Shout out to media outlets, retailers, advertisers, and celebrity product endorsers who celebrate and promote natural looks, healthy body size, and diverse body shapes.

Furthermore, you can use your own social media to be an advocate for positive body talk. (A great account to follow to begin your search for body positivity accounts is on Instagram.) Finding body-positive accounts and joining support groups can help shift your mindset about the ideal body image set by society. Follow accounts that promote body positivity that does not agree with the beauty standards set by society. Instead, pay attention to accounts, people, and images that lift you up. Additionally, examine who you are following on social media and unfollow accounts if they do not make you feel good. It is important to take a break from social media if you feel worse after using it. It is important to examine ways to use social media in a positive way to avoid a negative body image. Additionally, social media can connect you with others to build a body-accepting community. Viewing body-positive content on social media platforms can help individuals become more accepting and appreciative of their bodies. However, social media can also have positive effects on body image and can promote body positivity. Additionally, photoshop and filters are readily available to users playing into the unrealistic body image. Social media can then hurt your body image by constantly exposing yourself to the ideal body type, leading to constant comparison of yourself to unrealistic standards.

Social media images are filled with people presenting the best version of themselves. The correlation is especially true when participants were scrolling through appearance-related content, like accounts of a fitness instructor or model on Instagram. Studies have found a correlation between the time spent on social media and a negative body image. There are an estimated 3.6 billion users worldwide on social media, therefore there must be negative and positive effects linked with social media users.Ī negative body image can cause unrealistic expectations of how your body should look and can lead to unhealthy eating behaviors and disordered eating. With constant exposure to images posted online, it is evident that there is a link to how individuals compare themselves and perceive their own body. Social media is unfortunately shaping our concept of beauty.

Research clearly shows that media exposure contributes to body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. The rise of social media usage in today’s society can have many different effects on body image and the later development of eating disorders in many individuals.

Body perception definition