Abstract
Tik-Tok is an innovative online platform where anyone may publish videos that offer their audience the simplest method to feel engaged. It is also a prominent social networking site that has grown in popularity in recent years, particularly among the youth. Although the app has allowed people to express their creativity, concerns have also been raised about how it is affecting girls’ body image and self-confidence. For example, TikTok standardizes the photos that are edited with an attractive filter. Therefore, the major point of this paper is to talk about how this famous social media app reshapes the way girls is seeing their bodies and how it contributes to body dissatisfaction.
Introduction
Social media networks have integrated into our everyday lives. People are increasingly connecting online, and visual social media sites like Instagram are becoming more and more popular. Research has shown that social media platforms have a major impact on spreading cultural beauty standards and shaping women’s perceptions of their bodies (Nicole, Scott, Granley, & Stein, 2004). Social networking sites are crucial when talking about female body image. Body image refers to a person’s opinions and views about their body, particularly their ideas, emotions, and beliefs about how they look (Cash, 1990). It contributes to the representation of women and the advancement of notions of beauty that raises body image issues among female users (Holland & Tiggemann, 2016). Viewing social media photos and videos representing women who adhere to cultural beauty ideals such as being slim, beautiful, and sometimes objectified has been linked to the absorption of unrealistic beauty norms, self-objectification, social comparison, and body dissatisfaction (Betz & Ramsey, 2017). In today’s world, youngsters get a lot of their ideas about right and wrong from the media and the public has a very stereotypical view of body image compared to other values. Gallivan (2014) observed that in television ads, programs, and films, mostly thin and fit individuals are represented. This is important as for a long time, people’s bodies have been the bone of conflict between the social and private spheres. Consequently, the inherent conflict seen between the body’s uniqueness as well as its public display in society has led to self-representation issues (Mona, 2019). Nowadays, there is an exceptionally large volume of similar content that is shared through social media platforms. Having the ability to share videos of a certain person’s body, each user is put under pressure to show their body while other people are seeing it and at the time comparing their body to others. Thus, the body plays a significant role in someone’s self-representation. With the ability to modify via social media platforms, the body’s behavior is trapped in a continual display and representation, and such body shaping and reshaping appearance seem to be concentrated on navigating body stereotypes (Mona, 2019). TikTok is one of the most current social platforms that allow people to publish, modify, and create short videos. It became increasingly popular, notably among teenagers hence targeting the Gen Z generation. According to research, girls who use digital platforms often are six times the most likely to be influenced by these stereotypes (Gallivan, 2014), which represents the American ideal of being skinny (Tiggemann & Zaccardo, 2015). The desire to achieve a body image similar to those seen on such platforms and dissatisfaction with one’s own looks might emerge from seeing these contents.
TikTok, the renowned Chinese social media platform and entertainment video platform was launched in September 2016 (Wijaya & Mashud, 2020) where youngsters express themselves through various ways such as lip-syncing or dancing videos, thus raising the degree of customization and originality video sharing due to its speed control and new editing tools (Mona, 2019). Since its introduction in 2016, the app has quadrupled its income with 800 million downloads in the world (Yurieff, 2018). Users are encouraged to copy one another and engage in trending subjects because of the app’s culture and structural design. According to Kaufman (Kaufman, 2020), watching TikTok on a daily basis, which is filled with unrealistic idealized bodies makes it more desirable to women. The “Pick Me Girl” is one of the trends that have evolved inside TikTok (Rosida, Ghazali, Dedi, & Salsabila, 2022). This phenomenon involved teenagers who have been affected by gender standards and criticize other girls to get attention. Girls who have low self-confidence are especially affected negatively. The “pick-me girl” is a feminist reaction to certain women’s propensities to defer to males or draw attention from men. Therefore, making this comparison demonstrates how this trend is how they are looking for attention and for the approval of others to accept their own self while insulting others (Petkova, 2021). Also, when compared to others may cause poor self-esteem leading to conditions such as depression. A prominent and contemporary trend on TikTok is the new “fit” ideal, which has become more prevalent than the “thin” ideal (Deighton-Smith & Beth, 2018), combining both thinness and apparent tone (Boepple, Rheanna, & Thompson, 2016). It is a video trend where it promotes a fit and active lifestyle by eating well and doing exercise. Yet, in reality, fitspiration information is not as beneficial as it could seem, and the results for those who watch it might differ considerably. Research conducted on girls in Australia showed that being exposed to such fitness-related information can promote negative body image and depressive symptoms (Arigo, Brown, & DiBisceglie, 2021). Likewise, such material features girls as overly sexualized objects.
