{"id":396,"date":"2019-05-06T08:23:19","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T00:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/?p=396"},"modified":"2019-05-06T08:24:54","modified_gmt":"2019-05-06T00:24:54","slug":"the-influence-of-social-media-on-adolescent-girls-identity-and-self-esteem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/2019\/05\/06\/the-influence-of-social-media-on-adolescent-girls-identity-and-self-esteem\/","title":{"rendered":"The Influence of Social Media on Adolescent Girls\u2019 Identity and Self-Esteem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Abstract<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\npaper will explore the role of social media and how it negatively impacts the\nidentity of young females, and its effects on self-esteem and their identity.\nThis paper argues the behaviour of young females that partake in on social\nmedia, such as their roles in traditional media outlets in comparison to their\nroles in the Internet and social networking sites. In particular, sites identified\nwill be Facebook and Instagram, which are heavily visually oriented platforms. The\npaper also focuses on identity development and it is a crucial stage for\nteenagers, and how social media is incorporated into expressing their identity\nto others. Lastly, the paper explores gender ideals and how this affects young\ngirls\u2019 way of expressing their identity to others online, and how this may\ncause emotional concerns in the long run. This paper aims to outline these\naforementioned issues in order to fully understand how young females are influenced\nin terms of their identity.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With\nthe growth of social media being readily available and the ability for users to\ncontrol content, it allows adolescent females to not only network with the\nonline community, however, allows them to create an idealised image of\nthemselves and a constructed identity online. For adolescents, the stage of\ncharacter development and self-confidence is imperative, and the online space\nallows for identity development and self-expression and will be elaborated on\nfurther. Partaking in social media sites can have an adverse effect on young adolescents\u2019\nbody image and self esteem, as multiple factors such as self-photo investment,\nphoto manipulation, comparison of peers online, and also exploring sexuality to\nadhere to societal norms are multiple factors that will be examined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Differences between traditional media and social media on adolescent girls\u2019 identity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional media outlets such as\ntelevision and magazines have previously influenced the youth by promoting unrealistic\nbody images of retouched females, and has constantly fed an \u2018ideal\u2019 body image\nto females specifically by their media exposure since their childhood. Due to\nthe digital age, there has been a shift in usage of traditional media to social\nmedia outlets, and teenagers are now looking to the Internet for entertainment\nand communication, and particularly engaging in social networking sites such as\nFacebook as discussed in (de Vries, Peter, Nikken & de Graaf, 2014). Visually\noriented social media such as Instagram. Social networking sites, particularly\nInstagram and Facebook revolve around the idea and evaluation of one\u2019s physical\nappearance, and this may create pressures on teenagers to look a certain way\nthat is deemed attractive, that is different to the image portrayed in\ntraditional media outlets (de Vries, Peter, Nikken & de Graaf, 2014). Tzavela\nand Mavromati (2013) indicates that 73 per cent of 13-14 year olds report\nhaving social media profiles, whilst there is an increase to 82% of 15-16 year\nolds, this clearly indicates that the use of social media increases with age\n(Livingstone, \u00d3lafsson & Staksrud E, 2011) and is important to note, as\nthis age can be imperative in character building and self-esteem as it sets\nteens up for adulthood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Identity development refers to an\nindividual actively searching for their role, making meaning of their\nexperiences and context, and furthermore examination of their individual strengths\nand weaknesses as discussed by Eleuteri, Saladino and Verrastro, 2017 cited in\n(Llyod, 2002). Adolescence is therefore an essential stage for development of\nidentity as teens are able to explore and present themselves in different ways.