Today, teenagers are inundated with “perfect” body images on their social media feeds. Movies, commercials, magazines, and websites portray underweight models as beautiful; additionally, diet and beauty products send the message that being thinner and, therefore more attractive, is the key to happiness and success. When teenagers are constantly bombarded by retouched, highly edited pictures and videos for marketing purposes, they are more likely to conform to this “ideal” body image established by the media.
Another interesting attribute of social media is that many teenagers use it as a platform to gain validation and quick feedback. When users upload a picture or image, their friends can comment on the image or like the post. Some people spend hours capturing a selfie at just the right angle to gauge their appearance based on how many likes their selfie receives on Instagram. Harsh, disparaging criticism is offered on social media just as quickly as gratifying comments. These comments can be extremely detrimental to a teenager’s body image and cause body dysmorphia.
While awareness surrounding this issue spreads far and wide in countries like the United States, limited progress has been made in China, despite being one of the countries most affected by this issue. Bizarre internet trends fueled by millions of netizens sharing photos of everything from coins perched on their pronounced collarbones to reaching around their backs to their belly buttons have contributed to the social anxiety that many young people experience.
However, since only a few studies explore this subject in Chinese populations, we conducted our own research to better understand this issue. We decided to evaluate Chinese teenagers ages 14 to 22 years old. After analyzing 114 valid responses collected from cities, including but not limited to, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, our data showed that peer comparison, social media celebrities, and the frequency of social media usage all contribute to “body anxiety”, while refers to anxiety derived from body image. Body anxiety is understood as a causal factor in rates of depression, anxiety, and disordered eating. These revelations provided a deeper insight into how the issue in-hand affects the Chinese population.
The increased exposure to social media has introduced various mental health issues and problems in people that deal with their deteriorating self-esteem. More attention is required to protect the mental health of vulnerable teenagers who are constantly bombarded by unrealistic beauty ideals.