Exploring the Impact of Social Media on College Students Body Image at HBCUs

Abstract

Instructor’s Name INTRODUCTION The concept of social media use and body image concerns has gained concern from many scholars due to its effect on teenagers and young adults. Media, family, and peers often communicate body ideals. Social media and digital platforms are home for you where self -actualization is manifested, lessons are learned, attitudes are developed, and body image concerns are cultivated. Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter allow users to share visual and textual content. Body image revolves around thoughts, emotions, and perceptions reflected in societal cultures and norms. The vulnerability to succumb to social media pressure is dependent on social pressure ad the rate of internet use. However, young people spend time significantly on social media, which constantly puts them in dangerous body dissatisfaction. This discussion is a literature review on the Relationship Between social media and Body Image Among College Students at an HBCU. LITERATURE REVIEW Social media is a platform for interpersonal communication. Prieler &Choi have broadened their research to ascertain the effects of social media on young women's body image. Social media is a broad avenue and is a basis of research for most scholars. Getting to know about body image largely depends on social media research. Prieler & Choi examine the potential differences that arise from the differences in nationality and ethnicity as the probable influences on body image perception portrayed in social media. Most young women define themselves and find meaning in social media. A country like the United States is epic, and their women feel independent and unique in relation to other countries that compare themselves with others. Social media has become a tool where women earn their self-esteem through body image. The rich ethnicities and cultural variations in social media define body image perceptions. Prieler &Choi's main aim is to stimulate research and broaden the perspective on body image and social media. In a Feminist Forum Commentatory, Michael Prierela and Jounghwa Choi research the Relationship between social media and body image concerns. The article's title is "Broadening the Scope of Social Media Effect Research on Body Image Concerns.” Both journal authors are from the School of Communication, Hallym University, and published their study on 22nd August 2014. This research is an extension of the Perloff (2014) model, which is the main source of data collection. The authors examine the various arguments and emphasize culture in relation to body image, the extent of social media use and its motivations, and general body image, including eye shape, breast size, and skin color. The ultimatum recommends broad research on body image concerns. Prieler &Choi found that existing literature on African Americans' perspectives on image concerns differ from European Americans'. They also emphasized self-construct as contributing to body image concerns. Perloff(2014) centers its arguments on social media use, but Choi and Prieler emphasize the type of social media, whether Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. From their findings, the authors conclude that Perloff (2014) provides an ideal framework for body image concerns and media use. To broaden the research, Prieler & Choi conclude that the model is essential in facilitating future research identifying underlying processes and variables that need testing. It extends a comprehensive and coherent picture of social media use and body image concerns. Facebook is a social platform that harbors a lot of young people all over the world. Yong people find pleasure in showcasing how they look and imitate how their peers look, shedding light on their body image concerns and mood. Fardouly et al. offer a comprehensive insight into Facebook and its effect on their body image. Facebook is the most widely used social media platform, growing extensively daily. Facebook is positively correlated to body dissatisfaction since it creates a platform for social comparison on appearance fueling the potential for body image concerns. Jasmine Fardoulya, Phillippa C, Diedrichs, Lenny R. Vartaniana, and Emma Halliwell published their journal article titled “Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women’s body image concerns and mood.” In 2015. The authors employed an experimental research design where 112 participants consisting of young women were randomly selected. Equally important, a control website was used to give a comparison to ascertain the results. The consideration factors were weight-related, hair-related, face, and skin tone. The interactive media (internet) is very influential on body image concerns. From the experiment, teenagers and female high school students reported high body dissatisfaction due to Facebook use. Concluding their findings, Fardoulya et al. found out that participants that spent time on Facebook had a negative mood than those who spent time on a control website. Furthermore, women on Facebook had higher comparison tendencies than those on the control website. Consequently, the authors realized that skin, hair, and facial discrepancies were common on Facebook. This analogy culminates in the realization that there are more portrait images on Facebook which makes comparison a rampant practice compared to weight-related tendencies. The concept of Facebook and body image concerns is still subject to research and discussions, and Fardoulya et al. believe it needs to be more comprehensive. Most teenagers and young adults believe that there is an ideal body that they should emulate that they find in social media. Jiotsa et al. is an example of a definite article that examines social media use and body image disorders. Young people tend to compare their physical appearance with models and icons of their world, which may push them to drive for ideal bodies or may suffer body image dissatisfaction. Jiotsa et al. highlight the pressure of social media on ideal body types. Young people equate success to thinness and beauty, putting pressure on their physical appearance and what they eat. Jiotsa et al. published a study in 2021 titled ” Social Media Use and Body Image Disorders: Association between Frequency of Comparing One's Physical Appearance to That of People Being Followed on Social Media and Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness." It is a quantitative study involving 1331 participants aged 15-35 years. 1138 were recruited from the general population, while 193 were victims of eating disorders and were all required to fill in online questionnaires. The assessment was based on the accounts they follow, the amount selfies posted, and image comparison frequencies. The participants had bachelor's degrees. Following the experiment, Jiotsa et al. deduced a relationship between social media use and comparing physical appearance and the drive for thinness. Most participants admitted to using Instagram and Facebook as the main social media platforms, while others, like snapchat, were infrequent. Consequently, these social pressures have become a breeding point for eating disorders attacking health status. The level of education emerged as a confounding factor in assessing body image concerns. Many scholars have mentioned Facebook as the min social media platform that draws teenagers and young adults together to express their ideologies and showcase their preferences and appearances. Cohen & Alex are among the many scholars who consider Facebook a widely used interactive tool. Conventional media images on Facebook render various posts contribute to body dissatisfaction. Unfortunately, young people do not realize that users manipulate their profiles and body posit for attractiveness creating false impressions which lure social media users. Cohen & Alex offer a comprehensive quantitative study titled “Comparative effects of Facebook and conventional media on body image dissatisfaction.” the study was published in 2015 in the Journal of Eating Disorders. The research was performed in a university where a sample of 193 female first-year students was used, and they all completed questionnaires. The sample was assessed on self-esteem, appearance comparison, thin-ideal internalization, Facebook use, and eating disorder risk; Cohen & Alex found a stronger relationship between appearance comparison and changes in body image satisfaction for those exposed to Facebook use than conventional media. Facebook depicted higher body dissatisfaction due to higher eating disorder risk. The researchers concluded that there is a need for an extension of the literature on social media use and high levels of body dissatisfaction. There is also a need for interventions on thin ideal contentions to uphold body image and satisfaction. Body image concerns for young people are nothing new and define most aspects of self-construct and social interactions in their youth life. The mention of body image concerns is a topic many researchers have ventured into. Yet, they still need to exhaust the key processes and identities contributing to body image concerns. Williams and Lina’s article continues Perloff’s model on body image concerns and social media use. The United States has experienced body image concerns at an alarming rate, extending to the rest of the world. Due to the tremendous influence...