by Starr Denison, MS, LPC, NCC
In my graduate degree program, four colleagues and I investigated whether or not a young woman’s sense of self-worth changed after looking at images from fashion magazines through a pre-test/post-test questionnaire. We showed several images via PowerPoint that included models in sexually suggestive poses, usually from various ads such as Dolce Gabana, perfume, clothing, even hamburgers. Some of the women did feel lower than their initial scores after viewing the images but our sample size wasn’t large enough to establish an accurate correlation. Kail and Cavanaugh (2013) relate advertisements seen on TV or in magazines that promise “lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks!” (p. 296) are often very attractive to teenage girls who are worried about their weight. These diets are usually very unhealthy and may impact normal growth.
Neighmond (2012) asked Amanda Forest from the University of Waterloo who has studied whether or not people with low self-esteem sensor what they are saying to promote a positive or likeable image on facebook. Results indicated that people with low self-esteem posted many unhappy updates. People with high self-esteem posted many positive updates like being happy, or thankful for something. The negative posts backfired, not winning new friends and not getting a lot of attention. Perhaps this ultimately makes a low self-esteem individual feel even worse since they are not getting the desired response. It is clear to me that social media can be very dangerous for even typical adolescents experiencing mood swings in addition to those who have more chronic self-esteem issues as the social worlds of adolescents becomes center stage for them, with less parental involvement.
Peer pressure and the constant thoughts about how one’s body looks is often cited as a reason for adolescents to try things they know are not healthy, including starving or binging/purging. Alarmingly, Dr. Walker is seeing young girls and boys as young as 8 and 9 developing eating disorders. There is a big jump with worry for kids not wanting to be fat. They are comparing themselves with their friends and with the media to find out if they are “normal” (Martin, 2014). The enhanced media images of body types do not show reality. Social media also doesn’t show full reality as many posts are attention seeking, skewed in a way to see who is going to comment or push “like.”
So…what do we do about this?
Not only parents, but we as a society need to be involved with children and not ignore the topics when brought up, as Dr. Walker and Steiner both argue the importance of not dismissing the reality checks kids want, empower them in ways they can have some sort of control in a healthy way such as physical activity (Martin, 2014). Teach acceptance to children or learn acceptance as adults. What we accept about ourselves no longer becomes a negative construct within our minds. Connect with others and find commonalities. Feeling alone with low self-worth/self-esteem can be damaging. Empowerment training with counseling is one of the most effective methods to help grow self-worth/self-esteem that lasts and lasts. It helps in relationships, with fighting depression, with resolving grief, and reducing anxiety.
References
Kail, R. and Cavanaugh, J. (2013) Human development: A life-span view. (6th Ed.) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Martin, M. (2014, February 11) Children and anorexia: Noticing the warning signs. National Public Radio. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2014/02/11/275281272/children-and-anorexia-noticing-the-warning-signs
Neighmond, P. (Narrator). (2012, March 26). Facebook may not be so friendly for those with low self-esteem. [Radio broadcast episode]. Morning Edition. Washington, DC: National Public Radio.
Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P., Roberts, L. R., & Eckles, K. (2014). Social comparison, social media, and self-esteem.Psychology Of Popular Media Culture, 3(4), 206-222. doi:10.1037/ppm0000047
Siegel, D. (2012) The developing mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are. New York, NY: The Guilford Press
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=149237888&m=149376238