Today’s teens
are navigating a complicated new social landscape online, and the number of
selfies they post could be making it more difficult.
“Just let me take a
selfie first.”
Nearly every parent of a teen has
heard those words countless times. They’ve also witnessed what follows — the
mad dash to snap several photos — and then the hour spent choosing the best pic
to post online.
For plenty of teens, social media is
simply a way to remain connected and to express themselves, and posting selfies
are a big part of that. But what if that selfie
obsession were to indicate something darker?
According to a new study published
in The Journal of Early Adolescence, teens who post more
selfies online tend to have an increased awareness of their own appearance —
and that awareness is linked to an increased risk of negative body
image.
According to Nancy S. Molitor, PhD,
the clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at
Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, it makes sense.
“These kids are looking for
validation in terms of their physical appearance. So, they may already be
predisposed to negative self-image issues before they ever go online to share
those photos,” she tells Healthline.
When it comes to social media, the
current generation of teens is navigating a landscape unlike anything their
predecessors ever had to deal with before. And it’s starting at an early age.
“It’s concerning, obviously,” Molitor
says. And there is a lot of research being done. But I think what we’re
ultimately going to find is that there aren’t too many effects for kids who are
only mild users. But for the heavy utilizers of social media, at any age
really, I think we’re going to find there are a lot of vulnerabilities there.”
Some researchers have already started
digging into those vulnerabilities.
Picture imperfect
A 2015 Common Sense Media Report found that teen girls
worry about how they’re perceived online, with 35 percent being anxious about
being tagged in unattractive photos and 27 percent worrying about how they looked
in photos they themselves had posted.
An additional 22 percent admitted to
feeling worse about themselves when their photos were ignored. Also, their
self-image really took a hit when they didn’t get the number of likes and
comments they expected.
Parents should take note of the link
between selfies and body image, as it can be an indicator of other issues.
While some teens with a negative body
image may simply be more likely to post selfies in search of validation, previous research has linked negative body image
to increased rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidality among teens.
An influx of selfies posted to social
media could be a signal that a teen is experiencing negative body image and may
need encouragement.
Illustrations by Brittany England
The click factor
In addition to the current problems a
selfie addiction may signal, Molitor says she also has other concerns.
“These kids have seen a lot of
reality shows, and in a sense, many of them are choreographing and directing
their own online lives to mirror what they’ve seen,” she says.
“They don’t even realize they’re not
being authentic and they’re not experiencing the moment. And that’s the thing I
worry about especially, is they’re going to be so focused on the outer world (How am I
looking? What do people think of me?) that they’ll lose touch with themselves. They’ll lose the
impact of developing natural, authentic relationships.”
She adds, “That may be something we
see play out over the next 5, 10, 15 years. Is it possible these kids won’t be
equipped to build and maintain healthy, authentic relationships?”
An individual experience
Ilyssa Salomon, a doctoral student at
the University of Kentucky, conducted the latest study researching teens and
selfies.
Speaking to Healthline about her
research results, she explained, “Parents and clinicians should understand that
social media use is a very individualized experience, in that teens have a lot
of freedom in what they post and look at, as well as how they will interpret
what they see. Our findings were the strongest for girls, and for those who are
focused on others for approval — the ones willing to adapt their behavior to fit
in.”
More teens may fall into the category
of being willing to adapt behavior to fit in than parents realize. And social
media can often play a big part in that.
A 2014 study in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that exposure
to pictures of teens partaking in risky behavior online significantly increased
the risk of teens smoking and drinking themselves.
However, Salomon did offer a ray of
hope. “Not every teen will use social media in the same way,” she says. “And
even if they do, it will affect some differently than others. Our results
should encourage parents and clinicians to dig a little deeper and talk with
teens about why they post certain things on social media, how it makes them
feel, and to explain what risks are associated with behaviors like posting
selfies.”
This may be especially true for teens
in more vulnerable groups.
Salomon points out that there are
additional implications to consider when thinking about how these issues play
out for teens of color and LGBTQ teens.
“How people are portrayed in popular
media sets the ideal body standards that teens are going to strive for. Westernized
culture tends to value thinness for women and muscularity for men, whiteness,
and heterosexuality,” she says.
“Media representation of LGBTQ
individuals and people of color — particularly women of color — is often highly
stereotypical, sexualized, and even fetishized. For teens that belong to or
identify with these groups, cultural body standards can be even more limited
and unrealistic, potentially eliciting greater feelings of shame toward their
own bodies.”
Salomon says there’s a strong need for
more research that investigates these issues among teens of color and LGBTQ
teens.
While some research in these areas
has been done in recent years, many of the findings were concerning.
Source: Health lines
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