Based on the objectification hypothesis, living in an environment where girls’ bodies are sexualized, adds to female sexual objectification, which happens when girls are considered sexual objects, solely valuable for pleasing other people through the use of their physical beauty (Fredrikson & Roberts, 1997). According to some studies, using visual representation-focused online platforms such as Tiktok rather than text-based ones such as Facebook or Twitter may be more consistently associated with negative body image, a greater emphasis on physical looks, relatively high levels of self-objectification, and more interpersonal comparing (Vandenbosch, Fardouly, & Tiggemann, 2022). For instance, a popular trend on TikTok is the #KarmaisaBitch challenge which is about the shift in appearance that promotes the culture of an ideal body and objectification. The video’s main character first has an unpleasant look and then changes into a more stylish individual with good-looking hair and makeup. The consumer consciously switches from the gentleness of the first image to the boldness and seductiveness of the second scene which associates sexiness with attractiveness and openness. They often apply filters and other editing tools to appear more attractive. Exaggerated features are a fascinating defensive strategy that deliberately alters a person’s face beyond what is reasonable, making their actual features seem more beautiful. The person not only exhibits what is considered undesirable traits but also demonstrates sexual appeal with deliberate motions like repressed glances, involving closed eyelids and pouting lips which help to create face distortions. They are strongly opposed to the appealing scenario with the user, who performs sensuality as well as erasing the exaggerated characteristics brought on by technology assistance like filters and cosmetics. The user’s seductive behavior when facing the camera might be a sign of such sensuality. As such, the exaggerated unattractiveness is a display that establishes a barrier between both the person and the unappealing filter, working as a self-aggrandizing display of sexual appeal. With the level of sexual objectification and emphasis on appearance pushed by conventional and online platforms such as TikTok, it is not unexpected that demand for plastic surgeries has increased over the last several years (Statista, 2016), particularly amongst girls. Females who use social networking sites heavily are more likely to consider cosmetic surgery (Vries, Jochen, Nikken, & De Graaf, 2014), particularly if they watch material featuring others who have received the operation too (Walker, Krumhuber, Dayan, & Furnham, 2021). Besides that, exposure to influencers on TikTok and celebrity-related video-based activities indicate higher intents for cosmetic surgery within young female individuals. Ultimately, the discussion above emphasizes the part played by TikTok in the growth of body issues and positive views about plastic surgeries since this platform may be able to persuade women that perfect, desirable figures are the purported standard thus leading to body dissatisfaction.
Social comparison is another factor present in the famous app TikTok. According to the social comparison hypothesis, people evaluate their talents, ideas, beliefs, and physicality by comparing them with other people in order to determine their own value (Festinger, 1954). According to this notion, people could make either an upwards or downwards social comparisons. Downward social comparison refers to a person who judges another individual they believe to be inferior which may boost one’s self-esteem or make them feel good about themselves whereas upwards social comparison talks about people with more status or other sought qualities and understanding their own flaws (Festinger, 1954). Downward social comparison has been associated with increased body dissatisfaction in girls where they feature digitally enhanced pictures of supermodels, celebrities, and other women who are 15% lighter than the U.S. average for women’s weight and have a small waistline, hip, and legs (Hawkins, Richards, Granley, & Stein, 2004). For instance, on TikTok we have the #Thatgirl trend where young girls are influenced by the perfect physical body of other girls. Considering how often this ideal female body type is shown in the platform, most girls have trouble or even impossible to achieve these attractive qualities (Cataldo, De Luca, & Giorgetti, 2021). As a result, when girls compare their bodies with others portrayed on TikTok, they are more prone to develop body dissatisfaction and insecurity if their bodies do not mirror those perfect “ideal” bodies, viewing their physical beauty as being inferior (De Foe, Jean, & James, 2020). This dissatisfaction with one’s body image may contribute to the development of disordered eating practices as a method of altering one’s body shape to resemble those portrayed on TikTok (Rodgers, 2016). Consequently, several types of research have shown relationships between negative body perception and other areas of wellness and psychological health. Body image dissatisfaction may lead to disorders such as depression, stress, and body dysmorphic condition, along with negative social effects such as poor self-esteem and antisocial behaviors (Cash & Fleming, 2002). Moreover, having a negative body image is a substantial potential element for developing eating disorder as dissatisfaction with someone’s weight or form can lead to dramatic changes in eating patterns in order to improve their look and acquire the slender frame glorified in the Western (Derenne & Beresin, 2006). One example from trending on TikTok was the “The Corpse Bride Diet”. One reason why tiktok ability to influence young girls is the algorithm. TikTok’s algorithm can detect what users prefer to explore and engage with, and then offer related material to them in order to boost the amount of viewing on the network. It also includes groups segregated by topic, which nurtures members’ feeling of belonging while simultaneously increasing competitive tension. Furthermore, users may advertise their perfect approaches to weight loss using the platform’s most current trends, such as workout, dieting, and fitness gear (Liu, 2021). According to Dempster (2020), this expanding phenomenon has piqued the interest of those predisposed to eating problems as well as body image issues. Girls started to rethink their consumption, clothing, and physique. When their exercise, eating habits, and clothing sense did not correspond to those trends on TikTok, they start to worry whether they were unproductive, irresponsible, or failed individuals. Hence, such videos play a significant role in shaping how girls view their body in the contemporary society.
To conclude, this paper has demonstrated how the rising new platform TikTok, substantially influence girls through various trends. TikTok has a tremendous influence on how people value things, which has important societal repercussions especially in young on how they view their body. Due to several trends on tiktoks as mentioned in this paper are the “fitinspiration”, “pickmegirl” and among others, young girls are often victim of objectification. Hence, given that TikTok is becoming more prevalent in young girls lives and people should show more concern as it is also affecting their health.
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Hi L, The thing is the paper is mainly concentrated on the African continent particularly.If you make an analysis of…