Friends’ pictures on social media have biggest impact on body image

Seeing friends’ carefully curated selfies on Facebook is more likely to induce feelings of guilt or shame among young women, and lead to unnecessary dieting, than images of models or celebrities they see in magazines.

Academics found that young women are more likely to compare their appearance with that of their peers’ images on social media than they were with celebrities on TV, adverts or other forms of traditional media. When they then make an unfavourable comparison with the other woman they are looking at, the impact is more pronounced when the image is on social media.

Women are also more likely to diet and do exercise when negative comparisons take place on sites such as Facebook or Instagram, the research found. The vast majority of study participants were not overweight and did not need to diet.

Researchers said the study, which will appear in March in the journal Body Image, has implications for how schools should teach young people about the influences that might affect their self-esteem.

Jasmine Fardouly, lead researcher at the centre for emotional health at Macquarie University, Sydney, said there are several reasons why social media may be more damaging than traditional media. “Celebrities may seem more distanced and their appearance may seem less attainable than people you work with or see regularly.”

The study, which questioned about 150 young women who completed five daily surveys over a five-day period, found that participants overwhelmingly considered themselves less attractive than the people they saw both online and in traditional media.

The negative impact that thin models and airbrushed adverts have on young women has been a source of concern for decades, but increasing attention is being paid to the role of social media. Around 70% of women aged 18 to 35 regularly edit their images before posting them – as do 50% of men in the same age group, according to research by the Renfrew Center Foundation, a US organisation that specialises in tackling eating disorders. Airbrushing on social media has become commonplace: Samsung users have reported that their phones default to a “beauty” mode that alters their faces and smooths out imperfections.

Last month Be Real, a national campaign, was launched to improve body confidence by providing resources to schools, as well as calling on the diet industry, media and businesses to promote different body shapes and sizes. The campaign was launched in response to a report by the all-party parliamentary group on body image which found that girls as young as five were worrying about their appearance.

Natasha Devon, the former children’s mental health champion, and co-founder of the Self-Esteem Team, said that PSHE (personal, social and health education classes in schools) – which cover topics such as body image – should be made compulsory, if these issues are to be taught properly.

Friends’ pictures on social media have biggest impact on body image

Experiencing Trump image overload | Brief letters

The news section of the Guardian on 14 January contained four pictures of the US president-elect (pages 6, 26, 28 and 41), not to mention the political cartoon rendering on page 29. It seems to me this is helping to create an icon. As I admire and appreciate the excellence of the Guardian, I wonder how you determine when enough is enough, or in this case, too much.
Tom Miller
Stromness, Orkney

• Surely if NHS hospitals didn’t have to pay business rates (Rates pain for hospitals, 12 January) the problem of NHS funding would almost be solved. Or perhaps they should declare themselves a charity, as private hospitals do, and ask for an 80% rebate. I suggest the Guardian starts a petition to stop this anomaly.
Moira Robinson
Kidlington, Oxfordshire

• I have a question for your anonymous correspondent (Letters, 16 January). If the job of a GP is the cushy number, why do so few medical graduates want to make a career in that branch of the NHS?
David Nove
Duffield, Derbyshire

• I remember from my childhood 65 years ago that my mother had a Weetabix butter spreader (Letters, 16 January) which I believe she had inherited after my grandfather died. It was a short knife with a rounded bulbous blade end which was cross-hatched (presumably to aid the spread of hard butter on crumbly Weetabix) and bore the legend “Weetabix Spreader”.
Judith Kent
London

• I used to note that, during interviews, politicians began their answers with “clearly”, while scientists began with “so” (Letters, 16 January). “Clearly” has all but disappeared, while “so” is widespread. Evidence that we have stopped listening to politicians?
Jennifer Gale
Littleham, Devon

• I would suggest a fourth cause of finger cuts that need hospital treatment (Letters, 14 January) and that is the one after the ceremony of the corned beef tin and the key.
Linda Gresham
Birmingham

• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com

• Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters

Experiencing Trump image overload | Brief letters

Bishop campaigns to highlight issue of body image among children

Rachel Treweek, the bishop of Gloucester, has said she is highlighting the issue of body image among children to challenge perceptions that physical appearance determines self-worth.

On Monday, Treweek – the first female bishop to sit in the House of Lords – will visit All Saints Academy in Cheltenham to talk to a group of 13- to 16-year-olds in the first of a series of school visits in her constituency to discuss the issue.

