This assignment was an annotated bibliography. I researched the issue of social media’s contributions to body dysmorphia. I did research about how true the contributions social media to body dysmorphia is, and compiled a list of references.
Title Page
Social Media’s Contributions to Body Dysmorphia
Mike Flowers University of Arizona ENGL 102 Professor Lyckё February 7, 2020
Social Media’s Contribution to Body Dysmorphia
This paper analyzes how social media contributes to body dysmorphia among all users of social media. The correlation between the usage of social media and body dysmorphia has been established, there are new platforms which are contributing to the greater numbers of people displeased by their own appearances. The sources this paper uses shows that people have begun editing themselves and bringing in their edited photo to plastic surgeons, as an alternative to the typical celebrity idolism. It also provides perspective on the issue of group think, and how more dependent people are more likely to not be as sure of themselves, therefore resulting in worse body dysmorphia. People have become more obsessed with their own image due to social media. With the issue only growing, and social media only becoming more prevalent a solution to this issue is needed. With little to no resolution for the issue, one source offered the idea that people need to fully comprehend what they are reading or looking at. The purpose of doing this is so that they can process it, and not be as emotionally influenced by the words or pictures on their screen. Further research is needed to create a solution for more ways to stop the growth of body dysmorphia.
Social Media’s Contribution to Body Dysmorphia
Andsager, J. L. (2014). Research directions in social media and body image. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 71(11-12), 407–413. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-014-0430-4
The audience of this article is those who are looking to educate themselves on media literacy, and how to properly decode the message of the content they are consuming. The purpose of writing this article is to offer a solution to the ever growing issue of body dysmorphia. They provide context on how the issue of body dysmorphia is only getting more serious, and that if one were to train themselves to be more aware of the message it might help solve the problem. This source is very credible, it includes a lot of references to credible and proven studies. This article is also very applicable to the topic at hand, this is because it is making a comment about how people need to educate themselves and think deeper beyond the surface layer of a skinny body.
Combating ‘Social Media Dysmorphia’. (n.d.). H ealth and Wellness. Retrieved fromhttps://www.rush.edu/health-wellness/discover-health/combating-social-media-dysmor phia
This source talks about how the number of plastic surgeries over the years have gone up,and a contributing factor to it is snapchat and the filters that are in it. This article is targeting the people who are using snapchat and other social media platforms and thinking about altering their appearance to match their online persona. The purpose of this article is to provide reasons and give a thought process to dissuade someone from making a big decision such as plastic surgery. This source is trying to combat the new trend of changing the way
Social Media’s Contribution to Body Dysmorphia
you look and encourage a more positive view of oneself. This is a very credible source since it is a medical center, and th3ey provide therapy and ways to get help. The site lists all of it’s different services that it offers, showing that it is a well established site. This is very applicable to the prompt of social media contributing to body dysmorphia since it provides almost a resolution to help with the issue. It talks directly about the issue in question, which is how the use of social media is contributing to people hating the way they look in the real world, unedited.
Hunt, E. (2019, January 23). Faking it: how selfie dysmorphia is driving people to seek Surgery. The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jan/23/faking-it-how-selfie-dysmorphia-
S-driving-people-to-seek-surgery
The audience that was targeted from this source is those who use social media. The reason for this article is to share the perspective of someone who underwent plastic surgery in order to make herself feel “prettier”. She was inspired by the filters on snapchat, as soon as she saw herself with a filter she felt as if she needed to match that image. The context of including her story in this article was to show that it did in the end not give her the happiness that she thought it would bring her. The source is from a well known news network which gives it some ethos since the name is so renowned. Another part of the source’s credibility comes from using a well known plastic surgeon, and a real person’s story. This is applicable to the topic because it is a real life example of someone who was influenced to alter their appearance due to social media.
Social Media’s Contribution to Body Dysmorphia
King, L. [Larry King]. (2019, November 22). “Botched” stars Dr. Dubrow & Dr. Nassif on body dysmorphia, social media, & plastic surgery. [Video]. Youtube. :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edlGsVHyi-c
The audience of this interview between Larry King and Dr. Dubrow and Dr. Nassif is those interested in Larry King, which is an older demographic and fans of the show “botched”. The purpose of this interview was to find out from specialists the trends in plastic surgery, and why people decide to do it. The context is that both doctors are re-touch doctors and therefore fix the plastic surgery that their clients already have. This is a very credible source, since the interviewer is a famously known interviewer asking questions to two specialists in the field of plastic surgery. The reason for including this source to further strengthen the research question of whether social media affects body dysmorphia, is because the two professionals in this video even say that people get work done to look like an unrealistic version of themself on snapchat and then are ultimately dissatisfied with the results. The information they give in general about their clients should dissuade people from altering their looks, since ultimately even if one edits themself they can still be dissatisfied.
