Research Of The Negative Effect Of Media On Individual’S Perception Of Themselves
Media is consuming our minds. It surrounds us. It has the power to influence our thoughts and the potential to change our behaviors. Mass media includes all forms of communication, such as advertisements, television, magazines, the internet, etc. Some people believe media negatively affects body image, and others argue that media shouldn’t be the blame for the issue of body image or eating disorders. In fact, it has been proven to have a harmful effect on many individual’s perception of themselves.
Researchers such as Richard M. Perloff, argue that social media does have an effect on both genders body image. The author notes that “72% of 18-29 years olds are using networking sites”. Each day, they are exposed to thousands of pictures and post depicting the thin ideals of beauty. When many people see this, people naturally begin to compare themselves and develop a low self-esteem that overtime may lead to depression. The author starts to describe how there is about four-hundred websites that are pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia that encourage others to follow the Kate Moss motto, “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”. Because of this pressure to be perfect and thin, many start to have a negative relationship with food and develop eating disorders. Perloff then clarifies, men also experience body dissatisfaction, but much less. Men body ideals are “thinness, leanness, strong (“ripped”) muscularity and height”.
Based on research, men seeing images, models, and celebrity athletes, representing these ideals, also deal with low self-esteem. He also points out that older women are less affected by social media because “age brings maturity”. Additionally, men also deal with the social pressure to attain the unrealistic male beauty standards. At a very young age, men are taught be tough and not to address how they feel about themselves, which may cause individuals to gain weight.
According to Elliot Montgomery Sklar, a professor from Nova Southeastern University, states that not much research is found about men’s body image concerns due to gender norms stating, it will lead to “feelings of emasculation” if they perceive themselves to have low self-esteem. He further discusses how obesity is highly condemned in our society. There are body image concerns for those who are overweight since there has been an increase of “16. 7% obesity among men”. Individuals who are obese experience more body dissatisfaction, causing them to “avoid social interaction and develop avoidant behavior”. He also points out, how obese boys may have a negative experience at school, during gym class because they can be excluded and chosen last for games. Adolescents may start to feel self-conscious and question their physical worth. This could result in the development of eating disorders, which exist a lot more in overweight individuals. Likewise, Sklar indicates, for men to be underweight, may experience major depression. He then describes how men who experience body dissatisfaction are similar to women, in that men are “undergoing cosmetic procedures” due to baldness. He then cites Triggermen and Martins study who discovered that, “most men want to be thinner, more muscular, have a fuller head of hair, and less hair on their bodies. ” This is because men in advertisements are now “hairless and bare-chested” suggesting media has an influence on our appearance. So, men who were unhappy by their “weight, muscularity, and body hair” experience low self-esteem. Through his research, it confirms men deal with body image issues as well, due to society’s pressure on men to fit the male stereotype of masculinity. In addition, supporters who view media as a negative influence argue that this issue is rising among youths.
According to professor Keren Eyaland and Dr. Tali Te’eni-Harari, parasocial relationship plays a significant role in adolescents self-perception. The authors examine the linking between media and body image among pre-teens because it’s an age period where your self-perception changes and increases desire to fit in. They focus on the social comparison theory and how adolescents view their favorite television characters as “role models” and form a parasocial relationship that impacts how they perceive themselves. They also speculate many hypotheses that will address whether media and parasocial relationships positively or negatively affects viewers body, since they recognize, “media content is largely composed of thin, muscular, and physically attractive characters”. For their study, the authors utilized questionnaires that were distributed to two middle schools in Israel. To measure the rate of media exposure, participants were asked to specify “the number of hours that they spend on watching television”.
In order to determine participants self-esteem, they focused on questions like, “I like what I see when I look in the mirror or I wish I were thinner”. Additionally, to measure the level of social comparison, participants were asked to choose a favorite same-sex television character and share if they compare themselves. Serval other questions were focused on their eating schedule and body ideals they wish they have. Through their study, it confirmed parasocial relationship negatively affects adolescents body image. The data revealed, “214 participants wished they were thinner, 115 participants showed no discrepancy, and 54 participants wished they had a bigger body shape than current”. The question surrounding the appearance of their favorite characters indicated that they prefer someone who is, “thin, beautiful, and attractive, consistent with the thin ideal prevalent in the media”.
Some may argue that media does promote body positivity through media platforms such as Instagram, with the hashtags “#bodypositive, #bopo, #bodyacceptance and #effyourbeautystandards”. A journalist from the New York times, Maya Salem shares how celebrities such as Tess Holliday and Lena Dunham are encouraging this movement by creating a new social norm that accepts “acne, body hair, cellulite and stretch marks, to the more complex like physical disabilities or disorders. ” However, the movement expanded, and businesses began using body positive supporters to promote products, such as detox teas and appetite suppressant’ lollipops, to their followers. Julia Carrie Wong, a journalist from the Guardian reports how celebrities with at least 100, 000 followers are reinforcing the thin body ideal with these products that apparently “shed belly fat”. According to Laramie Taylor, a professor at UC Davis who examines media effects on bodies, notes how this brand sets an “absurd unrealistic idea to women” that by drinking this tea they will have a tone stomach. The Flat Tummy Co disagrees with this comment and believe their brand represents, “living a healthier lifestyle and feeling like the best versions of themselves. ” But many other researchers, such as Taylor, voiced concerned over the advertising of products since we begin to compare ourselves and “feel bad about ourselves, so we buy their product. ” Furthermore, social media influencers may claim their fitness inspiration post are there to motivate individuals to exercise and live a healthier lifestyle, but researchers suggest otherwise.
“Fitspiration” became a trend on social media platforms where viewers get to see videos or images about healthier food options, exercise advice, and see transformation post. It was the contention of Elise Rose Carrotte, Ivanka Prichard, and Megan Su Cheng Lim, researchers from Australia who study Public Health, to distinguish whether these “inspiration” post affect both genders. The authors examine the objectification theory, specifically the gender differences in images. They note, “images on men focus on their face, whereas for women, it is the whole body”. For their study, they used trained coders to analyze 476 post on the most recent or popular post with the hashtag “fitspo” from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. They specifically examined the caption and what was present in the picture. They focused on looking at what body parts were present in the photos. Their studies revealed that most posts were associated with encouraging women to diet, so they can become really skinny or for men to become part of the “muscular ideal”. They found that “only half of these posts contained a subject actively exercising”. Although women objectification post was higher, men were also objectified by images displaying their stomachs, biceps, and pectoral muscles. The authors claim many images were in a “sexualized manner”, suggesting these fitness inspiration post highlight on the ideal physical appearance.
In conclusion, media has created beauty standards and pressures society to conform to them. Although there is benefits to using social media, there are certain parts that causes harm to many individuals. Since social media platforms are imaged based, the risk of comparison rises, and it may cause viewers to develop low self-esteem. Based on the research above, it confirms media negatively affects both genders to develop mental health issues like depression, and result in the development of eating disorders. Researchers such as Perloff, Sklar, Eyaland, and Tali Te’eni-Harari suggest interventions can use this as a “guide” to stress the impact of media and work towards lowering eating disorders and other health concerns. Perloff also proposes, for people who have gone through this internal struggle to spread awareness and create a new social norm that accepts all body types.
