Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact social media has on those most vulnerable of body dysmorphia. It argues that risk of body dysmorphia disorder is likely to increase due to the prevalence of unrealistic expectations in relation to beauty through online platforms. It will examine the nature of social media through the methods it uses to promote a ‘perfect’ person. These claims have been supported by studies, statistics and personal experiences from academic professionals and BDD sufferers alike. It concludes that there is a need for stricter moderation, the promotion of everyone regardless of looks and a need for greater digital education.

Introduction:

Over the past two decades, social media has evolved into an increasingly influential aspect of society. Social media can be used as a promotional tool, communication platform or even as a recreational playground. People take pictures, receive videos and just update their friends and family of their happenings. Social media is being used by 4.48 billion people worldwide (Habib et al., 2022). With such a large number of users, its influence cannot be denied. People can talk to friends, co-workers, find new communities, follow celebrities or even be the victim of ‘cyber-bullies’ through social media. Users can choose to be someone they’re not, perhaps someone they would rather be. Fake profiles plague social media, and allow for anonymous ‘trolling’ and bullying (Rone, 2022). The freedom of social media can also be its detriment.

This thesis will focus on key concepts like the role of visual communication, peer influence, and the promotion of unrealistic beauty standards in the context of this widespread use of social media on body dysmorphia in adolescent females. The thesis will argue that the pressure from peers, friends, family and strangers online through the posting or sending of images and videos has exacerbated body dysmorphia in this populace. A deeper understanding of the relationship between social media and adolescent female self-perception will result from placing the paper within the larger context of the social, psychological, and cultural factors that contribute to body dysmorphia.

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is defined as “a preoccupation with an imagined or a very slight defect in physical appearance that causes significant distress to the individual” (Shiffman, 2008). BDD sufferers are not satisfied with their appearance, even seeing themselves as ‘ugly’ because of the slightest imperfection. Someone with BDD may focus on something for an hour while someone else will brush it off after a few seconds (Densham et al., 2017). It can affect men and women, young and old. However, the highest percentage of sufferers are adolescent females (Veale & Neziroglu, 2010). It can lead to substance and alcohol abuse, self-harm, depression, eating disorders, social anxiety and even suicide (Veale & Neziroglu, 2010). BDD is a sensitive topic, and people suffering from it can be easily influenced by people they perceive to be ‘perfect’ or beautiful online. Because people with BDD may compare their own self-image to the seemingly flawless appearances of others online, the idea of self-presentation is notable in this setting. An endless cycle of self-doubt and increased body dysmorphia can result from this comparison, which can diminish their self-perception. Additionally, showing oneself online can create a false image of perfection, leading to assumptions by others and increasing the pressure to ‘keep up’ the fantasy. This makes it difficult BDD sufferers to use social media because it can revolve around a world that often puts perfection first, even rewarding people for it.

Highly-visual social media:

Many popular social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok are predominantly visual based. These are known as “highly-visual social media” (HVSM) platforms (Marengo et al., 2018). As opposed to Twitter, which is predominately text based, HVSM platforms rely on the user to post pictures or videos. The user can post pictures of themselves and view pictures or videos of others. HVSM apps are also the most popular, being used more frequently than Facebook (Marengo et al., 2018). While someone may write once a week on Facebook, others on Instagram, TikTok or Snapchat might ‘update’ their followers frequently daily posts. If you’re using Twitter, you can post on your feed wearing whatever you want, without a care in the world. With HVSM apps, you might be more conscious of how you look or what you’re wearing, even where you’re located. The constant pressure of trying to get a good picture or shoot the ‘perfect’ video will affect even the most confident person, but people with low self-esteem and body image issues will feel it at a much higher level.  This unhealthy obsession with one’s appearance can increase concerns about one’s body image and possibly contribute to the onset or worsening of BDD. Additionally, the ‘pursuit for perfection’ may trigger a cycle of one’s negative view of their appearance leading to a loss of self-esteem. The promotion of an open-minded approach to the use these apps, through accepting oneself and appreciating others’ beauty is important.

While there are countless social media platforms available for people to use, a number of specific apps have the potential to impact those suffering from BDD in a detrimental way. An estimated 375 million people worldwide use Snapchat daily (Dixon, 2023b). Snapchat is a HVSM app that allows its user to send and receive pictures or videos from friends that are displayed for a limited amount of time before ‘disappearing’ forever (Vaterlaus et al., 2016). Another key feature of Snapchat is its augmented reality (AR) capabilities. The AR lens allows the user to apply a filter over their face during the shooting of a video that can modify their appearance (Dodoo & Youn, 2021).

Snapchat’s AR feature is a strong influence on those with BDD. The option of modifying one’s appearance is extremely appealing for those who suffer from BDD. Snapchat’s filters range from silly creatures to ‘beautifying’ the user, by lightening and smoothing skin, reducing nose size, increasing eye size and so on (Mendoza, 2022). Plastic surgeons have been approached by patients who have requested physical modifications that will make them look more like their filtered self (Ramphul & Mejias, 2018). This has been deemed “Snapchat dysmorphia” (Ramphul & Mejias, 2018). Snapchat users that repeatedly interact with filters are increasing their risk of social anxiety or depression (Habib et al., 2022). BDD sufferers are already at risk of both social anxiety and depression, making Snapchat a potentially dangerous app for them to use. They may obsess over the filters, trying to achieve the ‘perfect’ look, at the cost of their own mental health.