It follows a report from the Children’s Society last month that found one out of three girls aged 10 to 15 was unhappy with her appearance and felt ugly or worthless.

The study highlighted the growing pressure of social media with regard to body image. The proportion of girls with negative feelings about their bodies increased from 30% to 34% over five years; among boys it remained unchanged at 20%.

Treweek told the Guardian the issue urgently needed addressing. “When I talk to girls, it strikes me how much of how they view themselves and their self-worth is caught up with appearance and the way that society sees them,” she said. “Issues of health and mental health are more and more linked with how people are viewed by others, and much of that begins with external appearance.”

The bishop plans to listen to the concerns of teenagers over the coming months before considering what action can be taken.

“I want to challenge the subconscious messages we’re giving,” she said. “We need to look at the language we use as adults and how it shapes our culture. For example, when adults engage with girls, nearly always the first thing we say is a comment on appearance. We need to find out who they are, what they enjoy, what they’re good at, what makes their souls sing.”

She added: “I don’t want to say to girls: ‘Don’t worry about hair or nails or fashion’ – I want them to enjoy those things. But I want these things to be an expression of who they are, not their starting place.”

Treweek acknowledged that as one of a handful of female bishops she had a different perspective on society than her male colleagues. “The church doesn’t always appear in touch with people’s everyday lives. This faith stuff has got to connect with people’s lives – and if this is shown to be an issue affecting girls’ mental health and happiness, then we have to be listening to that, the church needs to engage with it.”

The Children’s Society report found that 14% of girls aged 10 to 15 were unhappy with their lives as a whole. Another study last month by the Department for Education found an increase in psychological distress among 14-year-olds in 2014 compared with similar research in 2005.

Bishop campaigns to highlight issue of body image among children

Size diversity plan can help body image | Letters

We appreciate Hadley Freeman’s point (Don’t blame the fashion world for the cult of skinny, Weekend, 10 September) that eating disorders are multifactorial, unattributed to any single cause. However, we disagree that the fashion industry, and its media representations, don’t play a role.

The industry’s promotion of extreme thinness is a major sociocultural pressure that increases eating disorder risk. Furthermore, these pressures are harmful to models, who too often must put their health at risk to keep their job. Legislation that can change this thin-ideal saturated environment has a high potential to decrease the incidence of disordered eating behaviours.

The Women’s Equality party’s proposal argues for legislation aiming to increase size and shape diversity in fashion, including through larger sample sizes. Such legislation can be effective when end-users are involved and when enforcement is possible in practice and through the allocation of resources. In addition, providing youth with tools to resist appearance pressures is critical to decreasing rates of disordered eating. The WEP’s additional focus on including media literacy in curriculums would address this. A number of effective, evidence-based media literacy programmes are freely available for schools.

Limiting the impact of the thin ideal can only happen through concerted efforts to decrease these pressures and simultaneously help young people resist them. The WEP’s proposal outlines such a plan and may pave the way to healthier working conditions for models and positive body image for the greater public.
Rachel Rodgers Associate professor, Department of Applied Psychology, Northeastern University, USA, Professor S Bryn Austin Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School, Sara Ziff Founding director, Model Alliance, Áine Campbell, Madeline Hill, Meredith Hattam Co-directors, Model Alliance

• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com

Size diversity plan can help body image | Letters

Young men and body image: what are your biggest fears and insecurities?

Body image issues are typically seen to mainly affect young women, but a survey by an advertising think-tank has found young men can have just as many insecurities.

The survey by Credos of more than 1,000 secondary-school aged students, found 56% saw eating disorders as an issue for both genders and 55% would consider changing their diet to look better. What’s more, 23% said they believed there was a “perfect male body”.

Despite this, over half of those surveyed found it hard to talk about their concerns with teachers – and 29% struggled telling parents. The biggest influences on young men to look good come from friends, social media, advertising and celebrities, according to the survey.

We want to hear from young men about this, sharing with us your biggest worries and concerns. Do male teens focus on this issue just as much as girls? What is the “perfect male body” in your eyes? How much time do you spend exercising and dieting?

Share your experiences and views with us in the form below – and we will use responses for an article that will appear online.

As this is a sensitive topic, please be reassured that we will not share or publish any personal details without obtaining contributors’ permission first. You have to be over 16 to take part.

Young men and body image: what are your biggest fears and insecurities?