Category: Body Image

Introduction

In today’s social world, the way one’s body is seen is an important issue that haunts an immense group of people. Social standards affect body image and the way people view themselves and others. Religion controls and affects people’s lives in many ways, and body image may be an area also affected by it.

Statement of the Problem

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of religion on body image among LAU students.

Scope of the Study

This study was limited to the opinions of students possessing various religious backgrounds on the way their faith affects their view of one’s body image. For the purpose of this study, responders were restricted to LAU Byblos students. Data was collected during the fall 2018 semester using a questionnaire.

Significance

[bookmark: _Toc531792733]The primary group that may benefit from this study are teenagers, especially religiously committed ones, by helping them identify how religion affects their body image and perception of themselves and others. This could affect their day-to-day life positively by helping them be less judgmental.

Hypothesis

My hypothesis regarding this study are as follow: First, religion has a positive effect on body image. Second, religion makes people feel better about themselves and the way they look. Finally, religion affects the way people dress.

Literature review

Body image has become an important part of a person’s life and mindset. The impact that religion has on one’s body image has been studied by Homan (2012), Zhang (2012), Iceberg, Inman and McKeel (2014), Jacobson, Lewis Hall, Anderson and Willingham (2016) and Homan and Boyatzis (2009). In addition, the effect that one’s degree of religiosity has on his body image has been observed by Homan (2012), Homan and Boyatzis (2009) and Inman, Iceberg and McKeel (2014). This literature review will go over the findings of each study and draw a conclusion regarding the effect of religion on body image.

A positive effect

Having religious beliefs has a mostly positive effect on a person’s body image and body satisfaction. Homan (2012) found in a study conducted on various women that females who are attached to god experience lesser negative effects regarding their body image after viewing pictures of thin models, thus combatting the cultural standards regarding one’s body image. In addition, Zhang (2012) found in a study conducted on college students that body dissatisfaction, although manifesting itself among both spiritual and free-thinking individuals, was present among a lower percentage of those who viewed themselves as spiritual. Inman, Iceberg and McKeel (2014) found in a study conducted on women enrolled at a religious college that many elements of religiosity work to help with body esteem, where body esteem intensified at a higher rate among religiously committed women compared to the rest of the women. Adding to all the above, Homan and Boyatzis (2009) found in a study conducted on older men and women that older religiously committed women still receive positive improvements to their body image and manifest an increase in satisfaction regarding their bodies, albeit at a lower level compared to when they were younger. These studies show that religion generally has a positive impact on an individual’s body image and body satisfaction by opposing social standards and by making individuals more accepting of their bodies regardless of their age.

A negative effect

Although religion usually manifests a positive effect on one’s body image, there may be situations where it may cause negative feelings and dissatisfaction. Zhang (2012) showed in a study that religion had a negative effect on a few students’ body image. One of her test subjects stated that her religion forces her to wear specific clothing which make her feel uncomfortable around her friends. In another study conducted by Jacobson, Lewis Hall, Anderson and Willingham (2016) on a protestant Christian group showed that radical dualism, which means that the body is viewed as corrupt, contributes to a decrease in body satisfaction and an increase in body shame. What these studies shows is that that some dimensions of religious belief can contribute negatively on one’s body image and appreciation. This negativity comes from religious obligations and teachings that contribute to the degradation of one’s view regarding their body.

Level of Religiosity’s Effect

There is a direct correlation between the degree of religiosity and its effect on one’s body image and satisfaction. Homan (2012), in his study on Christian college students showed that women who possess a secure religious belief showed less dissatisfaction regarding their bodies after having viewed images of thin models than women who possess an anxious relationship with god. He then adds that although both groups showed an upturn in dissatisfaction regarding their bodies after being exposed to the former images, the strongly religiously attached women interpreted a significantly lower level of dissatisfaction than their anxiously religious counterparts. Homan and Boyatzis (2009) showed in another study conducted on older adults that men who possess a stable relationship with God exhibit an increased body satisfaction. They added that among older women, those who manifest a higher degree of religiosity feel better about the appearance of their aging bodies. The authors then conclude “that a warm and close relationship with God and a higher sense of meaning and purpose in life predict better body image in older adults.” Additionally, Inman, Iceberg and McKeel (2014) showed in their study that although exposing religious women to various positive religious statements showed and increase in body esteem in most of them, the level of increase intensified the more the women were religiously committed. What these studies are essentially showing is that there is a clear correlation between the level of religiosity and the level of positive body satisfaction and esteem among their subjects; the more religious one is, the better they feel about their body and the way it looks, thus decreasing dissatisfaction and anxiety about their looks.

Religion has a clear impact on one’s body image. Most of the studies found a clear link between religion and body image, where most religious subjects experienced a positive impact on the way they view their bodies and on their body satisfaction, while only one study found that a very small percentage of people experience a negative impact. They also add that the level of at which one is religious has a direct impact on body satisfaction, where the more religious a person is, the better he feels about himself. Although research studied a vast group of people, there still has research to be done around the subject among LAU students. Therefore, this study will aim to analyze the effect of religion on LAU student’s body image.

Method

Introduction

The researcher decided to conduct a research on the effects of religion on body image and chose LAU students as his research subjects. He used quantitative research because of it’s ease in sorting and collecting results, and its accessibility. The instrument used to gather responses was a questionnaire.

Questionnaire

A questionnaire was used by the researcher because of its ease of use and easy accessibility. It was formed of 9 close-ended required questions, revolving around the demographic and the opinions of the responders. Questions were either multiple-choice questions or scaled questions. After coming up with the questions, the researcher finalized his questionnaire after showing it to his professor. Google forms was the service used to create the questionnaire because of its simplicity and because it is free of charge. The researcher then posted a link to his questionnaire on the blackboard where the instructor created a discussion board. The questionnaire was filled in class by the students of this class.

Sample Selection

The responders who participated in this questionnaire were the 27 LAU Byblos students attending the same English 202 class as the researcher, were from different majors, different age groups, and different religious backgrounds.

Statistical Methods

Two methods were used to tabulate, retrieve and analyze data. The researcher downloaded the raw questionnaire data directly from Google drive. Excel was then used to analyze and tabulate data using its built-in formulas and table creation tools.

Limitations of The Study

Many limitations manifested themselves while conducting this study. Firstly, time was a big constraint as the study was conducted across one academic semester, and during periods of great pressure from exams and assignments which limited the researcher’s output. Secondly, the sample selected was small and doesn’t reflect a large enough group of responders, which may lead to having inaccurate results. Thirdly, responders’ religious backgrounds weren’t varied enough to encompass the majority of religions. Fourthly, responders’ cooperation while filling in the questionnaire was lacking and thus results were minimal and scarce.

Results

Introduction

This study was intended to evaluate the effects of religion on a person’s body image. A questionnaire was sent to LAU students in professor Saiid Rajha’s class, and the response rate was 83.3%.

Results

The results will be presented in three sections as follows: Demographic profile, the influence of religiosity on body image and satisfaction and body image’s importance according to the responders.

Demographic profile:

The responders were asked about their age group. According to figure 1, out of 25 responders, 64% were between 18 and 19 years old, 24% were between 20 and 21 years old, 4% were between 22 and 23 years old, and 8% were 24 years old and above.

• Figure 1. Age group of responders.

In addition, responders were asked about their religious background. As shown in figure 2, 80% of responders are Christian, 4% are Druze, 8% are Atheist, and 18% stated that they are not religiously committed.

• Figure 2. Responder’s religious background.

Influence of religion on body image and satisfaction

Responders were asked to indicate their level of religious commitment and whether they felt satisfied about the way their body currently looks. As appearing in figure 3, out of 17 responders who stated they were moderately to highly religiously committed, 10 (58.82%) stated that they were satisfied about their current body, while out of 8 responders who stated that they weren’t religiously committed or had a low religious commitment, only 1 (12.5%) indicated that they were satisfied about their current body.

• Figure 3. Split of responder’s religious commitment and body satisfaction.

The responders were also asked what kind of effect religion has on their body image. Only individuals who responded earlier that they were religiously committed were taken into consideration here. As apparent in figure 4, out of 17 individuals who meet this criterion, 12 stated that religion had a neutral effect or no effect at all on their body image, while 5 responded with having experienced a positive improvement to body image thanks to religion.

• Figure 4. The effect that religion had on religiously committed responders.

Additionally, responders were asked whether they agreed that their relationship with God improved their self-perception. Only religiously committed individuals’ responses were evaluated. As shown in figure 5, out of 17 religiously committed individuals, 47% agree with the statement, while 35% are neutral about it, and 18% disagree with the statement.

