Someone’s religion or political belief can be polarising to those who are not able to remove their emotion to understand someone else’s point of view. Arguably both are immensely important in the creation of a person’s individuality. Typically, in a Western society such as Australia, these beliefs are not so much a construct of our personal networks but rather acceptable, and often celebrated, differences of those who are part of our networks. The way we look, on the other hand, which is arguably our external expression to society, immediately puts us into societal groups where the bias of those whom we encounter is brought to the fore and subsequent judgement occurs. The fashion industry has created a never-ending popularity contest and its use of social media has put immense pressure on adolescents by creating envy and quickening the pace fashion changes occur. What was once called the fashion of the day is now literally just for today – tomorrow it will be different and social media is the vehicle that the fashion industry uses to disseminate the message. The fashion industry is one of the most socially divisive communities Instagram has ever seen and its negative impact on the mental health of adolescents will continue to be explored for many years to come.
It is important to understand why and how the fashion industry chose to create a community on Instagram before we can begin to look at the impact it has had on adolescents. Simplistically the why is obvious – to sell more fashionable items and services. Importantly, fashion in an online sense does not just relate to clothes. It is much broader and includes what’s fashionable which in the case of adolescents can be a myriad of things – everything from high end make-up, cosmetic procedures and the latest in sneakers through to the mobile phone you have – but all delivers a chosen look for the individual to portray, an identity. The choice of look, whether we like it or not, immediately puts us into societal groups.
Why Instagram? It is evident to all that the rate of change of the technology landscape is gaining pace exponentially and so is its embedment in the lives of adolescents. Nesi (2020) details such a technology connection to everyday life is a normal feature stating that “US children under age two spending an average of 42 minutes per day with screen media. By the time youth reach adolescence, most are fully immersed in a world of smartphones, computers, and social media.” The incidence of an adolescent (13 – 18yr old) having access to a smartphone currently sits at a staggering 95%. Nesi (2020) goes onto state that “nearly all adolescents use some form of social media” with Instagram capturing 72% of them. Whilst statistically it makes obvious sense that Instagram is where the fashion industry would recruit its next generation of consumers, when you look a little deeper the real answer to why is far more sinister.
What is fashionable has largely been driven by popular culture and underpinned by an industry with an annual cycle of four seasons depicted by celebrities walking the red carpet or in a magazine advertisement. The fashion industry realised that if they could disconnect consumers from the four seasons mentality and using celebrity endorsements, and it changed its underlying supply chain, it could multiply the “seasons” in a year. To do this they needed to be able to access consumers directly and influence their choices more often. The industry realised if they created a community, using Instagram as the vehicle because that is where their most impressionable future consumers were coming from, they could install into their lives “fast fashion” thus doing away with four seasons in a year to a new fashion season every six weeks (about 1 and a half months) – doubling the rate of change and ultimately the opportunity for consumers to spend their money. Clever.
For fast fashion to be successful it needed a new ‘how.’ Crofton (2007) provides an in-depth description of the model and how Zara-Inditex was able to make the paradigm shift towards the new world of fashion summarised as the “democratization of fashion” (Crofton, 2007, p. 2). Zara was able to breathe life into fast fashion by linking customers to designers rather than the traditional way of celebrity designers, vertically integrating their business and condensing the design to retail cycle. The second part of the new how was to bridge the gap that celebrity endorsement left. This is where Instagram came to the forefront. By creating a community of influencers whose common thread was the next important thing in fashion, actors in the category were able to release themselves from the prior time constraints and allow people to asynchronously experience new fashion on any given day. Instagram allowed new categories to enter the market, such as teeth whitening and active wear, and to have immediate mass market appeal and instant delivery of the marketing message often using imagery that was unobtainable to the everyday consumer – beautifully aligned white teeth or the perfectly shaped athletic body. This execution strategy has had a long-term negative impact on the mental health of the adolescents of today.