\nTherefore, due to moderately high social media use by teens, and the highly\ninteractive features social networks allow, teens are able to use social media\nto build their identity, explore sexuality and build moral awareness. Another\npoint to note is that teenagers are practically granted full-time access to\nsocial networking sites, and can instantaneously communicate with their peers,\nor post a picture within seconds. This behaviour has become embedded in many\nyoung people\u2019s lives (Mascheroni, Vincent & Jimenez, 2015) and has resulted\nin the opportunity for teens to actively engage in their self-presentation\nonline to not only their peers, but to the world. Teens are constantly able to\ncreate and update their profiles online whilst conforming to socially shared\nrules of their social connections such as their friends, to maintain their\nreputation (Eleuteri, Saladino & Verrastro, 2017). Teenager\u2019s online\nprofile is further developed not only by individual preferences but also based\non the assumption of what their peers find interesting (Tzavela &\nMavromati, 2019). Moreover, due to social media granting young adolescents the\nability to express themselves and communicate with peers, it has become a\nlifestyle where the individual not only engages in self presentation and\ncommunication in reality, however, also in the online space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, social networking sites are\npredominately user-generated and empowers users by encouraging creativity and\nthe ability to control content, resulting in a completely personalised online\npresentation of oneself. Since the commercialisation of mobile phones and the\ncamera feature, self-portraits have been commonly used. However, with the\nincreased functionality of smartphones and features such as a front-facing\ncamera, has now created an evolution of the \u201cselfie\u201d, where teens are taking\nadvantage of this to share self-portraits online and a way to construct and\nfurthermore explore their identity. This poses a question whether mobile\ntechnologies and ease of sharing self-portraits are affecting young adolescents\nbody image and self-confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The era of the \u2018selfie\u2019 and the effects of photo investment and manipulation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As aforementioned, social media is highly\ninteractive and visually expressive, and teens that post self-images increases\nthe exposure of scrutiny from their peers and are subject comments from other\nusers, and furthermore, creates increased competition from peers. Posting\nself-images and choosing the ideal profile picture is important to present an\nindividual, as it essentially represents the user\u2019s physical identity (Tzavela\n& Mavromati, 2019), and will be discussed further. As reviewed in Nierengarten\u2019s\nstudy (2017) the role models for teens are often the friends they have on\nsocial media, which is a shift from traditional media where the role model\nwould be a celebrity or a model. The effect can be significantly different as\nin traditional media the image they portray of a celebrity is certainly unattainable,\nhowever, if it is a friend from school, it may seem attainable and could cause\nbody concerns for the individual. Indirect pressure can also occur by reading\ncomments about their friends\u2019 appearance on their photos (de Vries, Peter,\nNikken & de Graaf, 2014), and may result in unhealthy comparison, whilst\nalso promoting the \u2018ultimate\u2019 and \u2018ideal\u2019 body image. It is also common for\nyoung females to \u201cuntag\u201d photos of themselves that is uploaded by a peer if\nthey are not happy with their appearance, which is a privacy option on social\nmedia sites such as Facebook and Instagram (de Vries, Peter, Nikken & de\nGraaf, 2014). This therefore, reinforces the idea of teens wanting to present an\n\u2018ideal\u2019 version of themselves and a constructed identity to the online world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the idea of photo\ninvestment is important to discuss, as it plays a role in how young girls\npresent themselves online. McLean, Paxton, Wertheim & Masters (2015)\nsuggests that self-photo investment and photo manipulation are linked to high\nrates of body and eating concerns amongst young girls. Photo investment refers\nto a person\u2019s interest of aesthetics such as the photo quality, and how the photo\nrepresents the individual. It further refers to the effort taken in choosing\nphotos before sharing them online (McLean, Paxton, Wertheim & Masters, 2015).