Awareness

Movements

Social media and body dissatisfaction have been a rising concern among youth and adults for several years now, therefore movements were created to uplift individuals to overcome dis-comfortability with their bodies. The body positive movement (#bpo) rejects stereotypes of ideal body images by advocating that all bodies vary in shape, size, nationality, characteristics, and abilities. Individuals who join this movement typically upload unfiltered or filtered photos to celebrate the diversity of everybody. Based on existing evidence, researchers concluded women with daily exposure to #bpo material experiences positive effects on their body. However, some scholars believe body positivity movements create societal pressure that one must love their own figure (Michele et al., 2023). Overall, the findings from the research conducted by Michele and her colleagues advise parents and educational institutions to inspire safe and responsible social media use to build healthy thoughts regarding body image and self-esteem.

Marketing

Not only has body image had an effect on social media platforms but it has affected the way marketing companies promote their product. In relation to advertising, brands are ensuring they are reaching and connecting with a broad audience by displaying diverse individuals, in terms of overall appearances. Also, customers would prefer not to support companies that do not align with inclusivity and positivity. As a result, researchers in Sweden founded a study to observe the impact of companies’ body positivity marketing towards online consumers. They have identified that cultural social, personal, and psychological factors contribute to shoppers' decision-making behaviors when conforming to supporting a franchise (Tiron & Elsharabasy, 2022). Moreover, there was a positive correlation between consumers appreciating brands promoting inclusivity and demonstrating models with “ideal” body images. To sum everything up, each individual has their own perception of attractiveness and body image thus companies will always struggle to satisfy everyone.

Celebrity Influence

As expected, celebrity awareness of the topic of eating disorders or body dissatisfaction has attracted a large audience to become aware of this prevalent issue. Many public figures announce their allies with self-love or share hardships and stories of their experience with disorders. Based on the social comparison theory, citizens admire higher socioeconomic figures not solely for their fame but for their body image, and sometimes people forget celebrities suffer from body dissatisfaction as well. Since a teenager, famously known actress Lindsay Lohan was often pictured as having “thin-inspirations” but it was not until she claimed she had been struggling with an eating disorder. The effects of celebrities coming forward remind others that eating disorders and body dissatisfaction can happen to anyone. On the other hand, American rapper, singer, and dancer Lizzo constantly advocates for body positivity and self-worth, this is one of the many reasons why her followers admire and support her.

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