Fiona Burnett, Likes, Camera, Action!

Fiona Burnett

Likes, Camera, Action!

Investigating the detrimental impact of mass media on mental health

AAD Dissertation Studio 19 2020–21

Extracts from Fiona Burnett, Likes, Camera, Action! Investigating the Detrimental Impact of Mass Media on Mental Health

Dissertation Studio 19 Paths of Desire Tutor: Heidi Yeo

School of Art, Architecture and Design London Metropolitan University 2021

The influence of social media In only a couple of decades, Internet usage has completely re-invented the ways in which we access information, consume media, interact with our social peers and develop relationships. Social media has permeated into nearly every aspect of our lives, with over 1 billion active Instagram users in 2020 (Kelly oaks, BBC, 2019) of which 60% of users are females under the age of 34 (Nicole F. Roberts, 2019). Though social media has had many positive effects in regards to inclusivity, expression, and shared information, this chapter will solely focus on the negative effects of social media. Teens and young adults are among the most venerable to the negative effects of social media, the average time teenagers spend interacting with social media is in excess of 9 hours a day, meaning that adolescents now spend more time on social media than they do at school (Patti M. Valkenburg, Jessica Taylor Piotrowski, 2017). A vast array of largely unregulated information, connectivity, and imagery can be accessed and viewed at far greater speeds than in pre-technological eras. Research suggests that social media usage has a profound and negative influence on mental health, self-esteem, social skills, and sexual behaviour.

It would be fair to say that the negative effects previously discussed within traditional media have interlinked and accelerated through social media platforms (Williams & Ricciardelli, 2014). Though research into the impact of social media usage is still relatively new and the evidence is still quite limited.

(Rebecca Scott, 2020) Levels of mental health conditions such as depression and body dysmorphia amongst teenagers and young adults has increased alongside the rise in smartphone usage. Introduced in 2007, 92% of teenagers and young adults owned a smartphone by 2015. A recent study showed over half a million high school-aged pupils exhibiting high levels of depressive symptoms increased by 33% between the periods 2010 to 2015.

In the same period, the suicide rate in girls in the same age range increased by 65% (Child mind institute, 2017). A contributing factor to the rise in health

concerns is the practice of posting pictures of one's self onto social media platforms (Standard, 2017). This encourages and rewards values of appearance culture; comments and likes received on photos of self are sources of appearance-based interaction, where peer's evaluation of body takes place. Appearance culture is said to encourage people to evaluate other's bodies in regards to their social worth, in line with cultural norms of how bodies should look. Which encourages and maintains dominant body ideals, which can result in anxiety, feelings of inadequacy, body shaming, and bullying (Sarah Grogan, Leonie Rother, Jennifer Cole, and Matthew Hall, 2018). It is acknowledged that participating in sharing and observing social media imagery reduces self-esteem and happiness with one’s own life.

(Sherlock, M., & Wagstaff, D. L, 2019). Caused by constantly compering ones-self to those observed online, who may appear to exhibit cultural ideals such as facial features, physique, disposable income, and popularity. This comparison happens on both conscious and subconscious levels. Arguably these concerns have affected teenagers long before social media, due to the development processes the brain goes through during adolescence. But experts claim these concerns are vastly increased by the introduction of social media because of the way that social media interacts with developing dopamine centres of the brain, and by shaping the way in which adolescents socialise. Learning to do most of their communication while looking at a screen, rather than another person.

“There’s no question kids are missing out on very critical social skills. It puts everybody in a nonverbal context, where body language, facial expression, and even the smallest kinds of vocal reactions are rendered invisible.” – The Big Disconnect, Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair A recent UK survey asked over one thousand 14-24 year olds which social media platforms have the most positive and negative effect on them, YouTube was found most positive, while Instagram was found most negative. Most users reported greater anxiety, body dissatisfaction and fear of missing out on social activity’s, which is referred to as ‘FOMO’ when using Instagram (Royal society for public health, 2017). (See Fig6)

(Fig 6 – Diagram showing concerns attributed to Instagram) With Instagram been voted most detrimental, for the remainder of this chapter I will be referring to Instagram in discussion relating to the health concerns of social media usage. Body image is a growing issue for many young people, affecting both males and females. Though females from 13- 25 are reportedly more vulnerable to body-image pressures, 9 out of 10 teenage girls say they are unhappy with their bodies (Royal society for public health, 2017). More than any other social media platform, Instagram confuses our social comparison radar. In daily life, we are constantly trying to figure out if we are more or less, happy, attractive, or successful than others. This subconscious comparative nature of the human brain is greatly heightened by the constant consumption and array of images and messages through social media (Sherlock, M.,& Wagstaff, D. L. (2019). Instagram user behavior, of scrolling and sharing is said to be more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol as it

causes a spike in dopamine levels in the brain (Shirley Cramer. CBE and Dr Becky Inkster, 2017).