Long before a fashion community was created to exploit adolescents, there were signs that social media such as Instagram were having long term detrimental effects on the mental health of young people. There are numerous studies linking the use of mobile media, specifically social media, to an increase in mental health problems from anxiety and depression through to suicide and whilst Rosen (2022) sites numerous studies he concluded that after studying more than 500,00 students “time spent engaging with new media (including social media) was associated with increased levels of mental health problems and suicide risk”. Rosen (2022) also discusses how both a reduction in the consumption of social media of only 30 minutes per day can provide a reduction in the impact and that it should also be noted that time on social media “may displace other meaningful activities that might be protective for mental health, such as face-to-face time with family or friends” (Rosen, 2022, p. 153). It is important to note that adolescents who were participating in social media were already predisposed to mental health issues before the emergence of the fashion community. However, what the fashion industry was able to do was attach itself to two struggles, which would later be linked to the demise of adolescent’s mental health, being FOMO (Fear of Missing out) and self-comparison.
When understanding FOMO, Rosen (2022, p. 155) states that “individuals might be crippled by feelings that they are being left out of important activities or missing out on vital experiences or information”. There are many definitions of anxiety and depression and a substantial proportion of them have an underlying trait of feelings so intense you are feeling crippled, so it is not a tenuous link to draw between an individual’s FOMO driving excessive social media usage, lack of sleep and poor mental health. FOMO is not in itself the critical determinant of one’s mental health in this scenario as FOMO can apply to many, many examples not linked to fashion. However, it is a key driver of behaviour. You see FOMO created the behaviour of continual connection. Continual connection drove up usage numbers. Increasing usage numbers gave platforms like Instagram scale. Enough scale that the fashion industry took notice, changed market dynamics, and exploited the addictive nature that FOMO traits exhibit. When you add self-comparison into the mix you are creating the basis for one deadly cocktail. This third place has become fraught with danger for a young mind.
Instagram is primarily based around sharing photos and videos and its success has been because of both its visual appeal and the immediacy of feedback users get, in the form of likes, when they post. Lemus (2022) states “The increased use of Instagram has increased competition and is associated with body image dissatisfaction, especially in women.” Upward social comparison tends “to be strongly related to depression” and are “common during social media use and represent one problematic context that is highly predictive of mental health issues.” This is where we see the clear intersection of all three – a demographic who are essentially always on when it comes to Instagram and who are predisposed to mental health issues, an industry who have reconfigured itself to enable it to create a community driven by corporate greed and financial benefits and the innate behaviours that exist in every one of us but arguably are more pliable during the developmental stages of adolescents.
When an adolescent sees the images of the influencer showing the latest trend in active wear, for example, they immediately begin to compare what they see to themselves. However, the fashion industry throughout the years has delivered to consumers images which have been altered to show the perfect shape or the perfect body to maximize the attraction of what they are selling. Its unethical nature means that what it portrays is largely unobtainable. Panjrath and Tiwari (2021) state that “body image is often found to be distorted when we emphasise on the shape or size of the body and perceive it to be inconsistent with society’s standards, or different or inferior from the ideal represented by the media.” As humans we can’t help it. We immediately compare ourselves to the influencer looking for our inadequacies relative to their perfect look and their perfect life. A study by Prichard, Kavanagh, Mulgrew, Lim and Tiggemann (2020) highlighted this when the results of the study “demonstrated that exposure to fitspiration images led to significantly higher negative mood and body dissatisfaction relative to exposure to travel images.” A qualitative study by Baker, Ferszt, and Breines (2019) found that “Instagram use is a positive predictor of body dissatisfaction and is associated with self-objectification, beauty standard internalizations, and appearance comparisons.” Panjrath and Tiwari (2021) also note a worrying and prominent theme they saw emerge from the study in adolescent girls which they term the concept of “shrinking self.” The participants all “expressed a sense of dissatisfaction, self-doubt, feelings of insecurity relating to their own self as a result of comparing their own lives to the lives of fashion influencers.” (Panjrath, M. Y., & Tiwari, S. 2021, p. 380). All of this is driven by an individual who needs to compare to themselves to the perfect Instagram life of another.
