Body Image, Teens & the Impact of Social Media

Body Image in Teens

In the UK, teenagers spend an average of 20 hours a week online on the internet (1). Some of that time, if not most of it, will be spent on image-based social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. The overload of an unrealistic, unattainable ‘ideal’ body image that was once seen in passing displayed on billboards, magazines and TV commercials is now more than likely viewed daily within the social media content consumed by teenagers.  This overwhelming exposure to media consumption that can be available for hours at a time leads to increasing pressures to perfect profile pictures, content, and imposes an unrealistic expectation on one’s body image.

​​Body image is the way we imagine and perceive our own physical body.  The rise and popularity of image-based social media platforms have led to evolving research on the impact idealised unrealistic images have on self-esteem and body dissatisfaction. The development of negative thoughts about one’s own body image can cause body dissatisfaction that has been related to lower self-esteem. A survey conducted in 2020, during the first lockdown, by the Women and Equalities Committee found that (2):

- 66% of children felt negative or very negative about their body image most of the time.

- 65% of under 18s thought there was an ‘ideal’ body type.

- 58% of under 18s felt lockdown had made them feel worse or much worse about their appearance.

- One of the reasons people under the age of 18 felt worse about their bodies was due to consuming more social media and the increase in adverts for products that portrayed changing your appearance, especially weight loss products.

- The pressures from social media focusing on weight loss or appearance improvement during lockdown was also cited as another contributing factor.

A report of the survey established that teenager’s perception of body image remained stable into adulthood, although a negative body image could have long-term effects that could lead to disordered eating patterns and affect mental health (3).

Influences on Body Image

Interestingly enough, it is not just celebrities and models depicting unrealistic body types on social media that are impacting teenagers’ body perceptions.

Appearance-related pictures created and shared by teenagers’ friends, family and peers appear to be just as influential on body image (4). The level of influence is evidently increased on social media by the range of exposure and the many features on social media that further contribute to promote negative body image, this includes;

1. Filters, photoshopping, editing - Images are staged to appear flawless and are often photoshopped and edited to manipulate and create the perfect ‘ideal’ body. In addition, filters can be added to brighten, darken, blur, and create a seamless appearance.

2. Personal connection - Social media platforms provide an outlet for teenagers to communicate with their peers, celebrities, and social media influencers that they aspire to be like. This level of interaction separates images seen on social media to those of traditional media, creating a sense of aspiration that teenagers feel is replicable in their appearance.

 3. Number of likes - One of the distinguishing aspects of Instagram is the ‘likes’ feature. The number of likes is displayed under each Instagram post in support/promoting the image. This action can be seen as a form of influence that reinforces the message portrayed within the image.  Women that were devoted to the number of likes were more likely to exhibit appearance comparisons, likes comparison, and facial dissatisfaction in a study investigating the effect of likes on Instagram (5).

This period of cognitive development experienced during the teenage years highlights an important phase of sensitivity to socialising, peer approval, emotional processing and reward seeking behaviours that increases the desire to earn the acceptance of their peers (6).

4. Selfies - Selfies are similar to self-portraits taken on mobile phones usually used for social media profile pictures. Selfies were found to be frequently edited by teenagers and can incite lower body confidence and trigger appearance comparisons in teenagers (7).

 5. Fitspiration - Fitspiration is the trend that encourages a healthier lifestyle through food and exercise. Despite the positive intentions of this trend, research has found that it tends to lower mood, self-esteem, and impact body dissatisfaction by fixating on a specific body type, eating habit, exercise routine and lifestyle (8).

The body image of teenagers is certainly shaped to some degree by the images seen and the interactions made on social media.  Emerging research over the last decade provides a nuanced and complex examination of social media and the increasing negative body image concerns. One of the encouraging findings of the Women and Equalities Committee Survey, was that 78% of young people wanted to learn more about positive body image at school.  A lack of positive body image education is provided in schools in the UK, which has forced Public Health England to review the inclusion of positive body image information and learning in future curriculums for primary and secondary schools.

The Impact of TikTok Trends on Teens

TikTok is one of the fastest growing social media apps that allows users to share 15-second to 3-minute long videos on any topic. The app offers a wide selection of songs, music, filters, and effects to allow you to get creative! However, TikTok has raised some concern due to the alarming amount of videos that are glorifying unhealthy relationships with food and harmful dieting trends. Social media has created an environment where dieting information and diet culture can be shared wider than ever before.

TikTok users are bombarded with videos that promote dieting and restrictive behaviours. These types of videos have millions of views and users in their teens aged 10-19, account for 25 percent of these views (9). This is of particular danger, as this is the age bracket where ideas/opinions about the world, relationships with food, and most importantly yourself, are formed. TikTok has an algorithm which influences the videos that are shown on your ‘for you’ page. The hashtags used, location, likes, music choice and other engagement with the posts influence the algorithm. This means that your TikTok page is likely to be filled with food and diet related posts which can become very overwhelming, especially if the messages are being internalised.

Different dieting trends have gone viral such as ‘what i eat in a day’ posts, which have skyrocketed to over 6.7 billion views (10). These posts include a day's worth of eating that is normally around ~1200 calories, which normalises the consumption of dangerously low amounts of food. These videos can shape the idea of how you ‘should’ be eating, creating discomfort around food and eating, and promoting under-eating.

Weight loss seems to be the focus of the majority of posts which emphasises the premise of ‘clean’ eating and guilt around foods that are deemed as unhealthy. Orthorexia can develop as a result, which refers to an unhealthy obsession with eating “pure” food and a self-punishing relationship with food.

Teenagers are likely to look up to people based on their weight and how ‘thin’ they are as they may aspire to look like the influencers they are watching. This can result in teenagers feeling bad about eating, which can spiral into comparing themselves to others and in turn can lead to developing low self-esteem and potentially, an eating disorder.

The take-away…

The important message to take home from this is that everyone has individual needs and each person will require different nutritional requirements. There are many factors such as genetics, and cultural traits that contribute to our bone structure, body size, shape, and weight.

‘Even if everyone started eating the same things and did the same amount of exercise for a whole year, we would not all look the same at the end of the year’ (11).

The focus is normally centred around aesthetic, weight and how food influences how we look - but food is much more than that! Food is our fuel and is crucial for our bodies to function properly, as it provides energy for our bodily processes to occur. Restricting calories can result in many negative effects on our body e.g. metabolic changes that slow down the metabolism and can actually result in weight gain (12), and increased stress due to an increase in cortisol (13). Restriction and under-eating can also impact growth and development in teenagers!

Our Advice

1. Focus on 5 things you like about yourself and your body.

2. Be conscious that what you see online and on social media is often altered to improve an image.

3. Take a break from social media from time to time.

4. Follow accounts that lift your mood.

5. It can be difficult to filter through posts as we have been fed misinformation for years around food. It is natural to feel confused about what the best choices are for our health as there are so many conflicting views but here’s what you can do:

6. Ditch the diets! Check out our article for more information: https://nutrition-rocks.co.uk/nutrition-blog/2020/12/17/why-not-to-diet?rq=ditch

7. Challenge the content! Ask yourself: do the videos seem realistic? Is this healthy for me? Will this make me feel better? Could this potentially be harmful for me?

8. Unfollow accounts that could be triggering for you or provide advice that is not backed up with evidence. Follow registered nutritionists and dieticians who are qualified to provide evidence-based research.

9. Practice self-love and gratitude! It is also important to speak up about any worries and concerns you have! Or you might like to consider starting a journal - at the end of each day take some time to write down all the things you are grateful for that day.

Resources:

- BEAT

- YoungMinds Body Image Resource

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