Perloff, R.M. Social Media Effects on Young Women’s Body Image Concerns:
Social Media’s Contribution to Body Dysmorphia
Theoretical Perspectives and an Agenda for Research. Sex Roles 71, 363–377 (2014).https://doi-org.ezproxy2.library.arizona.edu/10.1007/s11199-014-0384-6
The audience of this article is those who use social media, and are worried about the effects that it is causing on their self perception. The purpose of writing this article was to show that although there does need to be more research made before conclusions can be drawn, there is a strong correlation between the over exposure of girls and boys to looking at unrealistic images of people. The context is that more than ever, this topic is becoming so relevant. Kids are starting to use social media at younger ages and are getting influenced to look a certain way. This article is a very credible source because it is essentially a research paper, with experts.This source is very applicable to the topic of body dysmorphia among teenagers, the entire article is centered around that topic.
Prieler, M., Choi, J. Broadening the Scope of Social Media Effect Research on Body Image Concerns. Sex Roles 71, 378–388 (2014). https://doi-org.ezproxy2.library.arizona.edu/10.1007/s11199-014-0406-4
The audience of this article is any and all teenagers or anyone that uses social media across the globe. The purpose of this article is to take a broader look at the complex issue of social media and body issues. The context of this article is based upon the concept of group think, which is an issue among all cultures. When people are less independent they tend to follow others leads more and create unrealistic goals of what they should look like. This
Social Media’s Contribution to Body Dysmorphia
article is a very credible source due to the fact that it is written by an expert on the topic, and includes other sources to support the claims made. It is applicable to the topic chosen because it surrounds the issue of body dysmorphia.
Primack, B. A., & Escobar-Viera, C. G. (2017). Social Media as It Interfaces with Psychosocial Development and Mental Illness in Transitional Age Youth (Vol. 26).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28314452
The audience of this article is those who use social media on a daily basis and are concerned with the growing number of mental illnesses stemming from it. This article makes a claim that social media is more of presence in everyone’s life now more than ever, and with this growing presence an increase in mental illness has arose that people are starting to become more aware about. The purpose of writing this article was to show the benefits of contributing to the causes to fight mental illness, and help stop this epidemic. The context of it provides data on the increasing number of suicide and depression rates, which then gives the reader more of a reason to donate. The source is very reliable because it is from a psychiatric clinic in North America that specializes in this topic. This is a good source that is relevant to the topic because it talks of why it is so important to think about therapy and contribute to stopping mental illnesses, which is synonymous with body dysmorphia.
Social Media–Filtered Pics Can Be Hazardous to Your Health. (2018, August 8).
https://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2018/08/08/social-media-filtered-pics-can-be-h azardous-to-your-health/
Social Media’s Contribution to Body Dysmorphia
This article’s audience is targeting teenagers or young adults who use a lot of social media, this is established by the topic at hand which is a phenomenon amongst the younger generations. The purpose of this article is to show the real harm of what social media can do, body dysmorphia has always been bad but now that everyone has access to completely altering their appearance it is consistently making competition to look the best. This in turn creates a toxic and unhealthy environment on their internet. This was written because the problem is more prevalent than ever, and more girls at younger ages are developing bad body dysmorphia issues. The source is credible because it was published by a credible university. Not only was it a university that published it, but it was the medical school. This source is relevant to the topic being discussed because it stresses the ever growing dangers looming with the altering of appearances on social media.
Willingham, A. J. (2018, August 10). Social media filters mess with our perceptions so much, there’s now a name for it.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/10/health/snapchat-dysmorphia-cosmetic-surgery-social -media-trend-trnd/index.html
This article is an informative article addressing those who are dealing with body Dysmorphia. This article is talking about the mass increase in the amount of plastic surgeries over the recent years, to have people changing their appearance to what an edited image of himself looks like. This article also talks of the increasing depression rates of people since the explosion of social media. It was written in order to show people that many people are dealing
Social Media’s Contribution to Body Dysmorphia
with body dysmorphia and self perception issues. It is better to accept and love yourself instead of trying to alter your appearance into something in which you are not. The source is fairly credible, since it is from a reliable news source. This source is also from the health section of CNN. This source is very applicable to the topic, since it is talking about how the numbers of people with image issues, and depression has increased, due to social media. More specifically snapchat, since people are taking more selfies than ever they are looking at themselves more and feeling dissatisfied.
Sheldon, P., Honeycutt, J. M., & Rauschnabel, P. A. (2019).
The Dark Side of Social Media Psychological, Managerial,
and Societal Perspectives (pp. 3–21). Academic Press.
The audience of this article is anyone who tends to feel negatively towards themself. This book is designed to educate them on why they may be feeling this way and how social media could be a great contributor to that cause. The purpose of this book is to give actual information on the amount of people who tend to feel negatively towards themselves and develop conditions such as depression or anxiety as a direct result of social media and passively using it. The context of this source is to show the darker side of social media, and give a reason why all the sudden mental illness rates have been skyrocketing. This is a credible source, not only because it is a scientific book, but also because it includes a lot of research within the passages. This source is very applicable to the relationship between social media and body dysmorphia, because that is practically the premise of the first chapter. The chapter talks about how teens constantly are
Social Media’s Contribution to Body Dysmorphia
comparing themselves towards others when they are passively scrolling through social media, and as a result gaining negative feelings towards themselves and their own image.
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