Self-Esteem
From the 1940s and onwards, celebrities were depicted in magazines and establishing beauty standards, but now celebrities seem to appear predominantly on social media [1]. In the context of feminine beauty standards, media platforms consistently depict images of "flawless" women who are nearly perfect in every aspect. While in the past, the primary media platform used to be television-based, it has now transitioned to social platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Youtube, among many others. This transition from one primary platform to having multiple media platforms is critical to comprehending the negative impact it has on the mental health of women. As one cosmetic surgeon notes, due to the increased presence of social media, there are simply more opportunities for women to notice their imperfections and obsess over fixing them which can impact mental health [2].
Social media feeds often largely consist of celebrities or influencers who promote unrealistic beauty ideals, and as a result can make one feel bad about themselves in comparison to them [3]. It depends on who one follows on social media, because that will determine how they will compare themselves in respect to their feed. According to a BBC article, it claims that most women would rank themselves negatively in comparison to their peers or influencers and celebrities that they follow [3]. Furthermore, this article talks about a study where women uploaded selfies of themselves to social media with one group having access to editing tools while the other didn’t [3]. The results were that, most women were less confident of themselves despite having editing tools [3]. Another important note was that, many women in this study wanted reassurance from others prior to posting it on social media which is another indicator of low self-esteem.
Another study found a correlation between eating behaviors of female university students and sociocultural factors which includes social media and desired body image [4]. Since unrealistic body images are being promoted by social media influencers and celebrities across various platforms, there is this contradiction between the ideal female body image and the realistic body images of women. The ideal female body image as defined by social media would consist of having unrealistic proportions such as an extremely thin waist, flat stomach, large breasts, plump lips, and large butt. In contrast, the realistic feminine body image would likely contain any one of these aspects, but it is very unlikely to naturally have all of these features aforementioned. Thus, many women have low self-esteem because there is this social norm of women being associated with “physical perfection” that is perpetrated by social media influencers and celebrities [5]. Research suggests that photo-based engagement with social media is associated with self-objectification, body dissatisfaction, and pursuit of skinniness [6]. In addition, there is this concept of women who refuse to conform to unrealistic beauty standards at risk of being labeled as "deviant" and could even be seen as having a low self-esteem [7]. While this may seem contrasting, this idea is directly a result unrealistic beauty standards becoming increasingly normalized by society due to social influencers and celebrities that promote them across various social media platforms.
Unrealistic beauty standards are being increasingly normalized by women because they simply want to fit in, by modeling themselves after social media's most prominent influencers and celebrities [8]. Since most women use social media, it is evident that social media and its prominent influencers are key to eliminating these body image concerns and unrealistic beauty standards.
[1] Brucculieri, Julia. "Instagram Influencers Are All Starting To Look The Same. Here's Why." HuffPost. Last modified March 9, 2018. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/instagram-influencers-beauty_n_5aa13616e4b002df2c6163bc?guccounter=1.
[2] Willingham, AJ. "Social Media Filters Mess with Our Perceptions So Much, There's Now a Name for It." CNN. Last modified August 10, 2018. https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/10/health/snapchat-dysmorphia-cosmetic-surgery-social-media-trend-trnd/index.html
[3] Oakes, Kelly. "The Complicated Truth About Social Media and Body Image." BBC. Last modified March 10, 2019. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190311-how-social-media-affects-body-image.
[4] Aparicio-Martinez, P., A. Perea-Moreno, M. Martinez-Jimenez, M. Redel-Macías, C. Pagliari, and M. Vaquero-Abellan. "Social Media, Thin-Ideal, Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating Attitudes: An Exploratory Analysis." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, no. 21 (October 2019), 4177. doi:10.3390/ijerph16214177.
[5] Lodge, Caroline, Eileen Carnell, and Marianne Coleman. "Cover up." In The New Age of Ageing: How Society Needs to Change, 111-30. Bristol: Bristol University Press, 2016. Accessed November 2, 2020. doi:10.2307/j.ctt1t898br.14.
[6] Stenberg, Shari J., and Charlotte Hogg. "Karin Hitselberger." In Persuasive Acts: Women's Rhetorics in the Twenty-First Century, 434-38. Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2020. Accessed October 13, 2020. doi:10.2307/j.ctvwrm691.79.
[7] Lodge, Caroline, Eileen Carnell, and Marianne Coleman. "Cover up." In The New Age of Ageing: How Society Needs to Change, 111-30. Bristol: Bristol University Press, 2016. Accessed November 2, 2020. doi:10.2307/j.ctt1t898br.14.
[8] Brucculieri, Julia. "Instagram Influencers Are All Starting To Look The Same. Here's Why." HuffPost. Last modified March 9, 2018. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/instagram-influencers-beauty_n_5aa13616e4b002df2c6163bc?guccounter=1.