\nSimilar in concept, photo manipulation and photo editing culture is another\ncommon step before teens post a photo. There are many available photo-editing\napps to create a more physically appealing image, for example: Facetune,\nPhotoshop and VSCO cam. However, a study featured in McLean, Paxton, Wertheim\n& Masters (2015) reveals that photo-manipulation that reported greater body\nconcerns referred to using a filter to blur and change the overall appearance\nof the photo, rather than altering body size, which is more on the extreme side\nof the spectrum. Moreover, it is becoming clear that self-photo investment can\ncause negative effects on young adolescents, due to the awareness of how the\nphoto may represent the individual, and therefore impact their identity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These types of aforementioned behaviour and\nobsession with image may result and contribute to body dissatisfaction, as one\nstudy in McLean, Paxton, Wertheim & Masters (2015) suggests that adolescent\nfemales found increased social media use was linked to body concerns and a\ndrive to be thin. Likewise, a study conducted in McLean, Paxton, Wertheim &\nMasters (2015) also reveals adolescent girls who regularly share selfies are\nlinked with body image concerns. Another point is that college women find\nreceiving comments on their own photos important and tend to compare themselves\nwith their friends\u2019 photos. This is also correlated with higher levels of\ndisordered eating and may also be related to the desire to undergo cosmetic\nsurgeries (de Vries, Peter, Nikken & de Graaf, 2014). This suggests that\nactively engaging in the presentation of an online image, comparing and\ncommenting on other\u2019s images leads to a type of self-scrutiny that cannot\ntranspire through traditional media engagement which is mostly passive. Another\nquestion is why do teenagers go through all the effort to post a selfie, and\nwhy they feel the need to portray a perfect life all the time. McLean, Paxton,\nWertheim & Masters (2015) reveals that teens engaging in activities with a\nfocus on appearance are looking for validation and reassurance from others\nregarding body concerns such as social and physical attractiveness. It is also\nimportant to mention that all the effort to portray an image online is to\npresent an identity, and the desire to feel included in the world as discussed\nby Eleuteri, Saladino & Verrastro (2017) cited in (Allen, 2015). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The effects of sexting and sharing of provactive photos of adolescent girls<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sexting and posting revealing selfies has\nbecome a way in the modern world to experiment with identity, and explore one\u2019s\nsexual identity. Posting revealing pictures that may cause negative\nconsequences can be associated with the lack of online and social media\nliteracy discussed by Mascheroni, Vincent & Jimenez (2015) as cited in\n(Livingstone, 2014) or can be linked to boys\u2019 behaviour for sharing\ninappropriate pictures to their friends or the internet after a break-up or for\nrevenge purposes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mascheroni, Vincent and Jimenez (2015)\nsuggest that self-presentation on social media is highly gendered, as it\nconforms to normalised patterns of masculinity and femininity, where girls are\nparticularly meant to accomplish desirability and appear sexually attractive\nand active. Girls furthermore receive more peer judgement than their male\ncounterparts. Expanding on the idea of conforming to gender expectations, girls\nwho decide to post images with a sexy pose suggests are aware that these photos\nmay be passed on without their permission, and have accepted to express this as\ntheir social identity to the world. Young females often conform to these\nstandards because it may be attributed to their self-confidence, and that it is\nbuilt around beauty and confidence. As aforementioned, girls further desire\nsocial acceptance from their self-presentation online as the number of likes\nthey receive on their pictures defines their social inclusion, and may be a\nsymbol of self-accomplishment and popularity (Mascheroni, Vincent &\nJimenez, 2015). The presence of sexualised norms that are being projected on\ngirls has influenced some girls to give in and post provocative pictures, and\nis subject to the negative comments of boys for being a \u2018slut\u2019 and \u2018that kind\nof girl\u2019. However, these girls are choosing to conform to their stereotype and\nreceive acceptance from not only their male counterparts, but also female\npeers. On the contrary to appearing sexually attractive, girls are also subject\nto the expectation of being a \u2018good girl\u2019, another stereotype that they have to\nbattle with (Mascheroni, Vincent & Jimenez, 2015). This can create\nunrealistic expectations for girls as they feel the need to live up to the norms\nand present their identity online in a way that is deemed acceptable by\nsociety. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The consequences of posting provocative\npictures and sexting can result in cyberbullying, which can lead to\nhumiliation, decreased social status, depression, damaged relationships and\nsuicidal thoughts (Eleuteri, Saladino & Verrastro, 2017). Pressures from\npeers also influence teen girls to forward sexually explicit pictures, and can\nresult in these photos to be shared around after relationships have ended. This\ncan have serious effects on young girls self esteem and body image, and\naccording to a recent survey study, 51% of respondents aged 18-30 considered committing\nsuicide as a consequence of photo exchanges, and 93% suffered emotional\ndistress (Franks, Eleuteri, Saladino & Verrastro, 2017). These statistics\nevidently show how sharing inappropriate pictures can have a negative effect on\nmental health for adolescent females.