Toxic imaging

Does social media have any effect on body confidence and how we perceive ourselves? Simran Sharma finds some answers to this all pervasive issue

Have you been switching through the apps on your phone mindlessly? Is the first and the last thought of your day ‘Instagram’? Do you find yourself fascinated by all the ‘pretty girls’ online all the time? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might not be alone. These are some of the queries that came up during a recent debate about how social media is affecting the way we think, analyse, and perceive ourselves.

The way we perceive ourselves is largely affected by the way we use social media. “I started thinking about beauty in the late 90s when I was about 11 because that’s when tabloid culture and magazines really started a full-on assault on women’s appearances,” Jameela Jamil, The Good Place actress, and a body positivity activist told Brennan Kilbane in an interview with Allure magazine. This statement signifies how body image issues were magnified by the media even before the online social media platforms took over. Activists like Jameela have been vocal about creating a safe and radically inclusive space on social media. Activism in this realm is not just about trying to navigate life through the ideal physical weight but about finding self-worth, love, and value. It’s also about feminism, body positivity, LGBTQIA+ issues, and mental health which are crucial social problems.

Why is the problem even worse right now, you ask? It is because of one simple reason. Back when magazines and newspapers printed airbrushed, perfect pictures of actresses and models which set the beauty standards for all young women, it was a little less relatable because the portrayal was by ‘stars’. Women related a little less to those. It was because they knew the actresses have different resources, lifestyles, and reasons to look perfect. With social media, and ‘Instagram Influencers’ looking perfect with the edits and the filters, the gravity of the situation has increased because these are girls and boys of one’s own age, in the same workplace or college, having similar lifestyles. Even if these people set an unrealistic beauty standard similar to the celebrities, it is the increased relatability to these influencers which is the primary concern.

Body image issues as a college student will be amplified further if one sees a really ‘pretty’ classmate rather than looking at the perfect ‘Instagram post’ by their favourite actress or model.

Alen Alexander, a clinical social worker with NIMHANS says that “youngsters need to understand and be aware that most posts on these platforms need not be real and are edited.” Most experts suggest a cut-down on social media usage. However, clinical psychologist and founder at Ashwas, a centre for healing, Nikita Hazarika, suggests we “balance our consumption.” She says, “for every five posts you see which trigger negative emotions, make an effort to search for at least three ‘happy’ posts.” According to Nikita, this will balance our emotions and also defeat the algorithm of these platforms that tend to show us content similar to our search history. All young men and women must indeed make sure they form their own beauty standards. Like Jameela Jamil’s I Weigh Campaign, let’s decide what we want to weigh in our lives, and let’s not limit ourselves to the number on those weighing machines. Let’s build an identity that is beyond our bodies!