Social Media & Body Image

“OMG - Alex has the best body. I will never look like that… maybe I shouldn’t eat lunch today.”

“I’m so fat. Nobody is ever going to love me. I don’t deserve to eat.”

“I would die to have a stomach as small as hers. I’ll never be happy unless I’m as skinny as her.”

If you resonate with any of these statements - let’s talk.

The convenience of having the world at your fingertips comes with a price. Those who tend to carry the weight of this “price” are teenage and young adult females. With the popularity of social media, it’s nearly impossible to avoid comparing oneself to a stranger online. Endlessly staring at others’ profiles, pictures and posts is a recipe for comparison, the thief of joy.

Research has shown that around 50% of 13-year-old American girls reported being unhappy with their body and nearly 80% of American females reported body dissatisfaction by the age of 17 (Kearney-Cooke & Tieger, 2015).

Picture this: Margaret, a 15-year-old female, just spent 30 minutes editing one of her 120 selfies she took to make sure her skin is perfectly clear, her teeth are pearly white, and her arms aren’t “too fat”. She uploads her picture to Instagram and consistently refreshes her page to see how successful her upload is. After a few hours, only 37 people liked her picture. She feels worthless, disappointed, and overwhelmed with disgust for herself. Her mind is racing with thoughts like, “What’s wrong with me?” and “Everyone must think I’m ugly”.

For some people, Margaret’s point-of-view is their reality. Those who share this viewpoint experience low self-worth due to the unrealistic beauty standards and competitive/comparative norm inflicted by social media.

How do we change this?

1. Decrease social media usage. Recent findings from February of this year suggest reduced social media use significantly improves body image in teens & young adults. More information can be found here: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/02/social-media-body-image 
2. Accept your body and appreciate what it does for you by adopting a mindset of body neutrality. More information can be found here: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/blog/5-steps-body-neutrality 
3. Engage in conversation with friends, family and a professional, if needed. You don’t have to struggle in silence. 

Resource:
Kearney‐Cooke, A., & Tieger, D. (2015). Body image disturbance and the development of eating disorders. In L. Smolak & M. D. Levine (Eds.), The Wiley Handbook of Eating Disorders (pp. 283-296). West Sussex, UK: Wiley

Rachel Moss, LPCA