11.2 Effects of Media on Body Image and Self-esteem

Media plays a huge role in shaping our body image and self-esteem. From TV to social media, we're bombarded with unrealistic ideals of beauty that can make us feel inadequate. This constant exposure can lead to negative self-perception and even harmful behaviors.

The effects are far-reaching, impacting mental health and fueling eating disorders. But understanding these influences can help us develop a healthier relationship with our bodies and resist harmful media messages.

Media Influence on Body Image

Unrealistic Body Ideals in Media

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• Body image refers to a person's perceptions, thoughts, and feelings about their own body which can be influenced by media depictions of idealized body types (thin women, muscular men)
• Social comparison theory suggests that people compare themselves to others to determine their self-worth and media images provide a constant source of comparison leading to negative body image when ideals are not met
• Internalization of ideals occurs when people adopt media portrayals of the ideal body as their own personal standard of attractiveness resulting in pursuing often unrealistic body goals
• Body dissatisfaction arises from the discrepancy between one's actual body and the idealized bodies presented in media causing people to feel negatively about their own appearance
• Sociocultural model of body image proposes that societal factors like media, family, and peers transmit messages about beauty standards which are internalized and lead to body image disturbances when individuals feel they do not measure up

Consequences of Negative Body Image

• Negative body image can lead to low self-esteem as people base their self-worth on their appearance and feel inadequate when they do not match media ideals
  • This effect is particularly strong for adolescents who are developing their identities and are more susceptible to media influence
• Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia can develop as people attempt to control their weight and shape to conform to the thin ideal perpetuated by media
  • Exposure to thin-ideal media is linked to increased dieting, unhealthy weight control behaviors, and eating disorder symptoms
• Muscle dysmorphia, a preoccupation with muscularity, can result from media depictions of extremely muscular male bodies (action figures, superheroes) causing boys and men to feel inadequate and engage in excessive exercise or steroid use

Psychological Effects

Mental Health Consequences

• Self-esteem, one's overall sense of self-worth, can be negatively impacted by media portrayals of unrealistic beauty standards as people feel they do not measure up leading to poor body image and low self-regard
  • Studies show exposure to idealized media images lowers self-esteem, especially in women and girls
• Eating disorders involve severe disturbances in eating behaviors and body image and can have life-threatening consequences
  • Risk factors include thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, and dieting behaviors which are all influenced by media depictions of thinness as the ideal
  • Anorexia nervosa involves severe food restriction while bulimia involves binge-eating followed by purging (vomiting, laxative abuse)
• Muscle dysmorphia is a form of body dysmorphic disorder involving an unhealthy preoccupation with muscularity
  • Symptoms include seeing oneself as small and weak even when muscular, spending excessive time lifting weights, and steroid abuse to gain muscle mass
  • Media images of muscular men contribute to this by creating an unattainable ideal that is internalized

Disordered Eating and Exercise Behaviors

• Disordered eating refers to unhealthy eating behaviors that do not meet full criteria for an eating disorder but still have negative consequences (fasting, skipping meals, using diet pills)
  • Studies link media exposure to disordered eating, showing that people adopt unhealthy behaviors they see modeled in media
• Excessive exercise involves working out beyond what is healthy in a compulsive manner, often motivated by the desire to burn calories or change one's shape
  • Fitspiration and thinspiration content on social media encourages over-exercise by spreading the message that exercise is for weight loss and appearance rather than health
• Steroid use and abuse is rising as young men seek to build muscle quickly, modeling their bodies after media images of male athletes and celebrities
  • Anabolic steroids have dangerous health consequences including organ damage, rage and aggression, and hormone imbalances

Theories of Media Effects

Cultivation Theory

• Cultivation theory proposes that repeated exposure to media messages shapes viewers' perception of reality over time, causing them to adopt media portrayals as representative of the real world
  • For body image, this means that people exposed to a steady stream of idealized bodies in media will come to see those ultra-thin or muscular physiques as normal and expected
• Cultivation effects are subtle and cumulative, occurring gradually through repeated exposure over a long period of time rather than from a single instance of media consumption
• Second-order cultivation effects refer to the attitudes and beliefs shaped by media viewing, such as the belief that thinness equals success and worth for women cultivated by media messages linking thin bodies to positive outcomes
• Mainstreaming is the idea that heavy media exposure leads viewers to adopt a common worldview over time, converging around the media message despite individual differences
  • With body image, this means heavy consumers of media will have more homogenous body ideals and standards shaped by media depictions

Media Exposure Effects

• Studies consistently show that exposure to media depicting a thin body ideal increases body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, and disordered eating in women while exposure to muscular images lowers body satisfaction in men
  • Meta-analyses reveal small to moderate effect sizes for experimental exposure to idealized bodies on body image and related outcomes
• Correlational studies find that habitual media consumption focusing on appearance is associated with negative body image, disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, and acceptance of cosmetic surgery
  • Effects are strongest for media that explicitly focuses on the body and appearance (fashion magazines, reality TV) and for media directed at adolescent audiences
• Social media may be particularly influential due to its interactive and user-generated nature which facilitates social comparison, enables photo manipulation, and incentivizes appearance-focused self-presentation
  • Time spent on appearance-focused social media (Instagram, Snapchat) is correlated with body image concerns and eating disorders in young men and women
• Interventions aiming to reduce negative media effects focus on media literacy education to teach critical viewing skills, provide alternative media messages, and promote body size diversity and appreciation
  • Some social media platforms (Instagram) are testing hiding like counts and using other design features to reduce social comparison and appearance focus