Writing Feedback / Body image promoted and shared by social media is harmful to user [4]

Aspects of social media popularity

The body images promoted and shared by social media are definitely harmful to the society as a whole, even to be precise, every person of the community.Ever since the breakthrough in technology level, there is several social media advent onto the market such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.As a result, TV or print media can no longer dominate solely.People can receive different information while surfing through those mass media.However, they failed to provide flawless information or even deliberately mislead the citizen occasionally.One typical example is body image and so this essay will argue that those images presented by the media are lethal in a way that it deliver the wrong message and undermine our self-image and the society eventually.

To begin with, social media may help cultivating a perfect body image which is unattainable, leading to giving out the wrong message.The statistics from the National Center for Health revealed that the average American woman weighs about 169 pounds but the fashion model weighs only about 120 pounds.("Body image in",n.d.) Moreover, people are receiving almost 5000 advertisements each day("Is your daughter",n.d.) so it is not surprising for them to assume those images perceived from the media is typical.Hence, result in a study showing 66% of girls believe that the media 'woman' causes dieting("Is your daughter",n.d.)as they might treat themselves being abnormal from others. Apart from this superficial phenomenon, the underlying threat is more concerning.The media along with advertisers are promoting a message that in order to become attractive and lose weight, wrong eating habit is acceptable(Zeiger,n.d.).So, it is expected that several eating disorders like anorexia are likely to happen and people who suffer from it may adopt dieting, consequently, impose a fatal threat to their body in the long run.

On the other hand, Self-image may become vulnerable under social media given that people's body images are purely constructed by peer's recognition.One unique feature of social media is that people can instantly response to anything they interested in by clicking 'like' or 'dislike'.Taking selfie is so epidemic nowadays and it allows people to earn self-satisfaction based on their appearance or body image.(Simmons,2016) One research named Children, Teens, Media, and Body Image found that 27% of teens felt stressed about how they look on a photo.(Knorr,2017)To further explain such worry, one critical factor should not be forgotten.Despite the fact that there is no absolute standard of beauty exist, people may still uphold a universal aesthetic standard which simply about thinness promoted by mass media and such belief can never fit everyone in the society.However, people may fail to realise such important point and comments others arbitrarily.As a result, such self-image will become vulnerable and easily destructed by others' comments as there is a strong correlation between body image and self-image.Besides, individuality is inhibited as everyone are forced to compromise to one 'mutual' accepted aesthetic standard shown by media.

While some would argue that the mass media are neutral or even positive in the sense that it provide a platform for circulating information and allow those used to silence become heard.Generally, there is no doubt that everyone has equal opportunity to access the social platform and express their views.But one incident reminds us is the concession of a magazine towards their customers.New Woman, an Australian magazine, received a barrage of complaints from the advertisers after included a heavy-set model on their cover.(Violence,2011)It's undeniable that advertising income is vital to the mass media so they refused to promote heavy-set model again.Therefore, it is clear that social media consider their own interest while sharing body images, no matter in which form of media with what reason.What is more shocking is that those images on media are modified before published.A video produced by Dove clearly show without artificial processes like makeup, those model won't be as attractive as they are in an advertisement.(Macleod,2006)They do so as they think it can help boosting their sale.From the above, it is manifest to conclude social media is promoting an unattainable body image to the public which deters the society to receive a more realistic body image in the end.

In conclusion, body images presented and shared by social media are not as perfect as they are.One should realise there is no ideal body image nor aesthetic standard exists unless post-processing.So it is not necessary to value others' opinion as heavy as they are.The mass media should stop portraying any so-called flawless body image and one should understand as long as you lives in a comfortable way, you are beautiful in any aspect.