Unhealthy Beauty Standards Exist on Social Media, Scientists Say
- U-Report
VIVA – Researchers from the Moscow State University of Psychology and Education (MSUPE) have reviewed studies and identified the mechanisms that promote unhealthy beauty standards in social media or society.
The modern world imparts physical attractiveness with great importance. The beauty standards are characterized by limits and require considerable effort to achieve.
In this regard, there has been a widespread tendency to be dissatisfied with your own body over the past 30 years, especially among girls and young women, experts from the Moscow State University of Psychology and Education (MSUPE) concluded.
MSUPE scientists have reviewed previous studies on the social and psychological factors of body idealization. This made it possible to identify the key mechanisms and tools that promote unhealthy idealization of external attractiveness in society.
Ilustrasi selfie.
- U-Report
The results of their study were published in the Psychological Journal, as quoted from the Sputniknews site, on Thursday, January 12, 2023.
“A significant contribution to body dissatisfaction is made by attitudes towards a certain type of female beauty, an emphasized sexually attractive body. This body exists for the pleasure of others, and its value directly depends on physical attractiveness,” Natalia Polskaya from the Moscow State University of Psychology & Education, said.
This mindset is called “objectification”. In girls who fall under its influence early, it can turn into self-objectification, a tendency to identify their personality with their body and monitor physical attractiveness at the expense of internal sensations and objective indicators of health. Self-objectification promotes bodily alienation and shame.
According to experts, self-objectification on social media is the basis of behavior focused on appearance, with content dedicated to the body and appearance rapidly spreading and becoming a role model.
Scientists revealed that viewing, transferring, and posting photos, videos, and texts on social networks turned out to be tools for creating the latest standards of an ideal body.
