Social networks are an important part of everyday life. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other media, where people share their photos and life experiences ‘content, can no longer be considered the cause of the disconnection of people. Despite the popularity of the social displacement theory, people no longer face its negative impact on social and communication skills as it was considered several years ago. The quality of communication does not reduce because of networks, since offline communication between friends and colleagues just duplicates in Instagram or Facebook. Thanks to social networks, people are able to keep in touch, inquire about the events in each other’s life, exchange messages and much more. This is the positive aspect of using social networks.
Nevertheless, now a days social networks in the life of a person, especially women, can have a certain negative impact on self-perception and self-esteem. Almost all women are likely to evaluate each other’s appearance, compare themselves with others, and find advantages and disadvantages of their friends, colleagues and acquaintances. Moreover, celebrities’ accounts are also available to a wide audience. Watching the life of beautiful actresses, singers, top models, on the one hand, blurs the boundaries between “stars” and “ordinary people.” On the other hand, the same factor decreases the self-assessment of average women due to an unconscious or conscious comparison with celebrities.
There are several factors contributing to bad self-esteem and the distorted body image because of social networks. Next would be considered the most significant of them.
Mend pictures, graphical tools and self-assessment
It is known that female users spend more time in social media networks than male ones. For example, in Australia, young women browse social networks nearly 2 hours each day. The most popular platforms are Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube, which allow to publish private photos and images. By the way, mobile applications dominate personal computers when using social networks. A high-resolution camera in cell phones allows users to take hundreds and thousands of photos and selfies. Mobile application developers provide affordable tools for correcting flaws in amateur photos, applying filters and other tools to make personal photos more attractive.
In addition, many users master Photoshop to mend images. They retouch facial skin imperfections (acne, redness) as well as a body curve (people tend to look slimmer).
There are several reasons for this. First of all, it can be a simple human vanity and a desire to look better. Audience approval, even strangers in social networks is also a powerful drive for anyone; it forces people to spend more time retouching their own pictures, as well as make staged photos, deliberately choosing the most beautiful scene. Enhancing images is also due to the making a favorable impression on the audience as well as attracting new subscribers and followers.
However, this trend has the opposite negative side. First, the possibility of negative comments from users can reduce self-esteem and increase the vulnerability for their own shortcomings. As usual, negative evaluations, as well as comparing with others can aggravate existing disorders. Unhealthy food habits, overeating, carb addiction can be considered as a specific psychological reaction that is triggered by the negative perception of our body. There is also a link between eating disorders (bulimia, anorexia) and the so-called dysmorphophobia, when a person perceives his body in a distorted way.
Other possible negative consequences of comparing with images on social media are related to the existing psychological complexes and disorders. Increased depression, ill humor, insecure behavior, loneliness can be caused by social networks. Such diagnoses are common among college students, which form the most vulnerable group when it comes to public opinion. Often, it leads to lower academic performance, less creative writing, zero desire to do comprehensive research, etc. For a student trapped in such a situation, it is crucial to keep the academic routine going. One of the options is to hire an online essay writer working for a reliable, yet cheap, writing service, such as, for example, WriteMyPaperHub. Essays written by an expert you pay is what you need in a crisis. Students should feel free to reach out to someone professional when they need timely help with studies.
How to reduce the negative impact of social networks?
Recommendation for mentally sensitive people not to spend time on social networks is the same as advising a diabetic to give up carbs. This can be done theoretically, but in practice it is almost impossible. As well as doctors prescribe patients with carbohydrate metabolism disorder the special medications reducing glucose levels, so society and leading public institutions should take measures to reduce the negative impact of social networks during their daily use.
There are several examples of dealing with this problem in different countries. For example, Australia initiates media literacy educational programs, where people are explained that not all images that can be seen on social networks are true. Such programs develop students’ critical intellection skills that help them evaluate content soberly not only in social networks, but also in the Internet and in print media.
Similar decision was taken in France with respect to advertising involving models. Since October 1, 2017, the French government issued a new decree; according to it, any advertising image of models is obliged to be signed with a warning – Photographie retouchée – “Retouched photo”. Those who disobey this rule are supposed to face fines of up to 75,000 euros and even an imprisonment up to six months.