• Figure 5. Religious individuals agreement with the statement: “My relationship with God makes me feel better about the way I look.’.

Finally, responders were asked to which extent they agree with the fact that their religious beliefs affect the way they dress. Also, only religiously committed individuals’ responses were evaluated. As shown in figure 6, 24% of religious individuals agree with the statement, 29% neither agree nor disagree, while 47% of evaluated responders disagreed with the statement.

• Figure 6. Religious individuals agreement with the statement: “My religious beliefs affect the way I dress.”

Body image’s importance

Responders were asked to specify to which degree body image is important to them. As seen in figure 7, out of 25 responders, 60% specified it to be important to them, while 20% are neutral about it’s the importance and 20% consider it to not be important.

• Figure 7. Body image’s importance according to responders.

Discussion

Based on 60% of responders, body image was deemed to be important to them which meets my expectation regarding the subject.

According to figure 3, a higher percentage of religiously committed individuals (58.82%) than less religious individuals (12.5%) manifested body satisfaction. This means that religious commitment seemed to increase body satisfaction among this study’s test subjects. This ties in to Zhang’s (2012) findings, that spiritual or religious individuals manifested lower body dissatisfaction than free-thinking individuals.

Tying into the above, and according to figure 4, only 5 out of 17 religious individuals stated that religion had a positive effect on their body image while the rest said that it had no impact on the way they view their body. This doesn’t meet my expectation regarding religion and its possibility to bring improvements to body image, where I expected for a higher amount to respond in favor of religion’s positive effect.

Additionally, when asked about whether the responder’s relationship to God improved their self-perception, and as seen in figure 5, most religious individuals responded with agreement with the statement (47%), while 35% were neutral about it and only a small percentage (18%) disagreed. This directly ties in and complements Homan’s (2012) findings regarding the effects of one’s relationship with God on his body image and correlates with the majority of findings discussed in the literature.

Finally, responders were asked whether their religious beliefs affect the way they dress, as seen in figure 6, the majority (47%) responded with disagreeing with the statement, while 29% are neutral, and the minority (24%) agree with the statement. This could show that as a big majority of responders are Christian, Christianity doesn’t tie down on the way one dresses, which complements my observation of today’s society.

As the vast majority of responders are Christian (80%), these results may be only relevant to the Christian faith and less applicable to other religions.

Conclusion

The findings mostly agree with the fact that religion positively affects one’s body image and self-perception. Religious individuals are more satisfied with their body than less religious people. One’s relationship with god also has a positive effect on one’s self-perception, which improves mental wellbeing. The findings also show that the Christian religion is more lenient on restrictions to the way people dress, which is a major dimension of body image. The findings then confirm my first two hypothesis which state that religion positively affects body image and make individuals feel better about themselves while contradicting my third hypothesis which states that religion affects one’s clothing habits.

Religion comes out with a positive look on it’s effect on body image and satisfaction but doesn’t seem to do so at the expected scope on my research group. Thus, more research has to be conducted on the subject on a larger group of multiple religions.

References:

1. Homan, K. J. (2012). Attachment to God Mitigates Negative Effect of Media Exposure on Women’s Body Image. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality,4(4), 324-331. doi:10.1037/a0029230
2. Homan, K. J., & Boyatzis, C. J. (2009). Body Image in Older Adults: Links with Religion and Gender. Journal of Adult Development,16(4), 230-238. doi:10.1007/s10804-009-9069-8
3. Inman, M., Iceberg, E., & Mckeel, L. (2014). Do Religious Affirmations, Religious Commitments, or General Commitments Mitigate the Negative Effects of Exposure to Thin Ideals? Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion,53(1), 38-55. doi:10.1111/jssr.12089
4. Jacobson, H. L., Hall, M. E., Anderson, T. L., & Willingham, M. M. (2016). Temple or Prison: Religious Beliefs and Attitudes Toward the Body. Journal of Religion and Health,55(6), 2154-2173. doi:10.1007/s10943-016-0266-z
5. Zhang, K. C. (2012). What I Look Like: College Women, Body Image, and Spirituality. Journal of Religion and Health,52(4), 1240-1252. doi:10.1007/s10943-012-9566-0

Social media and stereotypes are a common aspect of everyday life. Social media is a type online platform that enables its users to create and share content with the online community. Often, adolescents view social media as a guideline for what the societal norm and ideal body type should look like. Stereotypes are prejudicial beliefs about a certain group of people. These often associate certain attributes to a specific group of people, such as Asians or Christians, which are often not true to each individual. These social platforms and stereotypes can often have a negative impact on the wellbeing of young people.

Social media provides young people with insight into peoples’ lives around them, and often affect one’s self esteem and mindset. The societal norms and communal expectations created by these social platforms influence the way young people think as it constantly shows them unrealistic expectations on what everyday life should look like. These roles set up by society can force young people to think that if they don’t fit into these predetermined groups then they will be harshly judged and shut out. It can cause them to feel alienated by society. Most social media influencers to only post about the best parts of their life. Influencers, friends and family generally don’t show them doing boring everyday activities. Many young people don’t realise that often their goals of what to look like, how to dress and what daily life should look like is unrealistic. ‘Likes’ creates by social media can make someone feel like the amount of ‘likes’ they have determine their worth. Because of social media, many young people may fall victim to their own prejudice created by the stereotypes promoted through social media. These people may feel that because they fit into a certain stereotype, they should meet those guidelines set by society, and if they don’t fit, this can cause them to feel like an outsider.

Social media is an important aspect of the everyday lives of young people around the globe. According to a survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistic in 2014, approximately 72% of people actively use social media with those aged 15-17 years of age spending an average of 18 hours a week online, with 91% most commonly going online for social networking. In 2016–17, people aged 15 to 17 years were the highest proportion of internet users with 98% with 91% most commonly going online for social networking. (‘8146.0 – Household Use of Information Technology, Australia, 2016-17′, 2020) For young people today, getting ‘likes’ on photos, posts or comments on social platforms can create an immensely powerful sense of success and societal acceptance. However, the relentless pursuit for validation causes harmful thoughts about body image as the endless comparison with other people’s photos online cause young people to feel dissatisfied with their own looks. According to Claire Mysko “While social media is not the cause of low self-esteem, it has all the right elements to contribute to it. Social media creates an environment where disordered thoughts and behaviours really thrive.” She also cautions that, while social media can give young people the feedback and validation they crave, it can also “serve as a catalyst for more insecurity.’ (‘Positive body confidence – how social media can affect body image’, 2020)

The first strategy that can be implemented in the Redeemer community to reduce the negative effects of social media and self-esteem is to promote a sort of digital detox. An aspect of this strategy that can be implemented is to encourage students to move social apps away from the home screen, into a folder that isn’t always in the line of sight as soon as you unlock you phone. The second strategy is to put your phone on silent and turning off notifications for social media. On the contrary, social media can also have a positive impact on people. A strategy that can be implemented in the Redeemer community to enhance the positive effects of social media is to create an online community space to share fun experiences with friends from school outside school hours or to create a form of online group where people can organise events to hang out outside of school time. Like a group for homegroups, sport teams, music ensembles or year levels. A second strategy that can be put in place to enhance the positive aspects of social media is to create certain accounts that may give good advice for studying or how to structure an assignment. These accounts could be for certain subjects such as mathematics or health and physical education.

The first strategy to reduce the negative effects of social media and self-esteem is to promote a digital detox. The positive thing about this strategy is that it enables people to not get distracted. If these apps are away in a folder, out of sight and out of mind, then it is unlikely that people will fall victim to the negative affects they can bring. A positive for the strategy of turn off notifications for social media is that it allows one to stay focused on the task at hand and to engage in the community. A negative for both these is that one may become too digitally unaware of the news, communal blogs and their friends lives. The first strategy to increase the positive impacts on social media is to create online group chats with the Redeemer community. A positive aspect of this strategy is that allows students from all year levels to communicate. A positive for the second strategy, creating accounts to give advice to students, would be that it enables teachers or even senior students to give good advice to students in younger grades. This can build bonds on different year levels. Students can trust their teachers and go to them for help easily. A negative for these would be that students may be disrespectful to others through these group chats and accounts and could post inaccurate information in order to deceive other students. The best strategy would be to put social media apps in a folder out of sight. By keeping these apps out of sight students use them less often and are therefore less likely to fall victim to the negative effects social media has on self-esteem.

