The impact/influence of images Circulating on Instagram on young women’s body image in the UAE today.
Social media has a major impact in the lives of young women. As social media and selfies become more common in today’s mainstream media, one’s perception of one’s body image may become distorted (Wagner, Aguirre, and Sumner, 2016). Body image refers to “the picture we have in our minds of the size, shape, and form of our bodies; and to our feelings concerning these characteristics and our constituent body parts” (Slade, 1994). Instagram, a famous social media platform, has reached more than 400 million consumers by 2010 (Kleemans et al., 2016). Thus, many concerns have increased regarding the negative impact of social media use (Fardouly et al.,2017). However, this study aims to determine how images circulating on Instagram can influence and manupilate young women’s body image in the UAE today.
There is an ongoing debate about the effects of manipulated images on Instagram on females’ body image. Kleemans, Daalmans, Carbaat, and Anschütz (2016) examined whether manupilated images on Instagram harmed young adults’ body image. Throughout their study, they found out that exposure to Instagram re-touched images can cause lower-self-esteem and body dissatisfaction, unlike participants’ exposure to the non-manipulated photos. Furthermore, that not only influencers or celebrities but also their peers can impose influence (Kleemans et al., 2016). Similarly, another study found out that Young adult’s body dissatisfaction or lowered body image was not related to the use of Instagram in general because women often see photos of celebrities. (Fardouly, Willburger, and Vartanian, 2017). Women tend to compare themselves to their peers because their appearance is more attainable than celebrities (Fardouly, Willburger, and Vartanian, 2017). In addition, the results pose that the continuous action of Instagram users to edit and alter the way they look can force negative consequences, specifically on the young adults who are vulnerable to make social comparisons (Fardouly, Willburger, and Vartanian, 2017). They add that women at this age can be more prone to social media influence since they are more conscious about their body image with what they see online.
Moreover, Instagram selfies are an especially intriguing phenomenon because they enable people to post self-taken images that reflect their physical image. As a result, selfies provide a rare opportunity to establish links between self-created image material and one’s view of one’s body image (Wagner et al. 2016). The use of selfies on Instagram as research shows that proper body size was positively linked to worse body image and negatively linked to the number of selfies (Wagner et al. 2016). The findings also showed a connection between body dissatisfaction and selfies that young women who are more upset with their bodies are more likely to take lots of selfies per month (Wagner et al., 2016).
Another study tested whether posting manipulated images or bringing out changes in young adults’ body image and mood (Mills et al., 2018). The results were that participants capturing selfies and posting them might result in decreased mood and negative reflection of body image (Mills et al., 2018). Additionally, women who could re-capture and edit their selfies before posting them also lowered anxiety and mood (Mills et al., 2018). Similarly, Participants who posted a selfie on social media without editing or taking several shots were more anxious and less confident. Moreover, the frequent act of capturing selfies can cause a high risk for health-related behaviors for women, such as eating disorders, mental health, and low self-esteem (Mills et al., 2018).
On the other hand, another research investigating the influence of exposure to the “Instagram vs. reality” photos on females’ body image concluded that participants were prone to comparisons when exposed to “Instagram vs. reality” and authentic images because real images depict natural and less attractive women. They also found out that lowered body dissatisfaction resulted from exposure to edited-real photos and authentic images, opposite to viewing idealized Instagram images. (Tiggemann and Anderberg, 2019)
Brown and Tiggemann, 2016, observed that an unfavorable increase in mood and body dissatisfaction resulted from the viewing of celebrities’ and peers’ images. They also suggest that being exposed to peers and celebrity pictures on social media can be harmful regarding young adults’ body image.
This review aims to help the reader understand different perspectives of several previous research on what has been observed and understood regarding the social media influence on women’s body image. This is significant due to the harmful effects of social media on young women, especially nowadays. Therefore, there have been various discussions and research conducted on the influence of social media from different perspectives on young women, like the effect of selfies, or “Instagram vs. reality” trend on Instagram and the viewing of manipulated images of celebrities and peers. However, most of the research found was on social media and re-touched images on women’s body image, behavior, and perception of their self-image and mental health. For that, further research needs to investigate what drives women to compare themselves to others on social media and whether social media or other factors are the reason behind it.
References:
Brown, Z. and Tiggemann, M., 2016. Attractive celebrity and peer images on Instagram: Effect on women’s mood and body image. Body Image, [online] 19, pp.37-43. Available at: https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/science/article/pii/S1740144516300936 [Accessed 7 May 2021].
Kleemans, M., Daalmans, S., Carbaat, I. and Anschütz, D., 2016. Picture Perfect: The Direct Effect of Manipulated Instagram Photos on Body Image in Adolescent Girls. Media Psychology, [online] 21(1), pp.93-110. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15213269.2016.1257392 [Accessed 5 May 2021].
Mills, J., Musto, S., Williams, L. and Tiggemann, M., 2018. “Selfie” harm: Effects on mood and body image in young women. Body Image, [online] 27, pp.86-92. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1740144517305326?via%3Dihub [Accessed 5 May 2021].
Fardouly, J., Willburger, B. and Vartanian, L., 2017. Instagram use and young women’s body image concerns and self-objectification: Testing mediational pathways. New Media & Society, [online] 20(4), pp.1380-1395. Available at: https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/doi/full/10.1177/1461444817694499 [Accessed 5 May 2021].
Wagner, C., Aguirre, E. and Sumner, E., 2016. The relationship between Instagram selfies and body image in young adult women. First Monday, [online] 21(9). Available at: https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/hct_faculty/23/ [Accessed 5 May 2021].
Tiggemann, M. and Anderberg, I., 2019. Social media is not real: The effect of ‘Instagram vs reality’ images on women’s social comparison and body image. New Media & Society, 22(12), pp.2183-2199.
Slade, P., 1994. What is body image?. Behaviour Research and Therapy, [online] 32(5), pp.497-502. Available at: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1994-45211-001 [Accessed 5 May 2021].
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