Image courtesy of www.theteenmagazine.com/how-social-media-can-contribute-to-body-dysmorphia
The fashion industry also understands that all of this leads to envy. Envy is a fantastic driver of action. The action they want you to take is to participate in the commercial transaction in an effort that what you purchase makes you feel better. It rarely does. It often just reinforces the sense of inadequacy you originally felt and, just like an addiction, you search for the next solution to provide you with more self-worth. Importantly it should be noted that “influencer envy” (Panjrath, M. Y., & Tiwari, S. 2021, p. 378) can occur with any gender and at any age however the pliable nature of the adolescent brain makes it more susceptible.
The fashion industry created an Instagram community where from the outset it may have seemed like a group of people who are all interested in a certain look, a certain way of life or a belonging to a certain ‘type.’ However, what it created was a boiling pot of mental anguish and it should be held personally responsible for the rise in incidence of such disorders as depression and body dysmorphia in adolescents. It has purposefully targeted this impressionable demographic with aspirational images which are, in the most part, unobtainable. A demographic that had already shown signs of addiction and subsequent mental stress from the immediacy of feedback received when sending out a portrayal of one’s best self. The fashion industry continues to quicken the pace of change of what is deemed fashionable and have created a supply chain which has increased availability and thus demands adolescents to make a choice placing undue pressure on them mentally with what could arguably be termed the world’s largest popularity contest.
References
Baker, N., Ferszt, G., & Breines, J. G. (2019). A Qualitative Study Exploring Female College Students’ Instagram Use and Body Image. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw, 22(4), 277-282. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2018.0420
Crofton, S. (2007). Zara-Inditex and the Growth of Fast Fashion. Essays in Economic & Business History, 25.
Kusuma, A. (2020). Impact of Social Media on Youth.
Lemus, C. (2022). Instagram, Self-Esteem and Body Image among Females Using Quantitative Research (Publication Number 28721942) [Psy.D., The Chicago School of Professional Psychology]. ProQuest One Academic. Ann Arbor. https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/instagram-self-esteem-body-image-among-females/docview/2637677750/se-2
Marques, M. D., Paxton, S. J., McLean, S. A., Jarman, H. K., & Sibley, C. G. (2022). A prospective examination of relationships between social media use and body dissatisfaction in a representative sample of adults. Body Image, 40, 1-11. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.10.008
Nesi, J. (2020). The Impact of Social Media on Youth Mental Health. Challenges and Opportunities, 81(2), 116-121. https://doi.org/10.18043/ncm.81.2.116
Panjrath, M. Y., & Tiwari, S. (2021). “Why Them, Not Me?”: A Study Exploring The Impact Of Following Fashion Influencers on Instagram on Body Image Satisfaction of Adolescent Girls and Middle-aged Women. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 25(02).
Prichard, I., Kavanagh, E., Mulgrew, K. E., Lim, M. S. C., & Tiggemann, M. (2020). The effect of Instagram #fitspiration images on young women’s mood, body image, and exercise behaviour. Body Image, 33, 1-6. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.02.002
Rosen, D. I. C. U. S. A. (2022). The Social Media Debate : Unpacking the Social, Psychological, and Cultural Effects of Social Media (First edition.. ed.). [Place of publication not identified] : Routledge.
Hi Anthony,
I totally agree with the argument you’ve made. Fashion brands have for years dictated what young people should wear, and often it doesn’t turn out so well for their mental health. There’s this push by the industry that people always need to ‘fit in’ and always keep up with the trends. Would you say influencers and the fashion industry has also contributed to the way teenage fashion is these days compared to what it was back in the early 2000s? (e.g. crop tops vs the sweater-shirt combo). There’s a lot of discourse potential that arises from the topic and I’m glad you’ve addressed it.
Hi Natalie, I would think that it was both a combination of the influencer and the fashion industry that has contributed to teenage fashion of today. Once the influencer somewhat becomes a celebrity their level of influence takes on a life if its own hence I think it is a combination of the two. However, I think the fashion industry is the impetus – without it the influencers would not have risen to the lofty heights they have today. Thanks for getting me to think about this.