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To conclude, this paper has analysed how\nthe use of social media by adolescent girls affects their identity development,\nboth online and offline, and how this can negatively influence body perception.\nThe paper has briefly discussed the difference between traditional media\ncompared to social media and its endless supply of communication and entertainment\nthat can be accessed at any time. Furthermore, I have outlined that traditional\nmedia is a much more passive way of consuming \u2018ideal\u2019 body images, whilst\nsocial media is significantly engaging and revolves mostly around peers. I have\nalso argued that social media allows for self-expression and a way to present\nan ideal identity to others, in a way that may not be realistic. This paper has\nfurther discussed photo manipulation and photo investment in young females and\nits correlation to disordered eating and lower self esteem issues. Lastly, the\npaper outlines gender ideals and how females are to be presented in a sexual\nway, which leads to exchanging sexual pictures and causes emotional distress,\nas well as the pressure to conform to a specific identity according to gender. Moreover,\ncombining the Internet that is rapidly advancing and the idea of gender ideals\nspecifically for females, these issues of self-confidence may potentially\nbecome worse and unhealthy overtime for the next generation of social media\nusers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/p>\n\n\n\n

De Vries, D.,A., Peter, J., Nikken, P.,\n& de Graaf, H. (2014). The effect of social network site use on appearance\ninvestment and desire for cosmetic surgery among adolescent boys and girls. Sex Roles, 71(9-10),<\/em> 283-295.\ndoi:http:\/\/dx.doi.org.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au\/10.1007\/s11199-014-0412-6<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eleuteri, S., Saladino, V.,\n& Verrastro, V. (2017). Identity, relationships, sexuality, and risky\nbehaviors of adolescents in the context of social media. Sexual and\nRelationship Therapy, 32(3-4), 354-365.\ndoi:http:\/\/dx.doi.org.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au\/10.1080\/14681994.2017.1397953<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mascheroni, G., Vincent, J.,\n& Jimenez, E. (2015). \u201cGirls are addicted to likes so they post semi-naked\nselfies\u201d: Peer mediation, normativity and the construction of identity online.\nCyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 9(1), article\n5. http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.5817\/CP2015-1-5<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

McLean, S. A., Paxton, S. J.,\nWertheim, E. H., & Masters, J. (2015). Photoshopping the selfie: Self photo\nediting and photo investment are associated with body dissatisfaction in\nadolescent girls. The International\nJournal of Eating Disorders, 48(8), <\/em>1132-1140.\ndoi:http:\/\/dx.doi.org.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au\/10.1002\/eat.22449<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nierengarten, M. B., M.A.\n(2017). Influence of social media on teenagers’ body image. Contemporary\nPediatrics, 34(10), 21-22. Retrieved from https:\/\/search-proquest-com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au\/docview\/2017969955?accountid=10382<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tzavela, E. C., M.Sc, &\nMavromati, F. M.,M.Sc\/Post-M.Sc Dip. (2013). Online social networking in\nadolescence: Associations with development, well-being and internet addictive\nbehaviors. International Journal of Child and Adolescent Health, 6(4), 411-420.\nRetrieved from\nhttps:\/\/search-proquest-com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au\/docview\/1625518818?accountid=10382<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Abstract This paper will explore the role of social media and how it negatively impacts the identity of young females, and its effects on self-esteem and their identity. This paper argues the behaviour of young females that partake in on social media, such as their roles in traditional media outlets in comparison to their roles… Continue reading The Influence of Social Media on Adolescent Girls\u2019 Identity and Self-Esteem<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-identity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":404,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396\/revisions\/404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}