As technology continues to have a huge impact on the lives people all around the world, social media is often one of the leading influences in young people’s lives. In conclusion, social media can be both beneficial and harmful towards the self-esteem of young people. Although social media can bring the relentless pursuit for validation to find into the societal norm to the minds of young people, it can also bring the needed support as well as be a platform for people to speak up about their own experiences with problems many young people find hard to talk about.

Reference List

1. 8146.0 – Household Use of Information Technology, Australia, 2016-17. (2020). Retrieved 15 March 2020, from https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8146.0
2. (2020). Retrieved 15 March 2020, from https://www.dove.com/uk/dove-self-esteem-project/help-for-parents/talking-about-appearance/positive-body-confidence-how-social-media-can-affect-body-image.html

With reference to some sources, more than 87% of women and 65% of men were negatively influenced by social media. Social media is a platform for people from different walks of life to connect with each other across distances. Some platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook have portrayed unrealistic standards in terms of body image. It could be argued that social media has changed the way people look and feel about themselves. Although social media can be a platform to promote healthy body image, it can also result in exacerbating social pressure on body image of an individual. It can reinforce negative body image.

Firstly, social media has portrayed an unrealistic body standard. Exposure to non-realistic body images of celebrities or influencers can stir the emotion of an individual. The media often features celebrities, influencers or even model flawless body images, causing one to question their self worth. Those images are usually digitally edited or photoshopped to make it more appealing and attractive. Many are pressured to have a perfect body standard that is simply unattainable. As such, many manifest in eating disorders due to pressure of ideal body type. Therefore, unrealistic body standards portrayed by social media have caused body image distortions.

Furthermore, social media revolve around appearance that can lead to body dissatisfaction. Individuals tend to compare their own appearance negatively when they view idealised images posted by their own peer group, influencer and celebrity. One can develop body dissatisfaction after viewing idealised images. They often photoshop their photos to improve their own appearance. Some will even go to the extent of undergoing cosmetic surgery that can result in complications such as scarring or even death. In 2017, as many as 1.8 million cosmetic surgical procedures were performed. Despite knowing the consequences of cosmetic surgery, people still undergo such surgery just to have perfect body image that they idealised. It is clear that social media reinforces negative body image.

Lastly, social networking can cause an individual to set a high expectation on themselves. The media encompasses a set thought of what is attractive and what is not attractive. Social media has influenced every individual on how they perceived themselves. Research shows that over 90% of people, especially women are unhappy with their bodies. Women usually idealise a body that is slim while the men body ideal is muscular. In order to reach the goals of having a perfect body, some would opt for slimming pills. This will increase the risk of developing body health issues. Hence, individuals tend to set high yet unrealistic expectations to fit in with society.

The topic of this research paper will focus on how social media and advertising affect self-esteem and body image in both male and females of all ages. The Mental Health Foundation reveals its survey from the UK that “22% of adults and 46% of 18- to 24-year-olds said images on social media had caused them to worry about their body image.”

According to The Role of Facebook Affirmation towards Ideal Self-Image and Self-Esteem by Yokfah Isaranon “This study also found that moderate use between 31 minutes to 2 hours a day was the most optimal level that users would benefit from using Facebook, whereas heavy use for more than 2 hours a day was harmful for users’ self-esteem.” This topic is appropriate for communication research because people look up to what they see on social media whether it be an advertisement, a social media influencer, or even just a picture of their friend and get upset because they are not happy with the way they look compared to what they see on social media

Children’s minds are constantly developing so it is essential to make sure children encounter a healthy amount of social media because developing a negative body image or low self-esteem as a child could have a lasting impact in their adult life. According to The Children’s Society, their The Good Child Report from 2018 found a lower sense of well-being among particularly female children who were “exposed to jokes or comments about other people’s bodies and looks.”

Social media use is rapidly increasing with the growth of electronics making social media networks far more accessible and easier to use. It is crucial to understand that adolescents beliefs about the way the look is closely related to the role of social media. A recent study that focused on female high-school students found that exposure to popular teenage websites and other media outlets were associated with greater internalization of their appearance ideals, appearance comparison, drive for thinness and weight dissatisfaction (Tiggemann and Miller 2010). Research that analyzed the content of advertisements on popular internet sites suggests that advertising on the internet perpetuates stereotypical ideals of female beauty standards which ‘‘could have a detrimental impact on how (women) feel about their bodies’’ (Slater et al. 2012, p. To focus more on males, a study was conducted to find out how high school teenage boys felt about their bodies. “While most research on the effect of social media on body image has involved women, men also have body-image struggles. A survey of more than 2,000 Canadian male high-school students found that about 30% were dissatisfied with their bodies. Although some wanted to lose weight, the majority wanted to gain weight. Males tend to be more concerned about muscularity and how to gain bulk (Sampasa-Kanyinga et al. 2016)” 339).

Body image in adults can also be related back to social media. Once your body stops growing, adults have to pay more attention to what they eat. If they do not, this could lead to having poor body image and self esteem . Unfortunately, the thinness we see on social media is not realistic and the women are thinner than the women we see in real life. “A survey of 600 Instagram images indicates the vast majority of pictures showed only one body type: thin and toned” (Tiggemann & Zaccardo 2016). Repeated exposure to these idolized physiques leads us to believe that lean, toned bodies are normal, attainable, expected and central to attractiveness. e end result: overwhelming dissatisfaction with one’s own body (Grabe et al. 2016). And we all know what that leads to: dieting that can be more harmful than helpful.

Social media can affect a person’s self esteem and body image in many ways at multiple ages.

If an individual were to pick up a magazine decades ago, they would see a combination of models of all racial groups and ethnicities that were the same shape, form, and size; pencil thin. If anyone today were to open their Instagram app or step outside and look at the people walking the streets, it is likely that their internal reaction would not be the best. Anyone on the internet can, and will, post pictures and/or videos of excessive workouts and weight loss pills to show their followers their physical changes, causing others to feel self-conscious about themselves because they are not doing the same. Feelings of anxiety, self-consciousness, and shame of their appearance may arise. These are all signs and symptoms of negative body image. The mental portrayal humans have of themselves changes constantly in people of any age but most specifically female teenagers. In Brittney Tackett’s article “How Social Media Affects Our Body Image”, she states that the teenage generation can find others online who make their body disorders out to be satisfactory and motivate them to continue, making social media an unsafe place for them (Tackett).

Young females worry about their physique, their classmates’, the objectification of famous females online, and the objectification of pictures of themselves that they post online (Tackett). Many individuals are not satisfied with their reflection in the mirror. They attempt to find ways to change through over exercising, over-stressing about their appearance and, at times, eating less. Social Media is a substantial factor of negative body image amongst mankind, especially for female teenagers. It subjects individuals to the modern-day beauty standards. With the pressure to fill its shoes, it can cause depression, suicide or suicidal thoughts, body disorders (body dysmorphia, bulimia, and anorexia).

In this day and age, mankind has become a victim of the crippling effect modern beauty standards has on society. Beauty Standards are negative stereotypes set by society to judge individuals, more specifically women, based off of what they believe is “beautiful”. It pressures society into letting the rest of the world choose and dictate what is best for everyone. According to Emily Condron, author of the article “Beauty Standards: Today’s Society”, many individuals believe themselves to be “too fat” or “too ugly”(Condron). Young men and women are led to believe that they do not fit the unrealistic beauty standards presented to them (Condron). Social media plays an enormous influence on what determines beauty standards today. It subjects individuals to modern day beauty standards by allowing gaunt social media influencers to post images showing off their skeleton-like bodies.

Eugenia Cooney, a female who started Youtube in 2011 and has almost 2.5 million subscribers, is mostly known for by many for being severely underweight. The twenty-five year old is said to weigh around 86 pounds and has a grand influence on her followers. Her Instagram account consists of many images where she takes mirror selfies to show off her outfit. By looking at the image, one can say that she, healthwise, is in a very dangerous predicament. Her knees stick out farther than her thighs and her body looks as if she could fall dead any minute. Even though she has this terribly unhealthy body, many of her followers admire her physique and wish to look just like her. Her followers Instagram post comments saying, “24,000+ likes, wtf! Maybe I should take up starvation as a hobby and post a bunch of selfies”, “How long do I have to fast to look like you?”, and “You’re so pretty and skinny. I wanna be skinny so bad. I did not eat yet for 2 days so I hope it works”(Mack). Whether it be a random person or an influencer, social media gives easy access for any person on their app to find someone to fuel the unhealthy addiction of not eating to seem pretty and beautiful to everyone else in the world.

