Within the last decade, social media has become extremely popular, especially among young adults. Social networking sites like Facebook allow users to connect with friends and family, in addition to meeting new people, but many individuals are not aware, or even familiar with the downside of these sites. In her article “Facebook may amplify eating disorders and poor body image” Stephanie Hanes quotes Dr. Brandt saying that “[f]acebook is making it easier for people to spend more time and energy criticizing their own bodies and wishing they looked like someone else.” In fact, nowadays, the dramatic advancements in technology allow us 24/7 access to our smartphones and social networking applications that only add to peoples’ overall dissatisfied
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The article “Mirroring the Media: The Relationship Between Media, Consumption, Media Internalization, and Profile Picture Characteristics on Facebook” by Sanja Kapidzic and Nicole Martins, examines the effect Facebook has on profile pictures. In an attempt to find a correlation between internalization and picture selection, Kapidzic and Martins conducted an experiment that involved a total of 288 participants, who ranged from 18-25 years old and were undergraduates at a U.S university. The study concluded that there is a direct relationship between the internalization of media ideals and the more likely users are to post pictures in revealing clothing on Facebook (Kapidzic and Martins). Young girls are internalizing the thin ideal shape and using it as a role model, even though this concept is associated with an extremely unhealthy feminine physique that poses a threat to one’s health. Although posting these provocative and risky pictures can have negative consequences for individuals, most are more worried about if others will find them attractive, rather than having self-respect. When individuals post these revealing photos and get positive feedback in the form of likes and comments, the positive outcome gives many a reason to continue doing so. According to Kapidzic and Martins, “[m]ass media content often reinforces the value of physical attractiveness. Media portrayals teach young men and women that they will be judged based on their appearance and often conflate personal success with physical features rather than personality”. The fact that media has the ability to convey to people that beauty and physical appearance is more important than personality is absurd and way out of proportion. Moreover, teens are also becoming increasingly worried about posting pictures that
The article “Mirroring the Media: The Relationship Between Media, Consumption, Media Internalization, and Profile Picture Characteristics on Facebook” by Sanja Kapidzic and Nicole Martins, examines the effect Facebook has on profile pictures. In an attempt to find a correlation between internalization and picture selection, Kapidzic and Martins conducted an experiment that involved a total of 288 participants, who ranged from 18-25 years old and were undergraduates at a U.S university. The study concluded that there is a direct relationship between the internalization of media ideals and the more likely users are to post pictures in revealing clothing on Facebook (Kapidzic and Martins). Young girls are internalizing the thin ideal shape and using it as a role model, even though this concept is associated with an extremely unhealthy feminine physique that poses a threat to one’s health. Although posting these provocative and risky pictures can have negative consequences for individuals, most are more worried about if others will find them attractive, rather than having self-respect. When individuals post these revealing photos and get positive feedback in the form of likes and comments, the positive outcome gives many a reason to continue doing so. According to Kapidzic and Martins, “[m]ass media content often reinforces the value of physical attractiveness. Media portrayals teach young men and women that they will be judged based on their appearance and often conflate personal success with physical features rather than personality”. The fact that media has the ability to convey to people that beauty and physical appearance is more important than personality is absurd and way out of proportion. Moreover, teens are also becoming increasingly worried about posting pictures that