Editing Body image (section)

=== Social media ===
Beauty standards are being enforced and shaped by social media.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 21, 2021|title=Social media effects on body image and eating disorders|url=https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2021/04/social-media-effects-on-body-image-and-eating-disorders/|access-date=December 2, 2021|website=News|language=en-US}}</ref> Users are constantly exposed to notifications, posts, and photos about the lives of others.<ref name=":122">{{cite book|last=Pierce|first=Cindy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZicxDQAAQBAJ&pg=PP1|title=Sex, College, and Social Media: A Commonsense Guide to Navigating the Hookup Culture|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2016|isbn=978-1-351-81858-2|pages=1–}}</ref> Despite the ability to create and control content on social media, the online environment still enforces the same beauty standards that traditional media promoted.<ref name=":302">{{Cite web|title=The beauty myth puts big users of social media at risk of low self-esteem|url=http://unisa.edu.au/Media-Centre/Releases/2017-Media-Releases/The-beauty-myth-puts-big-users-of-social-at-risk-of-low-self-esteem-media/|access-date=November 1, 2017|publisher=University of South Australia}}</ref> Over-engagement with social networking platforms and images can lead to unattainable ideas of beauty standards.<ref name=":302" /> Oftentimes, the look of the people they idealize is the result of medical procedures.<ref name=":140">{{Cite web |last=Beaulieu |first=Éliciane |date=November 12, 2021 |title=The Dark Side of Social Media: Unrealistic Beauty Standards |url=https://digital.hec.ca/en/the-dark-side-of-social-media-unrealistic-beauty-standards/ |access-date=November 21, 2021 |website=HEC Montréal}}</ref> Influencers and celebrities change the way they look with the help of medical procedures, such as [[lip augmentation]], which became a trend.<ref name=":141">{{cite web |last=Hahn |first=Elizabeth |date=November 15, 2019 |title=The toxicity of beauty standards |url=https://millardwestcatalyst.com/10919/opinion/the-toxicity-of-beauty-standards/ |access-date=November 21, 2021 |website=The catalyst}}</ref> There was an increase of 759% in botox procedures between 2000 and the late 2010s.<ref name=":141"/>

In an international study of social media apps, photo-based social media apps, predominately Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, were found to have a negative impact on the body image of men more than non-photo-based social media apps.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Griffiths |first1=S |date=2018 |title=The contribution of social media to body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms, and anabolic steroid use among sexual minority men |journal=Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=149–156 |doi=10.1089/cyber.2017.0375 |pmc=5865626 |pmid=29363993 |s2cid=4763178 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Another study by the Florida Health Experience found that "87% of women and 65% of men compare their bodies to images they consume on social and traditional media."<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|title=Link Between Social Media & Body Image|url=https://online.king.edu/news/social-media-and-body-image/|access-date=December 2, 2021|website=King University Online|language=en-US}}</ref> They also found that users felt like they got more positive attention towards their bodies if they altered them in some way.<ref name=":02" /> A study by the [[University of South Australia]] discovered that individuals who frequently uploaded or viewed appearance-related items were more likely to internalize the thin ideal.<ref name=":302" />

Applications, such as Instagram, have become a "body-image battleground",<ref>{{Cite news|last=Friedman|first=Vanessa|date=October 13, 2015|title=Instagram Has Become a Body-Image Battleground|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/fashion/instagram-has-become-a-body-image-battleground.html|access-date=December 3, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> while "selfie" is what individuals use to criticize their bodies and others.<ref name=":292">{{Cite news|title=Here's How Body Image Issues Can Affect You (Even if You Don't Have an Eating Disorder)|publisher=Verily|url=https://verilymag.com/2017/03/body-image-beauty-standards-media|access-date=November 1, 2017}}</ref> Facebook and [[Snapchat]] also allow users to receive appearance approvals and community acceptance through the ratio of views, comments, and likes. Since individuals who use social media platforms often only display the high points of their lives, a survey by [[Common Sense Media]] reported that 22% felt bad if their posts were ignored, or if they did not receive the amount of attention they had hoped for.<ref name=":110">{{Cite news|last=Knorr|first=Caroline|title=How girls use social media to build up, break down self-image|publisher=CNN|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/12/health/girls-social-media-self-image-partner/index.html|access-date=November 1, 2017}}</ref> Instagram is ranked at the most detrimental to mental health according to a study done by the Royal Society for Mental Health.<ref name=":210">{{Cite web|last=RSPH|title=Instagram Ranked Worst for Young People's Mental Health|url=https://www.rsph.org.uk/about-us/news/instagram-ranked-worst-for-young-people-s-mental-health.html|access-date=November 30, 2021|website=www.rsph.org.uk}}</ref> The increased use of body and facial reshaping applications such as Snapchat and [[Facetune]] has been identified as a potential cause of body dysmorphia. Social media apps that have body altering filters contribute to body image issues which most often result in eating disorders and body dysmorphia.<ref name=":37">{{Cite web|title=A Psychiatrist's Perspective on Social Media Algorithms and Mental Health|url=https://hai.stanford.edu/news/psychiatrists-perspective-social-media-algorithms-and-mental-health|access-date=November 30, 2021|website=Stanford HAI|date=September 14, 2021 |language=en}}</ref> Recently, a phenomenon referred to as '[[Snapchat dysmorphia]]' has been used to describe people who request surgery to look like the edited versions of themselves as they appear through Snapchat filters.<ref name=":42">{{cite web|title=A new reality for beauty standards: How selfies and filters affect body image|url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-08/bmc-anr080118.php|access-date=February 4, 2019|website=eurekalert|publisher=the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)}}</ref>

