How Social Media is Impacting Our Body Image

Over the past decade, social media has become integral to our lives. It’s a powerful tool that can bring people together, but it also has the potential to cause harm. In particular, social media can hurt our body image and self-esteem, especially in young people who are impressionable and vulnerable. So let’s take a closer look at how social media influences our body image.

Photo by Szabolcs Toth on Unsplash

The Pressure of Perfectionism

One of the most significant issues with social media is that it can create pressure to be perfect or to conform to specific beauty standards or body types. We are bombarded with images of “perfect” bodies and lifestyles daily, making us feel like we are not good enough or that we don’t measure up. This is especially true for young people who may not yet have developed the confidence and self-esteem to defend against these pressures.

Social Comparison

Social comparison is something that most of us do unconsciously, and it can be detrimental to our mental health and self-worth if we’re not mindful of it. Looking at other people’s lives on social media makes us feel inadequate because we tend to compare ourselves to others — even though their lives may not be as “perfect” as they appear online. We often forget that what we see on social media is only one small piece…