
pictures before posting.”
A survey from the Renfrew Center found that 68 percent of people edit their photos in some way
before they share them with another person or online.
“It has been ingrained in us that in order to get the most likes or comments, your picture must be
perfect, making others want to be better than the next, which causes a sense of self
consciousness,” Capstick said.
In Capstick’s perspective, someone might take 20 or 30 pictures before finding the right one to
post. Then after that, people see the picture of someone or a group looking beautiful leading to
potential self-comparison.
Fitspiration Trends and Influencers on Social Media
“Fitspiration” is a social media trend that allows followers of certain accounts or people to get
ideas for exercise routines, clean food and healthy habits. While seen as a positive way to inspire
others to practice these methods, there have been studies showing that this may have an opposite
effect.
Many of the photos on fitspiration accounts feature thin, toned women. Repetitively viewing
these photos causes many women to feel badly about their body, which then leads to engaging in
unhealthy activities.
“I think social media can be
really dangerous because they
force users to walk a fine line
between (inspiration) and true
envy,” Feher said. “Of course,
if an Instagram post or
account inspires you to do
something healthy like work
out or eat more veggies, that’s
great, and that’s part of the
point of being an influencer.
But once you cross the line
into territory where you’re
actually jealous of the person you’re seeing online, it becomes unhealthy.”
A sophomore at Elon University and frequent user of Instagram Téa Valette said she looks at
pictures of models often. For her, looking at someone with the “perfect body” is inspirational in
the moment and makes her want to eat healthy and exercise. Over time, she believes this
negatively impacts her self-esteem.
“I think its degrading to my self-esteem because when I look in the mirror and see fat or what
that model doesn’t have it makes my anxiety worsen and makes me feel negatively about my
body image,” Valette said. “When Instagram started and I got an account about six years ago, I
would post what I want because it was a form of self-expression. But now I think it has become a
way that people compete with each other about who is the best looking or the fittest.”
Often, accounts are telling their followers what to eat
and what exercise plans to follow. But health experts
recommend holistic options that focus on mental,
emotional and social well-being, not just strict diet
and exercise plans.
A study by Grace Holland and Marika Tiggemann
from the International Journal of Eating Disorders
showed that women who post fitspiration pictures
scored higher on their drive for thinness, bulimia,
muscularity, and compulsive exercise.
Watch this video about social media and trends form
ABC30 here.
Social media users also need to learn to recognize
that a lot of time and effort is put into making a fitspo
star look the way that they do.
“More often than not, the photo you’re seeing is either edited, one out of 500 photos actually
taken, or of someone with an entirely different body type and genetic makeup than your own,”
Feher said.
Coping with Social Media Exposure
It’s easy to say that lessening or eliminating screen time may help women feel better about their
bodies, but for many that solution seems like an unrealistic task. Still, Borzumato-Gainey said
she met with a client who felt cutting out social media completely would be what works best for
her. The client felt as if her semester was going to be busy, and social media was one of her
largest distractions.
Borzumato-Gainey said her client later reported that she is sleeping
more sound and doing better on her homework and projects. Rather
than seeing what other people are doing and making comparisons to
herself, she prevents herself from worrying about what she is or
isn’t putting on social media. Borzumato-Gainey said the client’s
experience away from social media has been “freeing.”
Carnice Covert, a counselor at Elon University, incorporates
mindfulness into her advising. She suggests users of social media to
focus on themselves, not others. Covert recommends focusing on
self-awareness and appreciating yourself for who you are. This
allows for users to approach social media without criticism and
judgement for themselves and others. Building confidence is one of
the key approaches in Covert’s counseling sessions. Carnice Covert
Covert is also an advocate for meditation apps, and she recommends people put them in place of
where their social media apps are so that they are more likely to use them. Meditation apps allow
for people to be more mindful and conscious of who they are rather than what they are seeing on
social media.
The biggest challenge for many people is that they do not
know their life without social media. But from real
experiences, this is seen to be possible.
“Thinking in terms of
appreciating what
people do instead of
considering what they
do a threat to their own success is a big deal,” Borzumato-
Gainey said. “It takes feeling who you are, what works for
you and thinking about your day to distract yourself from
these self-comparisons. These are all ways to be in touch with
your own path and who you are, so you’re not as threatened
by what other people are doing or how they look on social
media.”