Teenagers and young adults with low confidence and body image complications are more susceptible to having severe unhappiness and dejection, is the first stage leading to eating disorders and body dysmorphia due to it being a symptom of low confidence and self-consciousness. It, in this sense, is the catalyst, the beginning of a terrible way of living. Through depression, eating disorders are formed. Eating disorders are abnormal or disturbing eating habits that are created for altering your physical appearance. They can be expressed through bulimia (an eating disorder in which a person forced themselves to vomit or fast in order to lose weight) and anorexia (refusing to eat in order to lose weight). According to the article “Body Image & Eating Disorders”, individuals who experience negative body image are “more likely to suffer from feelings of depression, isolation, low self-esteem, and eating disorders” over those who do not struggle with their outer appearance (“Body Image & Eating Disorders”). Body dysmorphia is an incurable mental illness involving obsessive focus on a perceived flaw in appearance.

The illness causes an individual to direct their attention to any minor flaws or blemishes that appear on their body, but is not visible or noticeable by others. Body dysmorphia causes the feelings of being embarrassed, anxious, and ashamed of oneself to be so extreme, it is likely that a person with body dysmorphia will try to avoid situations in which they must interact with others. People with this disorder may spend an innumerable amount of time in front of the mirror trying to fix their flaws and will constantly compare themselves to others. The person may even resort to cosmetic surgery or exerting themselves in different exercises to get rid of the problem only they can see. This extremely serious issue that was believed to only affect females now seems to affect males as well. The article “Body Dysmorphic Disorder: When A Negative Body Image Becomes A Mental Health Condition” found research stating that in teenagers 34% of boys and 49% of girls began diets to lose weight and change their appearance ( “Body Dysmorphic Disorder: When A Negative Body Image Becomes A Mental Health Condition”).

People with body dysmorphia are obsessed with themselves in such a negative way, that it completely takes over their life. They may avoid seeing their family and friends, start skipping school, and may even go to the extent of quitting their jobs ( “Body Dysmorphic Disorder: When A Negative Body Image Becomes A Mental Health Condition”). Body dysmorphia, eating disorders, and depression caused by negative body image are three of the many significant factors of a terrible life style. No one should live a life where they must worry every second of the day about their appearance. It is not a healthy way of living and will eventually gain control of their entire existence.

Photoshop. A word that pretty much every human being has heard of. It is used by more than 10 million people worldwide. Yes, Photoshop can be used for good like to fix lighting, crop something out, even to add a funny background, but what happens when it begins to do more harm than it does good? It has been shown that images that have been altered or enhanced has caused harm amongst our society leading to mental health disorders like depression, or even worse, anorexia.

Models are pretty much a real-life version of Barbie. Unfortunately, even though they are already in perfect shape, Photoshop artists slim them down even more until the alterations become very unrealistic. Their faces are enhanced, their curves are made prominent, their wrinkles smoothed out and their tan made is made darker. How would you feel if this was happening to you every day? With the influence of photoshopped images, teens are becoming more and more self-conscious about their body, which as a result can lead to severe anxiety, depression and can cause them to have more suicidal thoughts than the average teen that doesn’t have poor body image. Sadly, when teens reach out for help with their body dissatisfaction, they are instead given treatment that is aimed at mood disorders, anxiety disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder. Shy about their bodies they may not speak up and unfortunately often remain uncured.

When I was younger, I use to flick through my mum’s fashion magazines and I would see the perfect sized models that are on their way to look like a Barbie. Back then I would think: ‘I want to be like that when I’m older’. Now if I see an image in a magazine, I think to myself: ‘How have I been influenced by something like this from such a young age’.

The media around us is also a leading cause of poor body image in teens. Statistics show that on average a child or teen watches up to 5 h of television per day and spends an average of 6 to 7 h viewing various media combined. This is up to 7 hours of being exposed to altered women and men that show children and teens that it is possible to look unrealistically thin or muscular when in actually reality it is not. While obviously nobody looks ‘perfect’ in real life, there is an impact on adolescent girls to look more and more like them. Studies show that after viewing thin bodies and altered images body image was more negative.

Poor body image can lead to eating disorders. The general body image is getting thinner and thinner day by day and then the added Photoshop effect can cause some of the bodies to be very disproportionate. Their body type is what most would call anorexic. In the pursuit to look like models or to be the next ‘cover girl’, most starve themselves and refuse to eat all day. The negative image of their bodies can lead people to tremendously change their diets which can have severe effects on their mental and physical health.

A 22-year-old girl died from suicide. Trying to achieve the ideal ‘Barbie’ look, she went on a diet consisting of only apples and tomatoes. This obviously took a toll not only on her physical health but on her mental health as well and because of the pressure to be perfect from the media, she chose to end her life.

Every pore, blemish and imperfection are what make us unique. We should be proud of our flaws and show them, not feel that we have to cover them up with Photoshop. Our society is becoming more and more surrounded by digitally enhanced images so next time you are scrolling through your Instagram take a moment to ask yourself, is what I’m seeing genuine?

Body image is a mental representation an individual creates, which could or could not bear any relation to how they are perceived by others. Because of this, body image is subject to all kinds of psychological distortion. How people feel about their bodies affects multiple aspects of one’s psychology. Body image influences behavior and has vast implications for the economy as seen with the popularity of cosmetic surgery and an increase in the use of drugs designed to build muscles, a negative view of oneself can lead to depression, eating disorders, and body dysmorphic disorders. Recent psychological research shows the link between body image and mental health, allowing cognitive psychological treatments to be developed which has significantly led more people into understanding the issues surrounding body image. 

Behavioral, sociocultural, and social learning psychological explanations have played a key part in how psychological knowledge has contributed to the understanding of body image. According to the social learning theory, people learn behaviors through imitating a role model, which could mean the image that an individual has of their body could in part be determined by social experience. The media perpetuates the idea that models are getting rewarded because they are thin. This is a form of vicarious reinforcement, which allows this behavior to be imitated. This leads an individual to reevaluate their body image, suggesting psychology has deep roots in issues surrounding body image. According to research, children who complain about their body image often have mothers who complain about their body image too. A constant push to portray an ideal woman as being thin in the media has been shown to have a staggering effect on adolescents.  Social learning and developmental psychology also are important in understanding and addressing issues relating to body image. Children are more likely to get and internalize a role model, meaning their body image can be influenced and their perception changed. There has been research suggesting that magazines aimed at girls and young women tend to present traditional slim images of attractiveness, maintaining an ideal body image.  With the psychological knowledge, they concluded that the use of social media could potentially promote negative body image, and should be regulated. This also further supports the proposition that psychological knowledge can help us to understand and address issues related to body image. There has been evidence that suggests the media only reflects what is seen in culture, which contradicts the social construction and media influence. 

There is more exposure to a thin ideal in media which influences the role models people internalize with. Behavioral, cultural, and social learning theories in psychology have helped psychologists further understand and address the issues concerning body image. Media pressures on women to have a specific shape and size are more common than the pressures on men. Research shows that models in the 2000s are thinner than 98 percent of women, and other psychologists argue that Images of thin women are seen everywhere in the media, and women’s magazines contain more messages emphasizing physical attractiveness than men’s magazines, exemplifying how sociocultural psychology is important in understanding aspects of issues associated with body image. The way people view themselves can be rooted in the role models they’ve internalized also suggesting social learning psychology plays a large part in addressing issues related to body image. Culture is also important, there has been a change in social pressure on men to look slender and muscular and dieting was not seen as gender appropriate for men until there was a cultural shift in 1960. Another study found that attitudes to body image tend to stay the same throughout people’s lifespan suggesting there is a psychological basis in body image, and this further supports the proposition that psychological knowledge can help address issues surrounding body image.

Cognitively, research has shown that males showed evidence of increased ‘schema activation’. The results supported the idea that a schema could be the process by which the media can increase body dissatisfaction. Other research has shown that participants exposed to ‘ideal’ images of men’s bodies had more levels of muscle dissatisfaction than the control group. The cognitive explanation and approach blame the negative thoughts, claiming they are the cause of body image issues. This is supported by the psychological treatments for body image issues such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which works on challenging these thoughts, suggesting body image can be explained by cognitive psychology. 

