Unhealthy Beauty Standards Exist on Social Media, Scientists Say

VIVA – Researchers from the Moscow State University of Psychology and Education (MSUPE) have reviewed studies and identified the mechanisms that promote unhealthy beauty standards in social media or society.

The modern world imparts physical attractiveness with great importance. The beauty standards are characterized by limits and require considerable effort to achieve.

In this regard, there has been a widespread tendency to be dissatisfied with your own body over the past 30 years, especially among girls and young women, experts from the Moscow State University of Psychology and Education (MSUPE) concluded.

MSUPE scientists have reviewed previous studies on the social and psychological factors of body idealization. This made it possible to identify the key mechanisms and tools that promote unhealthy idealization of external attractiveness in society.

The results of their study were published in the Psychological Journal, as quoted from the Sputniknews site, on Thursday, January 12, 2023.

“A significant contribution to body dissatisfaction is made by attitudes towards a certain type of female beauty, an emphasized sexually attractive body. This body exists for the pleasure of others, and its value directly depends on physical attractiveness,” Natalia Polskaya from the Moscow State University of Psychology & Education, said.

This mindset is called “objectification”. In girls who fall under its influence early, it can turn into self-objectification, a tendency to identify their personality with their body and monitor physical attractiveness at the expense of internal sensations and objective indicators of health. Self-objectification promotes bodily alienation and shame.

According to experts, self-objectification on social media is the basis of behavior focused on appearance, with content dedicated to the body and appearance rapidly spreading and becoming a role model.

Scientists revealed that viewing, transferring, and posting photos, videos, and texts on social networks turned out to be tools for creating the latest standards of an ideal body.

The study has shown that the natural body is the body to be conquered, and suffering (from strict exercise or diet) is romanticized as part of working on oneself, while the body’s natural signs are ignored.

“Perhaps the main tool for body idealization is selfies. Taking and posting selfies allows users to explore and control their identity online, as well as get positive feedback from others through comments. Original images are often post-processed (retouched),” Polskaya said.

According to the authors of the study, the creation of an ideal self-portrait is a kind of act of “re-creating” oneself as a physically more attractive, socially more successful, and psychologically more satisfied person. But in the real world, the attitude towards oneself and one's body worsens due to the awareness of the unattainability of the created ideal.

Based on their review, the MSUPE researchers proposed two approaches to psychological intervention to prevent self-objectification and unhealthy practices of body idealization.