Social Media/Body Image

Social media is a landfill of mental illness. Social media can cause body image issues, eating disorders, cyber boulng ing, and popularity contest.

What’s so Bad about Social Media?

With social media being some of the most commonly used apps among all ages, it has many pros and cons. For example, Snapchat is a form of social media where you send pictures and texts to family and friends worldwide, but after the message is sent and viewed, you can not see Snapchat again. Snapchat also shows when a Snapchat is screenshotted or saved, making cyberbullying easier than ever before. Instagram, another super popular social media among teens, is a platform where you post pictures where anyone can see the post that follows you. Those who have Instagram can also follow celebrities, models, and athletes. Though, for most, this is a way to follow some of your inspirations or personal interests, it can also lead to comparing yourself and wishing you were more like someone else. These comparisons cause many people to fall into eating disorders to fit in more with beauty standards in the hope of getting more likes on their next. Though bullying still happens in middle school, having these social media platforms makes it much easier to say something hurtful when the bully doesn’t have to say it to their face. A study done in the UK about body image says “just over one in five adults (22%) and 40% of teenagers said images on social media caused them to worry about their body image”.

What can you do?

All ages: Social media can invade privacy and give out way too much information. My advice would be to take some of that away from the public. For example, on Snapchat, your location is shareable. You can turn that off; there’s no reason for everyone to have your location. Popularity contests are all over social media. Turn your likes off, allowing you to not focus as much on who liked what… Instead, be happy with what you do have to offer. Having self-confidence is so important. Sometimes spending too much time on social media can change how you feel about yourself. It is hard not to see models or athletes with the perfect bodies and skin you wish you had; you can change the way you think. Compliment yourself by doing what makes you feel pretty: dressing up, curling your hair, or doing your makeup. Feel good about yourself because what makes you different makes you beautiful no matter what.