Holistic and humanistic approaches also contribute to the understanding of body image. There are psychological factors that predict issues related to body image such as self-esteem. People who are low in self-esteem tend to be less satisfied with their bodies. Some research claims, that as women age, the relationship between self-esteem and issues with body image becomes less influential, and in men, ‘fatness’ dissatisfaction causes low self-esteem (Grogan). Therapy around this approach has been used in helping to increase self-esteem, further solidifying psychology’s importance in addressing issues regarding body image. Psychological ideas such as low self-esteem, social learning through models of the thin ideal, and low self-efficacy predict issues with body image. Western cultures tend to find thinness attractive but poorer societies view it as a sign of malnutrition. However, biologists and biological psychologists suggest these body shape preferences derive from biology, not culture. They argue that these ideals are based on the fact that slenderness is healthier than being overweight. This contradicts the notion that there’s a psychological basis, but to a lesser degree.

Overall, the proposition is supported by evidence from various experiments and research. Studies are often conducted in laboratories, meaning there is a lack of validity in most of these studies, but the studies can be replicated consistently, increasing their reliability. The Practical applications massively support this as seen with the multiple treatments and therapies used to treat issues with body image such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, where patients with body dysmorphic disorders and anorexia have their views challenged. Therapies that lift self-esteem have been implemented and a focus on psychological treatments is helping people understand body image is partially psychological. 

Psychological feminist approaches have been getting more attention, facilitating law changes in the way women role models are displayed, and role models in general which promote a more realistic figure, resulting in greater body images. Media influences are being regulated and fewer self-harm statistics could be expected, through psychological knowledge.  The overwhelming evidence suggests psychological knowledge and the prominence the subject has regarding the topic of body image, helped and facilitated further understanding and addressing issues regarding body image support this proposition. 

Within Cross Cultural Psychology (CPP) there has been significant research focusing on body image in an attempt to understand further what this means. Currently there is no clear cut definition on what body image is, but CPP focuses on the variations in human behaviour in regards to cultural contexts (Berry et al., 2002). It acknowledges the relationship between cultural contexts in human development and the behaviours established within an individual through growing up in a culture (Friedlmeier, Chakkarath & Schwarz, 2005). Most definitions of the approach include the term ‘culture’, this is defined in numerous ways, it is a “set of attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviours shared by a group of people” (Spencer-Oatey & Franklin, 2012). This recognises an understanding of the cause and effect relationships between culture in coherence with behaviour and cultural experiences (Berry et al., 2002). Furthermore, with the addition of research methods and theories found in CCP, it creates better understanding to cross cultural aspects that can have an effect on body image and therefore can alter certain behaviours.

Methodological research in CCP is concerned with the comparison of two or more cultural groups in relation to psychological variables (Matsumoto & Van De Vijver, 2011). This provides a pathway that assesses the role of culture and the effect it has on varied behaviours with reference to CCP as well as other domains of psychology.

The existence of Body Image (BI) ideals is suggested to be universal however, culture plays a role in shaping and influencing factors that contribute to body ideal perceptions. There are many manipulating factors of BI, these vary across cultural contexts. BI research has agreed that it does not have a set definition, but rather, it is a multidimensional phenomenon (Cash & Pruzinsky, 2004). There are several possible explanations as to why individuals of different cultures experience BI and the extent it is faced: cognition, affective, attitudinal and other variables (Slade, 1994). Nevertheless, these reasons do not discuss the CCP in its entirety. Two approaches that do attempt to explain body image cross culturally are the Social Approach and the Developmental Approach. Both aim to identify the role of social environment and the progression and conceptualisation of BI respectively.

This essay is going to examine BI through CCP by identifying research methods and theories. By acknowledging the different aspects in various cultures creates greater understanding to the development of body image.

BI is based on individualistic perceptions. Schilder (1950) recognises BI not only as a perceptual construct but also as a reflection of attitudes and associations with others. As a result of this, investigators have developed various instruments and theories to assess an individual’s degree of positive or negative BI (Cash, 2012). Methods vary from simple figural stimuli like silhouettes; to more elaborate technologies where participants alter BI based on their own body perceptions (Cash, 2012). However, to gain significance in cross-cultural research, researchers need to ensure that materials and measures are understood in each cultural location (Smith et al., 2006). Methodological forms have been conceptualised to assess BI.

The most widely used method for collection cross-cultural psychological data are questionnaires (Smith et al., 2013). The Body Appreciation Scale (BAS) is a measure of positive BI (Ng, Barron & Swami, 2015). In westernised cultures the BAS has a unidimensional structure (Swami, Viren, Tomas, 2008) thus, it is deemed appropriate across all cultures. This is supported by a study conducted by Swami, Ng and Barron (2016) where they found that a translation of the BAS had the same dimensional factor and therefore facilitated cross-culturally. This is a strength to CCP as it can be used in various cultures in various languages with similar responses. However, further research has suggested that it may not be cross-culturally equivalent and modification to the dimensions of the scale is needed to best fit cultural reflections on BI (Ng, Barron & Swami, 2015).

In comparison to the one-dimensional structure of BAS, alterations have been made to conform to a two-factor structure which were labelled ‘General Body Appreciation’ and ‘Body Image Investment’ (Swami et al., 2008). Results found that there is a possible cross-cultural difference to positive BI. This suggests that even though scales have been used to measure BI in various cultures accurately, there are still benefits to altering the scale to best fit the culture so it is best understood (Smith et al., 2006). Thus gaining the most reliable and valid results. Altering the scale to increase reliability and validity benefits CCP as it is a sound methodology that can be reproduced to assess BI issues regardless of where the research is taken place.

Through the methods used to assess BI, research has been conducted to help define body image. Body image methods and theories has allowed for both positive and negative theories to explain BI. One negative evaluation of body size and shape is Body Dissatisfaction (BD), it is defined as a person’s negative thoughts and feelings about his/her body (Grogan, 2016). To assess and understand potential factors of BI and BD across cultures, assessments of potential attitudes need to be addressed, this can be doing using visual media (Boothroyd et al., 2016).

Visual media can range from magazines to television, all of which include idealised imagery. The media’s promotion of thin ideal has been found as a causational factor to high levels of BD (Cohen, 2006). BD is a key predictor in the development of low self-esteem, depression and is a risk factor for clinical diagnosis of an eating disorders (Grabe, Hyde & Lindberg, 2007). McCabe et al (2011) measured BD across cultures, significance was found in cross-cultural differences in response styles yet there were strong cultural similarities in body satisfaction. In addition to this, it was found that even with similarities, there are still differences across cultural groups in regards to the body image due to how it is portrayed in Western media (McCabe et al., 2011). In westernised cultures, individuals have been subjected to more visual imagery than other cultures. Boothroyd et al., (2016) found that BI ideals are in the media are visual manipulations that can be exposed through classical conditioning. Associating features of more desirable traits for example: the aspirational body image in comparison to neutral stimuli; with the context in which the images are seen (Boothroyd et al., 2016). With visual imagery more poignant in westernised cultures, classical conditioning is a more common theoretical explanation to BD as more associations to media can be made.

Exposure to media such as TV commercials and magazine models which feature a thin body ideal, increases the likelihood of dissatisfaction to occur, in some extreme cases it can lead to eating disorders (Tiggemann & Slater, 2004). However, it could be assumed that more exposure can lead to desensitisation as viewers are accustomed to the images they see regularly, research found that women who are familiar with Western media still have a negative response (Boothroyd et al., 2016). In comparison to this, samples in other cultures have shown preferences for heavier women which is substantially different to the thin ideal appreciated by the Western cultures. This links to media exposure as the idealised body within western cultures is that of a thin, model physique which creates an association between thin ideals and western cultures. This is further supported by research conducted by Tovee, Swami, Furnham & Mangalparsad (2006), it was found that Zulu migrants in the United Kingdom (UK) showed preferences for the ideals most recognisable with native Caucasians than Zulus that remained in South Africa. Thus showing that migrants in the UK have an increased exposure to thin ideals promoted in the media, which in turn allows them to adopt the preference of westernised ideals. Therefore, it can be suggested that the CCP approach accurately determines the initial preference to BI given by specific cultural ideals. Yet, this can be also be altered through media exposure heightened by the environment lived in.

In coherence to culture status, those who remained in South Africa associated a low body mass index (BMI) to ill-health (Tovee, Swami, Furnham & Mangalparsad, 2006), whereas high BMI in cultures like the UK is deemed as poor health. In addition, low BMI in cultures like the UK is indicative of high socio-economic status (Boothroyd et al., 2016). All of which supports the notion that Westernised cultures are exposed to idealised BI and therefore have a preference specific physiques. Other cultures on the other hand, would deem that unhealthy and thus prefer a ‘heavier’ physique.