One benefit of Snapchat is that it is among the most private of social media platforms. Unlike Twitter or Instagram, the user won’t be discovered through a global feed or tags unless they’re a public figure. This adds a layer of security for the user, as the people they communicate are likely ones they already know. The user chooses who they wish to add as a friend and can block those they don’t. However, this also means that any potential criticism they may receive will be more personal, rather than from an anonymous troll. For example, a friend’s negative comment about a user’s appearance could be even more damaging given the trust and relationship between the two. With the freedom of messages ‘vanishing’ when sent, it may allow some to be more personal or even malicious with their messages as they generally won’t be shown to anyone else..

The single most used HVSM app, with two billion people using Instagram monthly (Dixon, 2023a). Instagram allows its users to post pictures and videos to their own feed for others to view (Serafinelli, 2018). Their feed can be either private or public, with the former restricting their feed to people they add as friends, and the latter allowing anyone to view it. Hashtags can be used in posts, which will increase the visibility of the post and allow others searching the tag to find their content (Serafinelli, 2018).

Instagram was among the first apps to utilise an in-built editor to the users photos (Mendoza, 2022). As opposed to Snapchat, Instagram is more limited in its editing capabilities, with the majority of it being lighting, tones, colour and so on (Mendoza, 2022). However, some users opt to edit their photos using other apps or programs prior to posting (Vendemia & DeAndrea, 2018). This creates a false image for the followers. Someone with BDD might look at a profile and see, in their eyes, a flawless, beautiful, skinny woman. They’ll likely wish that’s how they looked. In reality, the ‘perfect’ woman they’re following might have imperfections, scars, blemishes just like them, but they’ve edited them out. They can even ‘slim’ their body through the usage of apps. This leads the viewer to question their own self-worth (Lopez & Polletta, 2021) highlighting the danger of these apps by showing their capability to influence those who are most vulnerable to self-esteem or body issues, such as BDD suffers. Image manipulation plays an important role in the shaping of beauty perception.

Boasting 755 million users worldwide (Ceci, 2023), TikTok is HVSM app that is focused purely on the posting of short videos. Users can create and watch 15-60 second videos set to music or sound effects with a high level of user engagement (D’Souza, 2023). TikTok has a majority female usage rate (Ceci, 2023). TikTok, like Snapchat, allows the users to filter their face. It even allows for the user to superimpose their face over other bodies or objects (Mendoza, 2022).

TikTok has the highest level of discoverability out of the three mentioned platforms, recently beating Instagram as the top platform for influencers to go viral (TikTok vs. Instagram Influencers: What’s the Difference?). TikTok is dependant on its tags, with users adding hashtags to their post to gain visibility on the public feeds much like Instagram (TikTok vs. Instagram Influencers: What’s the Difference?). One of the largest tags on TikTok is the #beauty category, with 67.1 billion views (Mendoza, 2022). People with BDD are likely going to encounter videos relating to the #beauty category, either by choice or purely by chance, due to the high visibility. These videos, like many others, are likely to be heavily edited through filters (Mendoza, 2022). These videos portraying unrealistic expectations of ‘beauty’ are being view billions of times, only reinforcing to many the need to look ‘perfect’ and leading to users to question their own self-presentation.

The solution:

Social media is a vast world that’s ever-evolving. It’s difficult to keep up with what’s new, whether it be features, rules or terms of use. However, adolescents are easily impressionable, and parents should bare some responsibility on how their child is using social media. Parents have reported to be an influence on a BDD’s sufferers’ condition (Densham et al., 2017), and should be aware of potential triggers that may arise through social media.

Parents should be cautious, but reasonable. Banning their child from social media completely may make matters worse. Adolescents have been reported to experience depression from the “fear of missing out” (FoMO) through not being able to keep up with their friends on social media (Tandon et al., 2021). With many BDD sufferers already experiencing depression, FoMO may compound their worries and worsen their condition.

Some studies have reported positive results when parents have become more involved by learning about the social media platforms themselves (Rogers-Whitehead, 2021). Parents should take some time to research how they work, and even use them. An educated parent can discuss with their adolescent topics such as certain Instagram photos being edited. Perhaps they can do a ‘before and after’ to illustrate how simple it can be to fake the perfect image. They can attempt to warn their adolescent about trolls and bullies, encourage them to not take those people seriously, or their comments to heart.

The social media platforms themselves should be held accountable, too. Trolls have no place on these platforms and contribute nothing positive to the experience. While many platforms already ban these users, there will likely always be ways to circumnavigate them and return with a new profile. Another option would be to highlight when an image has been edited from its original format. By adding an ‘edited’ tag to these pictures, people will instantly realise what’s real and what’s fake. Those who post them may even experience some shame in the tag, and it could lead to fewer edited pictures overall.

Conclusion:

Social media has many positive features. Many people use social media on a daily basis without any negative consequences. However, there are those that suffer on a daily basis. Influencers are constantly flaunting their perfect life, looks and body without the viewer even knowing for sure what’s real and what’s not. Trolls relish behind their anonymity, taking every opportunity to demean and insult others. BDD is a real issue with real consequences. But sadly, much of social media is as far from ‘real’ as it gets.

As we have discussed in this thesis, the consequences of social media usage on BDD in adolescent females is a serious problem that needs to be addressed in different ways. The promotion of digital literacy and educating users on the difference between a real and enhance image is a start. The owners of these apps taking responsibility and control of their platforms, handing down harsher punishments due to misuse. And lastly, to encourage that beauty is within us all – not just on the outside.

 

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