Many users digitally manipulate the self-portraits they post to social media. According to research by the Renfrew Center Foundation, 50% of men and 70% of 18 to 35-year-old women edited their images before uploading.<ref name=":312">{{Cite news|last=Ratcliffe|first=Rebecca|date=March 5, 2017|title=Friends' pictures on social media have biggest impact on body image|work=The Observer|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/mar/05/friends-pictures-on-social-media-biggest-impact-body-image|access-date=November 1, 2017|issn=0029-7712}}</ref> 35% of respondents were also actively concerned about being tagged in unattractive photos, while 27% fretted about their appearances online.<ref name=":312" />

Reports have also shown that the messages delivered by "fitspiration" websites are sometimes identical to the "thinspiration" or pro-anorexia types.<ref name=":332">{{Cite news|date=May 13, 2016|title=The Unhealthy Truth Behind 'Wellness' and 'Clean Eating'|work=Vice|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/ruby-tandoh-eat-clean-wellness/|access-date=November 1, 2017}}</ref> This is evident through "language inducing [[Guilt (emotion)|guilt]] about weight or the body, and promoted dieting".<ref name=":322">{{Cite news|title=How Social Media Is a Toxic Mirror|magazine=Time|url=https://time.com/4459153/social-media-body-image/|access-date=November 1, 2017}}</ref> The marketing of restrictive diets to young women as a form of self care can cause "increasingly [[disordered eating]]",<ref name=":322" /> and [[Orthorexia nervosa|orthorexia]], an obsession with the right and wrong types of food.<ref name=":332" />

==== Attempted social media tackling of the issue ====
In an attempt to tackle such issues, the UK launched a national campaign called Be Real, after findings showed 76% of secondary school students who learnt about body confidence in class felt more positive about themselves.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Almost a third of 11-16 year-olds have body image anxiety |url=http://academytoday.co.uk/Article/almost-a-third-of-11-16-year-olds-have-body-image-anxiety |access-date=November 1, 2017 |publisher=Academy Today}}</ref> The stated goal of this movement was to improve body confidence through educational resources provided to schools, and persuading the media, businesses, and the diet industry to endorse different body shapes and sizes instead.<ref name=":312" />

Social media platforms such as Instagram have banned the use of "thinspiration and "thinspo" related hashtags. Other solutions include the promotion of hashtags such as #SelfLove and #BodyPositivity,<ref name=":34">{{Cite news |last=Lanquist |first=Lindsey |title=20 Side-by-Side Photos That Show How Misleading Social Media Can Be |url=https://www.self.com/story/side-by-side-photos |access-date=November 1, 2017 |work=Self}}</ref> and the promotion of "transformation photos", side-by-side images displaying an individual's fitness or weight-loss progress, which users have utilized to showcase the deceptiveness of social media. Eating Disorder Hope launched the Pro-Recovery Movement, a live Twitter chat encouraging sufferers to celebrate self-love and a positive body image, through recovery subject matters.<ref name=":35">{{Cite web |date=October 6, 2016 |title=Positive Uses of Social Media in Body Image Advocacy |url=https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/blog/positive-uses-social-media-body-image-advocacy |access-date=November 1, 2017 |publisher=Eating Disorder Hope}}</ref> [[Project HEAL]] introduced a campaign called #WhatMakesMeBeautiful,<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 22, 2016 |title=#WhatMakesMeBeautiful Campaign With Heal Project |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/clementine-desseaux/what-makes-me-beautiful-heal-project_b_9287398.html |access-date=November 1, 2017 |publisher=HuffPost UK}}</ref> with the stated aim of celebrating admirable attributes other than appearance.<ref name=":35" />

There have been recent demands for social media sites to highlight photos that have been edited and prevent universal publication.<ref name=":36">{{cite news |last1=Leon |first1=Harmon |date=August 15, 2019 |title=The Dark Truth Behind Photo Editing Apps That 'Perfect' Your Appearance |url=https://observer.com/2019/08/photoshop-apps-false-physical-narratives-psychological-effects/ |access-date=March 22, 2021 |website=Observer}}</ref>