This is supported further by a cross-cultural study conducted by Swami and Tovée (2005). They found significant differences in preferences for physical attractiveness amongst various socio-economic developments. Urban participants preferred images of lower body mass index than rural participants (Swami & Tovée, 2005). These findings relate to the sociocultural theory as it explains the preference of body size and image in a social and cultural context. Therefore, the CPP approach accurately depicts differences between culture and body image.

Similarly to CCP, the Social Approach recognises BI attitudes to be complex, dispositional ways of thinking and feeling (Cash, 2012). In Western cultures, self-esteem declines during adolescence, a possible explanation being changes to BI (Clay, Vignoles & Dittmar, 2005). As discussed before, in the context of sociocultural factors, exposure to unrealistic media images allows for BD to occur. It was found that experimental exposure to ultra-thin or average magazine models lowered BD and self-esteem. A trend also heightened by the awareness and internalisation of sociocultural attitudes to BI as well as social comparison to the media models (Clay, Vignoles and Dittmar (2005).

The Sociocultural Theory acknowledges the dissatisfaction that may occur due to the perception of the ideals promulgated by Western cultures as well as the concept of the thin ideal being a reward of attractiveness (Morrison, Kalin & Morrsion, 2004). This again correlates to the role of models in the media as there is an absence of females who deviate from the thin ideal. Societal cultures can be assessed by the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ).

SATAQ was developed to assess recognition and acceptance of “societally sanctioned standards of appearance” (Heinberg, Thompson & Stormer, 1995). Research has found that SATAQ supports its use to measure Western values and ideals of appearance (Llorente, Warren, Eulate & Gleaves, 2013). This further supported by research conducted by Swami (2009) in Malaysia where results stressed the need for locally developed scales in order to defer from the reliance on scales developed in the West. Thus, suggesting that there is not universality in sociocultural attitudes to body image and therefore independent measures need to take place to accurately assess the cause and effect of body image.

However, reliability of SATAQ was tested among four ethnic groups. Warren, Gleaves and Rakhkovskaya (2013) found that the score reliability was high as the factors were all similar among all ethnic groups. Further research supports SATAQ as high levels of validity and reliability were found in non-Western population of Jordanian women, allowing for the use of the scale to be performed in other non-Westernised populations (Madanat, Hawks & Brown, 2006). Thus, in contrast to previous research, it provides evidence to support the use of SATAQ in different ethnicities and cultures and therefore suggests that even with variation in BI and its portrayal in specific cultures, it is a reliable method.

As stated, Social Comparison Theory (SCT) can be used to determine BI perceptions among individuals. SCT was developed by Festinger (1954), it identifies the role of comparing opinions and abilities to those similar to them. There has been a large amount of research concerning SCT and its influence on BI. It has been found that it acknowledges: self-evaluation, self-improvement and self-enhancement (Krayer, Ingledew & Iphofen, 2008); all of which are recognisable to BI. Krayer, Ingledew and Iphofen (2008) found that peers are the most relevant comparison targets and are important when making references to self and body image due to the need to be accepted.

In regards to CCP, cultural norms for thinness play a large role in BD and the acceptance of thin ideals in society is a result of the media (Strahan et al., 2006). When cultural norms were less prominent, a peer was more relevant and comparisons with peers resulted in a negative effect (Strahan et al., 2006). When cultural norms were relevant, a comparison with a model was made and exposure to the model resulted in negative feelings. Universally, social comparison in body image predicts dissatisfaction and the want to change one’s appearance (Morrison, Todd & Morrison, 2004).

In sum, research into SCT suggests that sociocultural norms of BI play an important role in individual’s assessments of bodies. When cultural norms decrease, there are less comparisons made, allowing individuals to internalise a more positive perception.

Body image dissatisfaction is a prevalent factor in modern society and has been described as a ‘normative discontent’ (Dohnt & Tiggemann, 2006). Body image can occur at any time in development but children as young as 6 have been studied and have been found to be dissatisfied with their bodies with an attempt at dieting (Dohnt & Tiggemann, 2004). Yet, most studies have been examined in Westernised cultures with sparse data arising from other cultural backgrounds. The psychopathology and development of BI has been emphasised more by Americans and British (Sharan & Sundar, 2015). Although both Western and non-Western cultures have BI concerns, further suggested a cultural difference between BI and its causes.

In addition, development of physical factors differs based on individual differences of for example: fat distribution may differ in Black, Asian and Caucasian populations (Parker et al., 1995). With this being said, difference in physical development may results in a variety of preferences on BI. As discussed Westernised cultures prefer a thinner body ideal which differs to other cultures like African and Latina which opposed the thin ideal (Viladrich et al., 2009). Thus, body ideals exist among all cultural groups but differ on content and the development of individual differences. However, if the BI contexts are substantial and important among cultural groups and ethnicities then dissatisfaction may develop further to eating disorders. This evidence suggests the CPP approach is accurate at determining cultural differences on body image and how it is perceived and developed.

Eating disorders have increased in the last 30 years with most incidences of eating disorder commonly found in Western countries and rare in other countries and cultures (Sharan & Sundar, 2015). Keel and Klump (2003) have found that culture seems to have an effect on eating disorders as a result of weight concerns. Research has found that sociocultural factors have an important influence in the pathogenesis of eating disorders. Yet, there are different eating attitudes and drive for thin body image among different cultural groups (Kayano et al., 2008).

Research has found that Asian and Afro-Caribbean have a lower prevalence rate of eating disorders in comparison to Caucasian women in the UK (Wardle, Bindra, Fairclough & Westcome, 1993). Overall, Afro-Caribbean individuals generally indicate a preference for larger ideal body size and sometimes wish to be larger (Cash & Pruzinksy, 2004). Thus, data suggests that those with less preference for thin ideals are protected from developing eating disorders as they desire a less ideal body type. Culture does seem to play a role in the development of BI preferences and eating disorders yet there are other contexts and roles that contribute. Consequently, this evidence may suggest the CPP as inaccurate at determining a cultural difference of body image.

Research has pointed the influence of culture and the role of family and friends in the Etiology of eating disorders (Haworth-Hoeppner, 2004). Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1979) is an explanation to BI and its progression to eating disorders through the influence of socio-culture. The micro system within the theory identifies the immediate environment in which an individual develops in, interactions within this system are those that involve personal relationships; family (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The Ecological Systems Theory identifies the contextual factors that may affect the development of the child and increase its risk of BI and eating disorders (Davison & Birch, 2001). Pressure from family and peers relative to the microsystem have been found to be predictors of body change behaviours (Xu et al., 2009). In terms of culture, perceived pressure to change BI was found to be consistent with Western culture body image ideals. Mellor et al (2008) found that greater body image dissatisfaction was higher when pressure to lose weight was prominent. This is further supported by research that found that the pressure to be thin and BD are risk factors for bulimic pathology and other eating disorders (Stice, 2001). However, most research was conducted in a Westernise culture and may not be applied universally. Therefore, with limited research it cannot be definitive of whether specific contexts are culture bound in body image and whether they differ cross culturally.

To conclude, ethnicity and cross-cultural contexts all suggest that culture plays a major role in the construction and development of body image. Thus, there are no simple answers to BI as even though they are culturally situated and shaped it is also shaped by sociocultural and developmental factors. Yet there are cross-cultural aspects to explain body image and its influencing factors that considers the suitability of the approach and its cause and effect factors.

Body image is a major concern affecting young women and girls. According to Grabe, Ward and Hyde (2008), body dissatisfaction for females in America accounts for about 50% of the population and this number is currently on the rise. The mass media has been responsible for distributing sexualized images and promoting the thin-ideal which influences young girls and women to be dissatisfied with their bodies as this creates a thinness schema in society. This motivation then leads to the development of a negative self-esteem when females search for further guidance from the mass media to enhance their image which thus complicates health. This insecurity also can lead to the mass media’s stigmatization of overweight individuals who do not belong to this category and create challenges for them in society. Therefore, the mass media is a major contributor to body image as it promotes body dissatisfaction for females and a thin-ideal for young women and girls which can reduce well-being and contribute to a social stigma for overweight individuals.

