A person’s sense of self is heavily influenced by the world around them, and when social media use is as high as ever, its effects on us are becoming far more prevalent. But how is the social media algorithm affecting us on a day to day basis, and what can we do to counter-act these issues.
Susan Rossell, Professor of eating disorders from the InsideOut Institute at the University of Sydney, explains how social media is affecting us in a variety of ways. The algorithm encourages social comparison “People are exposed to highly curated, filtered idealised images of the body and their lives. And research shows that this reliably increases body dissatisfaction”. Rossell points out that it takes only as little as eight minutes for a person to be affected by what they’re seeing and have their perceptions changed.
Our personal worth is being tied to the engagement we receive on social platforms, through likes, shares and comments, “when self-esteem becomes tied to online metrics or closely while matches the idealised versions of themselves, the sense of self can become quite fragile and contingent on external approval.”
The way in which beauty standards is targeted towards consumers has evolved over the years. Gabby Kachoyan, dietician at the Illawarra Eating Disorder Service, explains how this subtle shift has happened “shifted from being overt fat shaming and its shifted more towards kind of that skinny is the way to go. So, it’s a very subtle shift but it’s just as damaging”. Both men and women are susceptible to the influence of these social media influences, however in different ways as Professor Rossell explains, “social media and body dissatisfaction effects exists for both men and women … boys, also experience body image pressure often around things like muscularity and leanness and fitness which then can be linked to high rates of steroid use. Girls and women tend to report stronger negative effects”
There are ways in which users can counter these affects, through strong relationships with people around them and developing an understanding of these concepts as a whole so they can understand what they’re consuming when on social media.
The Butterfly Foundation is an extensive resource for help surrounding these issues, contact them on 1800 ED HOPE or visit their website at www.butterfly.org.au
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