How Social Media Positively Influences Body Image

Student Name Course Instructor Date Social Media Impact on Body Positivity Enhancements in technology over the years have seen the world opened up into one global village. Access and transfer of information and data has been specifically made easy fast and convenient through the internet and particularly through the media. The society has embraced the internet explosion which has in turn created social media platforms that include Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These media platforms in the contemporary society have adversely influenced people’s perceptions on real life issues such as body image. Individuals have become accustomed to using these social media platforms as reference points for the attainment of the “ideal” body and often go to extreme lengths to achieve it. As a result, the struggles to conform to the society’s perfect body have led to severe health problems from poor eating methods and low self-esteem. Nonetheless, these social media platforms have also been integral in championing the acceptance of one’s appearance and overall body image. Through the vast numbers of followers in the platforms they have been successful in running campaigns that have reached all corners of the world. Various authors including Thoreau have also written books with themes touching on the effects of the media on body image and self-esteem issues. The research paper purports to examine how the social media platforms have been able to positively influence the aspect of body image in the society. There are over 3.2 billion people in social media platforms who have been at the forefront in the spreading of body positivity in the society. These platforms have people from diverse backgrounds who are connected through friendship or through common experiences. Individuals have been able to create groups on the social media platforms such as Facebook where they help each other on different issues including cooking tips, maternal care, where to buy cheap household items, job markets, business tips, community policing and life related issues. They have been at the forefront in bringing together people who suffer from low self-esteem issues because of the negative perceptions about their bodies and enabled them to share and express themselves positively. These social media groups have enabled individuals to appreciate their physical appearances and body sizes and advise the members from falling to the pressures of the “acceptable” body size standard set by the society. They also conduct regular live chat forum where the members are able to converse one on one and even share photos where they celebrate each other’s uniqueness. These social media groups have gone to the extent of setting up face to face meet ups where the members have been able to share more in person with their close relatives and friends. Social media platforms such as Instagram has really helped to promote body positivity through the posting of individual photos which shows that one is comfortable with how they look and their body sizes and hence is celebrating that aspect with his/her friends on the site. Reports from a survey recently conducted by Grose, who was examining the relationship between social media users around the world and the effects on body image, sh...