To begin, the mass media’s portrayal of the thin-ideal promotes a false idea of beauty that causes young women to engage in upward comparisons to reinforce beauty. For example, Prieler and Choi (2014) found that social media apps such as Instagram and Facebook that show thin females often encourage young women to compare themselves with them as it creates more interest to use the company’s services and it provides a thin definition of what being physically attractive means. This shows that the mass media is creating inappropriate means to communicate as it distracts attention away from forming close bonds with other people into the need for self-enhancement. By using social media apps for information on one’s standing in comparison with other thin models, this prevents forming connections with others because young women become ingrained into the need to fulfill the thin-ideal. As a result, they place all their attention into wanting to look physically attractive to self enhance their current state and ignore the main usage of these apps to connect with people. Since there are desired outcomes with beauty like gaining more attention from the public, this supports Sigall and Ostrove (1975) who explain that beauty can be a form of positive reinforcement as being physically attractive can promote desired outcomes like decreasing punishment in crime. This relates to the idea that when the media presents young women with thin models, this encourages their comparison with thin models to want to align their own thin standards with them. As a consequence, young women begin to elicit further actions to meet the media’s expectations to obtain desired outcomes of thinness. Therefore, the upward comparisons women engage in are problematic since the mass media’s portrayal of thin individuals on social media apps can reinforce young women to increase their self-enhancement to feel positive as thinness is a critical factor for beauty and be desired by society.

As a result, comparing oneself to the standards of the media can encourage the development of eating disorders to boost self-esteem. As Andsager (2014) notes, the thin-ideal is now deemed as an important goal to achieve and be recognized for many women in society. By holding this perspective in mind, young women begin to implement actions to focus on their goal to meet the societal expectations of the thin-ideal. As an example, Slevec and Tiggemann (2010) found that young middle-class women are the most likely to develop eating disorders. The most common eating disorders according to López-Guimerà, Levine, Sánchez-Carracedo and Fauquet (2010) are bulimia and anorexia for young women. According to the source, bulimia and anorexia have devastating impacts on women’s bodies because they generate a body shape that is inconsistent with the body’s physiologically regulated shape. This demonstrates that taking actions to support the thin-ideal and help women boost their self-esteem in gaining recognition can have serious implications for their body and thus create long-term consequences for health as changes are made to the body that do not align with its basic physiological needs. This is important because it shows that the mass media creates a strong influence on people as it pressures young women to adapt to its perspective on the self by promoting thinness as a goal to attain and idealize. Because the media is readily accessible by the public, women who already have eating disorders can be pulled into an endless cycle of body dissatisfaction by wanting to continue to find ways to regulate their body to societal expectations. Therefore, by continuing to find reassuring information that confirms their perspectives, this can have future consequences such as the inability to have a flexible mind or consider other alternatives other than the negative self-representations created by the media.

Furthermore, the media’s portrayal of sexualized images of thin female athletes can cause women to develop a sense of self-objectification which is seeing oneself as a sexualized object to be admired. According to Linder and Daniels (2018), compared to male athletes, female athletes are shown to receive less attention on the sport they play and more on their physically attractive thin appearance. This means that the main focus of playing sports does not support a female role but on how sexualized their bodies are to suit the sports and the audience’s expectations. It shows that for females, there is more attention and approval on having a physically attractive and sexualized body rather than on the sports they play. This can be a serious problem in society because it creates the desire for women to pursue sports not because they like it, but to obtain the same body as female athletes to be recognized and feel good (Linder & Daniels, 2018). As a result, they may push their bodies harder while exercising in order to achieve the same results and instead see themselves as sexualized objects to be gazed upon by the public. This causes a problem in society since sports is shifting from a focus on performance and teamwork into the need to expose and sell the body to obtain a sexual appeal from others. Therefore, the sexualized images of female athletes show that our world is changing from the importance of talent to physical attractiveness in playing sports.

Besides the media having a negative impact on young women, girls as young as 5-8 years of age can have body dissatisfaction and a loss of self-esteem from their environment. In a study conducted by Dohnt and Tiggemann (2006), the authors found that glancing at magazines depicting thin models and the encouragement of mothers and older sisters of the thin-ideal at home can create body dissatisfaction and dieting awareness in young girls. This shows that young girls have formed this remark at a young age and are aware of their environment in supporting their choices to be thin. This demonstrates that the mass media can target all age groups including young girls, who are just as vulnerable as young women. It also reveals that the media is a very powerful contributor in the world today as it has the ability to engrain into people’s thoughts the importance of being thin and by teaching younger generations the appropriate gender roles and expectations of how females should appear in public. Because of this, the environment also plays a role in dictating the decisions of young girls since it provides the support in creating opportunities that increase the exposure to thinness and prescribe ways of thinking of what it means to be beautiful that are consistent with the media.

Although media literacy programs have served as an important tool to change perspectives about the thin-ideal, the mass media’s websites and blogs still exert a more powerful influence on decisions. Researchers have made attempts to change perspectives in young women through campaigns such as media literacy. According to Andsager (2014), media literacy programs have been proven to be effective in educating young women and girls about the mass media’s negative influences on body image and how to negotiate the media’s messages, instead of being passive listeners. These programs are important because they help reconstruct and educate future generations to transform the many false beliefs that revolve around physical attractiveness about thinness into positive and realistic views. By doing this, it helps remind young women and girls that true beauty can be more than being thin and that it is possible to effectively analyze media imagery to not succumb to them as easily. This demonstrates that media literacy can help reduce body dissatisfaction by providing ways to enhance well-being by providing tools to counteract the thin ideal. However, even if these media literacy programs can help change perspectives by promoting a more realistic view of one’s body, the mass media still exerts a more powerful influence by promoting blogs and websites that encourage anorexia and bulimia in young women (Perloff, 2014). According to this source, these blogs promote the thin-ideal as normative and help set the norm for what is deemed acceptable in society which in fact reverse the effect of media literacy programs because they continue to reinforce “the embrace of unrealistic, dysfunctional body image ideals” (Perloff, 2014). Therefore, media literacy programs are not as effective for reconstructing the body’s true self as many women in society are still embracing the thoughts of a thin body in order to look physically attractive as there is still the increased and easy access to the thin-ideal.

Other counterarguments consistent with demonstrating the shift from the mass media’s support for the thin ideal are that some developing countries view body fat as an important symbol of health. For example, Swami and Tovée (2005) found that in developing countries such as Malaysia, body fat is important to signal health and the self-care of one’s body which are independent of the mass media’s persuasion in many Western countries. This shows that body fat is an important belief in some cultures as well as, important for their own values and traditions. These cultures represent a world where the mass media often does not interfere or change the beliefs of existing attitudes and views. However, this does not explain the research found in India as a developing country, that women also experience body dissatisfaction after being exposed briefly to Western media images depicting the thin-ideal (Gupta, Chaturvedi, Chandarana, & Johnson, 2001). This reveals that the strong societal demands for thinness promoted by the mass media still exert a more powerful influence on women and their decisions about what to do with their bodies as its message of the thin-ideal can be extended to countries around the world. Even though there are signs in some developing countries that body fat is important, this should not be ignored as there are still those who listen passively to the media’s portrayal and value the thin-ideal as shown in research even from few exposures.

Despite fatness displaying positive signals in some developing countries, the mass media’s promotion of the thin-ideal can also contribute to the perpetuating of negative stereotypes of overweight individuals. For example, according to Raisborough (2016), there has been an increasing number of TV shows that associate fatness with being lazy, greedy and unattractive while those who are thin are often depicted as having desirable attributes like success. This shows that people who are fat are often portrayed by the mass media in a negative light as it perpetuates false beliefs and stereotypes that do not apply to every overweight individual. This, in turn, leads to serious consequences because individuals are not seeing the equal potential of overweight individuals and are thus attributing negative qualities to them which alienates them from the rest of society. By perpetuating the negative stereotypes associated with fatness, the mass media is dictating the appearance value of individuals by assigning favourable attributes to those who meet the criteria and ridiculing those who do not. This is unacceptable because it creates a stigma that can prevent overweight individuals from advocating the media’s false portrayals of them as they will always be seen as an out-group who are unable to fit into the prescribed thin norms of society. In addition, the mass media’s perpetuation of negative stereotypes through its advertisement of weight loss programs can create false beliefs in overweight individuals and confusion about one’s identity. To demonstrate, Puhl and Heuer (2009) further explain that weight loss programs often encourage its audience to realize that weight is easily controllable and manageable even though obese people do not engage in it, demonstrating their lack of effort or awareness. Therefore, it is through these advertisements that can also create stigmatization and the loss of identity for obese individuals as it depicts them in a negative image that conforms to the stereotype of their lack of self-control to want to lose weight. This disrupts the cognitions of society because weight loss programs serve as an avenue to support stereotypes rather than providing support or showing concern for weight management of obese individuals. As a result, confusion and a loss of identity can arise in overweight individuals as they are aware that losing weight is not as simple but society believes otherwise and is exerting pressure on them to work harder to reshape their psychologically regulated bodyweight.

