What experts say II


 Hi everyone! In this blog post, I will be discussing an article from the BBC called The complicated truth about social media and body image, written by Kelly Oakes.  The article discusses the connection between social media and body image and the possible impacts of social media on body image.  The author is following the results of recent researches and studies that have been done on this topic.

    At the beginning of the article Oakes (2019) mentions that the impact of social media on body image is a very important issue but on the other hand people have the ability to pick what they want to see on their social media platforms. This can be done by the decision to follow certain profiles that do not have a negative impact on body image and perception of oneself.  "Research suggests that who we compare ourselves to is key" (Oakes, K., 2019, para. 7)  Therefore, it is very important to consider which profiles a person follows.  Oakes (2019) suggests that often we feel bad about ourselves from posts that are not even real and true. We don't know the person in the photo and therefore we tend to glorify him or her and try to become "perfect" like they seem on social media. But in reality, people are the same as us. They deal with negative aspects of life too and are not perfect.


 
In the previous article discussed in a blog post called What experts say I, the authors claimed that the body image of men was not affected by social media. However, the author of this article points out that "An a study found that men who reported looking at male #fitspo content more frequently said they compared their own appearance to others more often and cared about having muscles more"(Oakes, K., 2019, para. 27). According to this, it can be seen that both males and females are affected by comparing themselves to others on social media.

    At the end of the article, the author encourages us to put down our phones and enjoy activities of real life because it is the only way of escaping the social media cage.


References:

Oakes, K. (2019). The complicated truth about social media and body image. BBC. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190311-how-social-media-affects-body-image


Komentáre

  1. A.R.13. decembra 2020 o 2:41

    Hi Caroline,
    I really like your post. And I agree with choosing who to follow on social media. Fake models, posting modified pictures, selfies with plenty of filters and "woke up like this" descriptions (with a previous full makeup session) are the type of social people I try not to follow. Us girls really don't need to be pressured in looking in a precise way, with precise sizes and colors. We look beautiful in our own way. And following precise stereotypes will only make vanish our own personal beauty. Our individuality. Ourselves.

    OdpovedaťOdstrániť

Zverejnenie komentára