Can Social Media Damage Your Body Image?

Just how much damage can social media do to body image and self-esteem? Believe it or not, but a lot!

How long do you usually spend on social media? 1 hour? 3 hours? 6 hours?

Did you know that the average teen spends approximately 9 hours a day on social media!? Think of all the criticism, comments and images we are exposed to on a daily basis.

So what are we exposed to on social media exactly that can cause harm? Well, let’s begin, shall we?

How many selfies do you usually take before you decide to upload the perfect one? We are so obsessed with making ourselves look as perfect as possible that we are willing to take 20, 30, 40 selfies just to get the perfect angle. And, for what? To receive comments that assure us of our beauty. But what happens when we receive criticism, rude comments? Our self-esteem hits the floor and we want to make ourselves even more perfect. It is a vicious cycle that traps us and becomes part of our daily routine. Best advice is to get out of the cycle while you can. How? No need to delete Facebook or Instagram if you really like it, but just don’t let it control you! Try detoxing from all the selfies for a week and see what happens.

This doesn’t only happen with selfies though. Every time we are on social media, we can see images of “perfect” bodies, but to be honest, these images probably go through a lot (and I mean a lot) of photo-shopping and those models are probably also just as self-aware of their body as you.

Take a look at Dove’s Evolution Video to see how “easily our perception of beauty can be manipulated.” Watch and see how digital manipulation can present the “perfect” model in 50 seconds.

Don’t let social media define, our body, our self-esteem and who we are!