This was definitely a very interesting read Antony. I highly agree with the fact that the fashion industry focuses on an ideal body type (and skin colour in some instances), which has had detrimental effects on consumers who didn’t have the “ideal body type”. Its even more alarming when the fact that the target audience is comprised of a largely Teenage demographic is taken into account. I would love to read further to see whether there has been any change to the “ideal body type” and whether they have branched out to cater to a more diversified audience.
Thats a really interesting question – has the ideal body type changed? Got me thinking about some brands that are using more realistic models in their advertising. I worry though that the damage has already been done for this generation of adolescents.
Hi Anthony, I found your paper so interesting and only scratching the surface of some of the huge ramifications the fashion industry is having on our generation. I’ve read about a number of aspiring influencers finding themselves in debilitating debt over trying the keep up with the fast-paced nature of fashion trends on social media. Not to mention the detrimental effects fast fashion is having on our environment and ethical working standards. I thought the point you made about “influencer envy” was one I’d never heard but makes so much sense when you really analyse why you are driven to make a purchase you saw online. I wonder if you consider Photoshop and Face Tune, and influencers only sharing their highlight reel, or pretending they can afford all these new fashion items when really they’re failing to disclose that they’ve been sent items, to be synonymous with the spread of misinformation amongst the online space? I wrote similarly about how social media has contributed to growth of false information and the dangers of such when it is seen in a health and wellness industry. I wonder if you see similar consequences arising when misinformation is shared in the context of the fashion industry? I’d love to compare points in our papers and hear your thoughts. https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2022/csm/688/social-media-weaponised-in-the-wellness-community/
Hi Amber, you have added such insight into other angles my paper could have taken so, thank you! Makes me want to write a secondary paper!! You raise a good point about influencers receiving free goods. Given the role of the influencer in society at the moment, and the fact so many of the youth of today would love to be one, I worry that most do understand the marketing mechanism behind the scenario but because of the strong sense of wanting to belong, the transaction happens anyway. Your paper sounds fascinating so will most definitely have a read and would love to share my thoughts so we can compare the two. Again, thanks for being so insightful
Hi Anthony
A really great paper, and one that highlights the importance of how social media platforms can be used to manipulate its target audience through the actions of influencers, often in a negative way. It’s incredible that young women are still subjected to this kind of ideology: to be thin, to be pretty, to have the latest look. And this is in spite of greater discussion on the subject over the years. Some companies have altered their advertising campaigns to include ‘real’ women, but this movement seems to have bypassed Instagram influencers. In your research, did you come across any sign that such changes are happening, or being considered?
My paper also deals with influencers, but of the right-wing variety who frequent YouTube. I think there are a lot of similarities in how they operate when compared to fashion industry influencers. I’d be keen to hear your thoughts: https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2022/csm/276/youtube-and-its-role-in-the-creation-of-a-third-place-for-right-wing-communities/
Hi Diana, thanks for taking the time to read my paper. And I agree, it kind of feels like the more we are talking about it the more smaller companies are jumping on the bandwagon. I will definitely take a look at your paper as it sounds fascinating!
Interesting paper Antony. I admired how you mentioned influencer envy and how fast “fashion” or “trend” is changing on a daily basis. Influencers target consumers’ sense of belonging to a community and the fast changing trend is forcing consumers to keep up everyday to fulfil their sense of belonging. Constantly in a loop of feelings from envy to belonging and back to envy once more. It’s a never ending cycle.
Thanks for your comments Adel. I worry that the emotional attachment the fashion industry has been able to connect with a sense of belonging in young women is something that may take a long time to unpick and had really done significant damage to this current generation
Very interesting paper. I like how you focused on how influencers have negative impacts on the way young individuals view themselves, as I feel this is not emphasised enough! My paper focuses on the benefit of incorporating influencers in the success of businesses. I agree with you when you say that the fashion industry portrays the ideal body through influencers to assist with selling their product, as this thin body type is what is considered beautiful in society today. I can see the link how influencers help businesses with sales, although the negative effect on their target audience’s mental health is the issue.
