In today’s social media is the number one outlet for everything in the world. Whether it’s regarding some business to the latest workout or fashion trend, Social media is intertwined in our society. Most people spend on average 2 hours or more on various social media platforms, I know I spent some nights just aimlessly scrolling through my timeline not realizing how much time has gone by. As you go on social media nowadays, you can avoid the promotion of these false body images from social media influencers. Looking at some of their pictures, you don’t think that someone used such and such edit to make themselves seem slimmer or masculine when the real picture looked nothing like that. When it comes to influencers, they usually have a big following of people who watch their show, or buys their products or whatever the case may be, they’ll show off their body with all these edits not realizing that they have people that idolize them to an extent that they try to get that edited body image that they’ve posted thinking it’s obtainable when in reality so much edit was used when you see the original you may not even believe it. There has been a good amount of literature on the effects social media has on young adult women body images in the U.S. With young teens being on social media most likely at an all-time high in the age of technology, most kids know how to operate a phone. As they are granted the ability to have their phone, this only opens the window for them to be exposed to the false body images being promoted on social media at a very young age increases the chances of developing an eating disorder. The group talked about adolescents and children being at a very vulnerable point in their lives while things are going on in their bodies mentally and physically, these images they see on social media about losing weight and having this type of perfect body and you have to look like this gives them that false body image at a young age which could affect them as they get older. The group also pulled up a study about the average hour’s children spend watching tv and social media, I couldn’t believe it. The presentation shows according to Morris and Katzman “On average, a child or adolescent watches up to 5 hours of television per day and spends an average of 6 to 7 hours viewing various media combined.” I just think back to when I was a kid; I probably spent about 5 hours or so out of my day watching tv, and cell phones were a thing but not the way it is now with all of these different social media platforms. As social media continues to grow and children younger and younger begin getting their hands on some type of social media and are being exposed to those false body images.
I couldn’t help but remember a childhood movie when they showed the clip of A Suite Life Of Zack & Cody. The movie Shrek seemed harmless to me as a kid but as I look at it now they promoted an eating disorder when they should Fiona as a beautiful princess waiting to be saved by a kid but at night she becomes an orge, making her bigger than what she was and also being called all type of names by Lord Farquaad, he even attempted to kill her because she was this big orge instead of the slender princess she was.
The presentation was very informative and how social media can significantly influence body image concerns, I think parents should limit their child’s exposure to social media and promote healthy eating and moderate physical activity and encourage participation in activities that increase mastery and self-esteem.
