Social Media's Influence Of Negative Body Image

New generations spend more and more time scrolling through social media and taking in everything it has to offer. Without being fully aware of it, people begin to set unrealistic standards about everyday life. Whether it be changing the way they look or altering their lifestyles, people are constantly striving for what they think is the “perfect body.” In society today body image has been negatively portrayed by social media influencing people to develop personal appearance issues resulting in depression, body altering operations such as plastic surgery, and numerous life threatening eating disorders. `
Mental health conditions are emerging with the expansion and availability of social media. As a result early-onset depression is gradually becoming a greater concern (“Negative Body
More commonly than not people that suffer with body image insecurities are not classified as overweight, but feel they need to change something about themselves to be happy (“Negative Body Image”). Plastic surgery is the result of this and the number of procedures performed is increasing every year. According to Diana Zuckerman at Our Bodies Our Selves, “In 2015, more than 226,00 cosmetic procedures were performed on patients between thirteen and nineteen.” These surgical procedures continue to become more popular today and one of its primary reasons is social media (“Social Media’s Influence”). The internet, television programs, apps such as Instagram and Twitter, and magazines prominently feature thin women and men that do not have body proportions that coincide with the rest of society (Whyte, et al). This directly relays a message to the viewers that they themselves should also be thin. Within these forms of social media thinspiration post can also be found, adding to the stress of being socially skinny and encouraging people to receive medical help to achieve these goals