Thank you Saara. I have read you paper and when you put the key threads of them together you do get a very interesting view of the pros and cons!!
Hello Antony,
As a young woman myself who is heavily involved in social media, I can clearly see the negative impacts it is having. Your paper was amazing with all the important points it touched on. I would love to know your thoughts on the future of the fashion industry’s use of Instagram, do you think it will continue in the use of fast fashion and the 6-week cycle? Or do you believe the fashion industry will attempt to create faster seasons pushing more products and unrealistic expectations on the youth?
Thanks, Felicity.
Great question. I think the answer to the question is in a few parts. Firstly, I think that the fashion industry will most definitely continue to use instagram as a vehicle to influence the purchase decisions of young people. I do think Instagram needs some kudos for introducing messaged about paid sponsorships etc – I don’t think it will change the outcome as the emotional connection is too great but the intent is right. Secondly I think the fashion houses would love to speed up the process as much as possible but I think there are very real supply chain constraints which won’t enable it so in the medium term I think the 6 week cycle is more the norm than a transition.
Thank you for your insight Antony definitely an interesting topic.
Hi Antony,
Your paper seems to be further research on the topic I chose. It’s about seeing the role of fashion and influencer culture on adolescents. Your paper justifies its argument quite fairly. I too was one of those growing up adults, who were under the influence of fitspiration and body shape/image due to fascination with the “perfect Instagramable body & life”. The paper captures those negative implications aptly. Moreover, your paper can be conjunct with Felicity’s research on dangerous health diets and fitness regimes promoted via Instagram.
Reading all these papers on connected topics gives so many angles on how Instagram itself, can be viewed in the context of the building, promoting, and nurturing communities and people.
Best,
Riya
Thanks Riya. I agree, all of the papers written around Instagram throughout this conference have given me such a new perspective on social media itself and the role it plays in society. I kinda feel like I’m of the opinion that we can’t live with it but we can’t live without it – the critical element is the management of its place in society for me. It’s brought so many people and communities together but yet at the same time had such visible damage.
Hi Antony,
I really enjoyed your article, very interesting topic. Today social media is becoming more and more influential for young people. With the joint promotion of social media and fashion brands. What young people should wear and what looks good on them has always been decided by fashion brands.
These so-called ‘trends’ are influencing the aesthetic perceptions of young people. But do these standardised fashion concepts cause some young women to develop an inferiority complex (e.g. those whose bodies do not fit the standard aesthetic)?Will there be young women who go overboard to spend on trends and fashions, buying products they cannot afford for the sake of vanity?
My answer is short is Yes!! Seeking vanity also has a financial impact. I read only today how Afterpay has enabled one young woman to create a debt problem of $8k because she was chasing the look. Society is now also providing a way of funding the dream!!!
What a great paper, Anthony! I find myself completely agreeing that at the intersection of adolescents who are predisposed to, or have pre-existing mental health issues, and use of social media sites such as Instagram that generate FOMO or self-judgement from users, fashion companies are taking advantage of these systems to promote fast fashion and to make money.
I understand that much of your paper focuses upon exploring why Fashion companies use Instagram to promote their products, as well as what this means for adolescent users, but I wonder if you could also speak on a way for adolescent users to interact positively with such a problematic system?
I know that your paper does mention cutting down the use of social media sites such as Instagram to lessen the negative effects on a users mental health, but in any of your research, did you find other methods to negate or lessen the negative effect of fashion companies on sites like Instagram on adolescent mental health? Thank you in advance 🙂
Hi Anthony, I really liked your paper and agree with the points that you have made.
I do think that the fashion industry has a lot to do with the exploitation of young people as well as the self-esteem issues that they are facing.
I myself am a plus-sized woman and believe that most of the fashion that has been created doesn’t cater to larger body types. I find that a lot of the clothing that is in fashion currently is very revealing and should not be normalised for young teens to wear as everyday fashion.
Do you think that if there were influencers that opted to endorse more conservative clothing fashion brands would take this into consideration or is the over-sexualisation of women’s bodies too far gone within the industry?
Thank you,
Lily