This decree aims to deal with extreme weight loss and food habits disorder. Many girls and young women compared themselves with unreal images of female skin and body, and likely to be addicted to diets and special medicals for losing weight. Often, such attempts lead the fair sex not to the podium, but to the hospital bed.
In addition, the image of an unnaturally slim body creates complexes even for slender women and leads to distorted perception of one’s own look. These problems, according to the Minister of Health of France Marisol Touraine, can be solved with the new rule. In addition to above this law was considered in the French parliament for many years and generated many disputes.
“The law on retouching” – not the only new rule to eliminate extreme weight loss. On October 1, another law enters into force obliging French models to submit a medical certificate confirming that their body mass index is in a normal state. In this way, the government is trying to rid French society of the cult of a lean body.
An activist and publicist Gene Kilborn, author of the “Deadly Persuasion: Why Women and Girls Should Fight the Power of Advertising,” approved this. According to her, advertising sells not only goods, but also images, and even beliefs. “In many ways advertising tells us who we are and who we should be,” she concludes in her speech in support of the law on retouching.
Many top models expressed their support for this new rule, including Victoria’s Secret star Emily Ratakovski, posting on her Instagram page a retouched cover photo of a famous magazine and a photo before Photoshop. According to her, each person is unique and beautiful in her own way; a model was often disappointed when she saw the consequences of graphic editing in her photos. In conclusion, the model called on representatives of the fashion industry to adhere to natural beauty and individuality.
Although these innovations are not directly related to social networks, people should follow the same principle and be aware of themselves and the audience, as well as be critical. Equal rules and regulations for publishing of private photos on social networks would barely be introduced soon, since there are no legal tools for the government to interfere with the private life of a people. However, it can be assumed that the runners of social networks themselves will find appropriate ways to mark the edited photos and notify the retouching to other users.
Does social media encourage people to do sports and wellness?
It is believed that the images of beautiful and especially sporty bodies on social networks, as well as accompanying content, can agitate people to go sports and eat healthy food, increase their own motivation to lose weight and care about their health. Indeed, part of the audience of social media may receive a certain inspiration to visit the gym and a nutritionist, revise their menu. According to Christopher Bergland, viewing images of beautiful sporty bodies, especially of their friends or colleagues, can stimulate competitive people with wellness and fitness.
This statement was refuted in a survey of the University of Pennsylvania, headed by Professor Damon Centola (2015). The experiment involved 217 respondents; some of them received motivating content through social networks. For several weeks after the start of the experiment, there was a surge in activity and a tendency to visit the gym. However, at the end of the mentioned period, the motivational effect has been completely reduced, and the respondents returned to their previous lifestyle.
The surge of activity can be explained by the same reasons that people make impulsive purchases in sport stores; believing they will finally encourage themselves to fitness and achieve the desired results, most people buy unnecessary sports stuff. Nearly in a few weeks motivation is gone, and the purchased stuff moves to the garage. The same can be said about fashionable diets: the initial motivation can help a person lose weight, but a human is not able to live constantly in the mode of self-restraint. After a few weeks, there is a breakdown during which a person begins to take “junk” food and overeats. Without the help of a therapist who finds out the psychological reasons of food addiction, even the most motivating images on social networks have a very short-lasting effect.
Conclusion
The negative impact of social media on body image and self-assessing has been proven in multiple studies. Users of various platforms, especially based on the publication of personal photographs, are more vulnerable psychologically; they face an increased tendency towards anxiety associated with low self-esteem. Eating habits disorder (bulimia, anorexia, overeating, and sugar dependence), bad mood and depression are all closely relevant with self-comparison with images of beautiful people on social media. People who are sensitive to criticism can also suffer from abusive comments on social networks, which bring them out of balance and can aggravate mental disorders.
Currently, there are no ways to reduce the negative impact of social networks on users’ self-esteem, except for educational programs and personal training that teach to think critically and not to trust any information published on the Internet. People who are sensitive and overly self-critical are advised to contact a therapist to correct psychological problems.