Younger users are most at risk of the negative effects of social media, because of a socio-cognitive process called internalisation. This is where you adopt socially constructed ideas that form a strong part of your identity. In a study of 12-19 year olds 47% said that they gained their social, professional, physical, and life goals from Instagram (de Lenne, et al 2018). People tend to post only their most idealized images online, which create a false sense of reality (Shirley Cramer. CBE & Dr Becky Inkster 2017). This leads users to compare their own life with heavily idealized and edited lives viewed online, which can lead to lowered self-esteem and self-criticism. Never before have adolescents had so many opportunities to broadcast and self-edit (Patti M. Valkenburg, Jessica Taylor Piotrowski, 2017). The normalization of Instagram filters and popular Apps such as ‘Face Tune’ has made Photoshop-style retouching, fast and accessible for everyone, no longer restricted to the traditional media industry. Health professionals concern that using such apps and seeing edited imagery from everyday peers to celebrities is igniting body image anxiety, contributing to the influx in mental health conditions and a spike in younger generations seeking cosmetic surgery. Those most vulnerable are at risk of internalising unrealistic expectations that they should look like a perfect edited version of themselves in everyday life, online and off (Bridget March, 2019).

Such pressures are attributed to a spike in cosmetic surgery amongst the younger population, 70% of 18 – 25 year olds in a 2017 poll said they would consider cosmetic surgery to look better on social media. Over the last three years, there has been a rising trend in people undergoing non-invasive cosmetic procedures (Claire Chappet, 2020) Botox, fillers and lip augmentations are the most popular choices. Which some doctors are attributing to celebrity set beauty and social media trends such as the ‘Kardashian aesthetic’ which has been described as the “biggest influencing power on social media today” (Rachel Strugatz, 2017). Though body image concerns are not mental health conditions in themselves, the long-term

negative impact on mental health has been associated with developing issues such as, body dysmorphic disorder, social anxiety, and body shame, which can lead to eating disorders, depression, and suicide (Tatiana Danilova, 2020). Statistically women and young girls are at the highest risk of experiencing the negative impact of social media.

Though it is important to recognize men are not immune (See Fig 7), 37% of men expressed that social media made them feel more negatively about themselves, including the way they looked. Women and men are observed to be affected differently due to opposing ideals set by the media; it has been argued that selfies could reinforce gender negative stereotypes. Imagery of men on social media to a large extent follows traditional ideals around masculinity, dominance, muscular tone and strong features, such as jaw and hairlines (Jessica F. Saunders, Asia A. Eaton and Sabrina Aguilar, 2020).

Such pressures can ignite low self-esteem and depression, which may lead to alcohol and drug abuse as coping mechanisms among men (Mind Charity, 2020) also putting them at a higher risk of suicidal tendencies (Jennifer S. Mills, Amy Shannon and Jacqueline Houge, 2017). There is also a concern over extreme diet and exercise influenced by social media content, which has been linked to rising cases of in dysmorphia, eating disorders and steroid abuse among young men.

(Fig 7 – Percentage of year's men would sacrifice for the ideal body)

Though just as observed through traditional media, the legacy of ideals set through media and the cross-over into social media has the highest impact on women. Though rather than beauty and gender ideals being used to sell products, in the case of the average user, they are used to increase Instagram traffic and likes. Girls who regularly participate in sharing ‘selfies’ on social media, reported significantly higher in self-criticism of shape and weight, body dissatisfaction, restrictive diets and internalization of the thin ideal (Sian A McLean et al., 2015). Successful content on social media, therefore gaining the most likes are highly sexualised. Posting sexualised photos on social media has been related to reinforcing cultural pressures that convey a women’s sexiness is both her highest value and a means of gaining attention. Images that appear to constitute sexiness within social media is referred to as ’porn chic’ an aesthetic that reflects the mainstreaming of the idealized commercial pornography within western societies. This can leave young women feeling that in order to fit in, be deemed attractive, and successful online they must follow suit in posting content of a similar style.

Less clothing and sexualized poses receive more likes and perpetuate objectification (Nellie Eden, 2016). There is a high correlation between objectification and body dissatisfaction, leading to mental and physical health consequences for women, including depression and eating disorders (Kathrin Karsay, Johanne Knoll and Jorg matthes 2018). Anorexia in women has increased 35% every five years since 1950 (Nova, 2007) with females aged 12-20 being most at risk (Beat, 2019). It is understood that access to certain hashtags and images associated with them, have triggering effects on the viewer such as "thinspiration" "fitspo" and "thighgap". Hashtags on social media are used to reach as many users as possible. This may seem harmless but they have a great amount of power in circulating imagery and attracting online traffic. Hashtags can be incredibly harmful when used incorrectly.

Studies among adolescents found hidden-in-plain-sight communities that are reached through certain hashtags. Used mainly by 13-17 year olds to share and observe problematic content such as, promotion of self-harm and extreme weight loss. There has been limited monitoring of social media sites, something that has been increasingly challenged after the devastating effect

of that blue whale hashtag which resulted in many deaths of teenagers worldwide. Showing an extreme but real case for how influential social media and hashtags can be. (Hugo Maximillian Metcalfe and Alex Smith, 2017)

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