By stigmatizing overweight individuals due to their difference by the mass media, psychological stress can erupt which can impact performance related to the workplace and social skills. For example, Flint and Snook (2014) reported increased stress levels for obese individuals in the workplace as they are aware of social stigmas concerning their appearance from the media. By being in an environment where individuals are stressed, this can impact performance in social skills because of the expectations already set by society of how obese individuals should behave. This can cause obese individuals to be anxious in forming close relationships and thinking of how other coworkers will be judging them in the workplace as well as affect their job performance in not being able to work or concentrate successfully without being stigmatized. As a result, the negative discourse that the mass media attributes to obese individuals can lead to a dangerous approach for society in treating overweight individuals. Since the gap between inequality is widening, overweight individuals are left out of the picture as there is already a negative and false one portrayed of them. To conclude, the issue of body image and fatism form a strong link as they are topics that are held strongly by many people as the body is a strong representation of the self. If the mass media continues to promote the thin-ideal, the results can be devastating for young women and girls as it may lead to the possibility of losing a sense of identity in the world. In addition, not only does the thin-ideal affect young women, young girls and overweight individuals, it could also affect a large part of other distinct populations in the world such as those outside of the Western culture.

This topic is important as it is likely to progress into the future since the world is undergoing globalization where news feeds from the mass media are important to keep the world connected and informed about many issues like obesity and supporting the thin-ideal. As most of the world is exposed to the mass media in the 21st century, body image will be a very prevalent factor in shaping how future generations perceive the thin body and its benefits in society. Therefore, informing people of the devastating impacts of the mass media through education can shift perceptions and cognitions to open individuals’ minds to become more active listeners who can discover truths for themselves about what it means to be beautiful in their own way which are independent from the mass media’s advice.

The objective and goal of this work is to develop health promotion and address the status and behaviour of health on young people, especially focusing on the recent years and trends. This report also targets to explore the nature of protective and risk factors as well as influences on young people on the concept on body image to raise awareness of the emerging issue.

Nature of the health issue:

Body image refers to how an individual views themself when they look into a mirror or picture themselves in their mind. This comprises of what they believe about their own physical appearance and how they feel about their body. However, when body image becomes a significant focus, people may overestimate their size or weight. It is crucial to have a positive body image and not allow negative thoughts constantly take over the mind, as it associates with poor mental health. Many teens identify body image concerns with body size e.g thinness for girls and muscularity for boys.

The nature of body image has increased significantly in young adolescents and has raised many concerns. Research studies of Youth Central in Victoria have proven that approximately 9 out of 10 young Australians have dieted at least once in their lives so far, demonstrating body dissatisfaction and the perspectives they have to believe they should look a certain way. Thus, 30% of 10-14 year olds are actively dieting. Additionally, this arising issue among young people have led to many programs, campaigns and helplines like Beyond Blue and Reach Out Australia to assist in those who need support.

Teens nowadays are constantly pressured to look a certain way and conform to society’s approved appearances, portrayed through Instagram models and celebrities posting their slim “healthy” bodies or unrealistic waist proportion. Hence, this has a negative impact on young individuals as they will reflect back on their own bodies and strive to look like what they see on these platforms and thus the nature in which this health issue is conveyed is deluding to many individuals.

Prevalent and trends of the health behaviours:

Unfortunately for the 6th year in a row, the concept of body image still continues to be one of the top three personal concerns for young Australians, according to the Butterfly foundation. This increasing trend from 20.4% in 2012 to 26.5% in 2015 highlighted and emphasised year after year of this mental health concern. Moreover, this distressing record illustrates the failure of approaches to address the arising issue and urges the need of action from the government, teachers as well as health professionals.

Negative body image is a serious social, medical and mental health issue which often links to anxiety, depression, social withdrawal or even eating disorders. Eating disorders are a serious and potentially fatal mental illness that affects nearly one million Australians. These individuals often suffer from a low sense of self worth which has proven to be prevalent among young people. Unhealthy body image affects many lifestyle choices, it could lead to excessive exercise or under-exercise, substance use and the desire for unnecessary surgical intervention.

In a BBC health survey, a shocking 51% of young women claimed they would undergo surgery to improve their looks or body “flaws”. According to BBC radio, almost half the people surveyed out of 25000 young people said that they had skipped a meal to lose weight. As shown in the bar percentage graph below on the bottom right, many young girls have the desire to look thinner and according Melrose center to the bottom left, it was found that over 59% of women are worried of being judged demonstrating our insecurities in society based off looks. Sadly, over 50% of teen girls and 30% of teen boys use unhealthy weight control behaviours such as fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting and taking laxatives.

Protective and Risk behaviours:

There are many risk behaviours linking to body image, some of which include taking in media influence or having an unhealthy balanced diet like eating out too often, which leads to body dissatisfaction. Poor body image can contribute and have a toll on all aspects affecting the dimensions your mental, emotional, spiritual, physical and social life factors. Consequences of negative body image can lead to comparing yourself with others and feeling as if you are judged by them.

Protective tips to reduce negative body image is to be grateful and remind yourself to embrace and focus on your positive qualities, skills and talents to help you accept and appreciate yourself and focus on yourself as a person, not just how you look.

Furthermore, it is important to avoid negative talk and surround yourself with positive, supportive, warm people. A risk behaviour could be listening to pressure from family, peers or media to fit into a narrow perspective of beauty and a protective factor is to set positive, health focused goals rather than weight loss ones. Protective behaviours are to follow the Australian dietary guidelines, eating certain foods in moderation and exercising regularly in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Furthermore, it is also vital to maintain a positive mind set mentally, spiritually and socially. Meditating is a great way to relax, calm and release thoughts and emotions to clear the mind and joining clubs or extracurricular activities, meeting people and forming friendship groups in which you share a common interest is a great way to feel socially accepted.

Impact of the media, peers and family:

In the 21st century, especially among recent years, young people have had and continue to be extensively influenced by the media, such as television, radio broadcasts, magazines and most importantly, social media. In today’s society, a vast majority of young people and teens have access to online social media apps like Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook, in which plays a massive role on influencing these individuals. These social networking platforms draw attention to concepts like body image, in which young people have the desire to conform to the ideal body type or the “norms” of society.

The portrayal of unrealistic beauty and body images in the media still remains a global issue as digitally altered photos convey the misperception of reality, hence portraying truth and illusion. It is seen to be that many young people associate their self-worth with the number of “likes” or “comments” they receive. Consequently, most people can now alter their images in their liking with the swipe of a fingertip on their smartphones like add filters, brighten features,whiten teeth and many more. Many individuals are constructing a different and non authentic persona or “versions” of themselves online and images in which they wish others to see themselves on these platforms, therefore perhaps generating a damaging toxic culture.

Prevalent today is the viral dieting industry, promoting dangerous, hazardous messages justified with health and wellness, in which many people are unaware of the destructive influence. This includes trends like “thinspiration” and “clean eating,” which fill social media news feeds with images that instead stigmatise weight, disordered eating, weight loss and dieting. Other dangerous trends that are continually circulating social media include the “thigh gap” and more recently, the “ribcage bragging” have negatively impacted young people in many damaging ways as mentioned above.

Furthermore, peers and families also have an impact on body image to individuals. Friends influence adolescent body image in all sorts of ways whether it is negative or positive. For example, peer criticism about weight and shape contribute negatively to young adolescents’ beliefs about their physical appearance and are correlated with lower levels of self-worth.

The Secure Teen Health website have shown that most teenage girls who starve themselves to become thin are trying to meet the standards set by other peers around them. They may not want to be bullied or be seen as different to everybody else, resulting in unhealthy behaviours. These unhealthy tendencies can lead to severe problems like belanomia, anorexia, mental health issues like anxiety and depression and ironically, obesity. These teens often see binge eating or taking comfort food as a solution to stress, which therefore emphasises that all determinants of health are interrelated.

Research has shown that when parents are emotionally warm, affectionate and available, individuals tend to be more secure, well-connected, healthier and safer compared to peers raised in other settings. Parental nurturance appears to be a significant factor in the positive development of young adolescents. Family interactions shaped the view they had of their bodies and appearance as they were influenced by direct feedback and comments and by modelled body image behaviours. Negative comments from families had significant and long reaching effects on how young people perceived their physical selves.