The Rise of Social Media

Hello everyone!

Welcome back :) Now that we have gotten through the different ideal body images that were created for women throughout history- it is time to focus on the digital era that we currently live in and how that has impacted/changed body image for women.

To me the digital era is surrounded by social media; the more social media grows the more we are all engulfed in this digital world that is just never going to be 100% reality. Social media has created a whole world where individuals can display their lives in anyway they chose to. Meaning they can post pictures of themselves looking in their most 'perfect' state; with hair and makeup done, body posed in the perfect angle, and picture taking at an angle changing their appearance. While scrolling on social media you see women after women posting pictures of them looking their best, it can create a false perception of reality that everyone truly looks that way, and if you do not feel you look that way you begin to get insecure and question why do you look different than everyone else?

I want to share a quote from the article, "The Link Between Social Media and Body Image" that I feel perfectly sums up the impact that social media has had thus far on body image.

"Whether we’d like to admit it or not, social media is shaping our concept of beauty. We are, for better or worse, constantly consuming images posted online. As a result, social media and body image – the way we perceive our own physical appearance – have become inextricably linked. Social media influences how we look at ourselves both positively and negatively, and it’s important that we understand the effects in order to limit their impact on our mental health"

This post serves as more of an introduction to what the rest of this blog is going to discuss. My next few posts will go over the specific negative and positive effects social media has brought to women and their body image.

Source: Link between social media & body image. King University Online. (n.d.). Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://online.king.edu/news/social-media-and-body-image/