The Definition of Body Image and Social Media Essay

The definition of body image and the perceptions driven by social media are topics that attract significant attention from scholars. According to Alebachew and Ashagrie (2017, p. 330), body image encompasses a multidimensional paradigm describing a person’s perception or depiction of their outward look. Thus, it revolves around mental images held by individuals regarding their physical appearance. Vannucci and Ohannessian (2018, p.786) point out that body image dissatisfaction (BID) is one of the hypothesized concepts that discuss the incongruity between the ideal and current physical appearance, mainly body size estimation (Ho, Lee and Liao, 2016). Saiphoo and Vahedi (2019, p. 260) assert that social media affects the behavioural, cognitive, affective, and evaluative components of an individual.

Therefore, social media is associated with body image due to its power to influence the psychological aspects of a person that translates to feelings of discontentment with physical appearance (Fardouly, Pinkus and Vartanian 2017, p. 31). Media and culture significantly influence an individuals’ perception of their physical appearance and overall body image. Jung and Jeong (2017, p. 268) allude that exposure to idealised images makes a person feel dissatisfied with their body. As a result, victims exhibit depression and low self-esteem. Thus, people exposed to idealised beauty through social and mainstream media develop or reinforce negative feelings.

Social media has positive impacts on individuals’ perception of their physical appearance based on comparison attributes. For instance, some people feel motivated when they compare themselves to others with better physical attributes (Cramer, Song and Drent 2016, p. 742). In this regard, Social Comparison Theory (SCT) posits that individuals liken their looks to assess their abilities (Robinson et al., 2017, p. 69). It confirms that people who compare themselves constructively on social media maintain a positive outlook of their body image. Slater, Varsani, and Diedrichs (2017, p. 91) assert that females who read inspiration statements on social media have better physical satisfaction, high positive mood and appreciate their body compared to those who view unbiased images.

Conversely, social media adversely affects an individual’s view of their body appearance. Consequently, they engage in binge eating or food deprivation to attain ideal body size (The link between social media and body image, 2019). Individuals also change how they look by participating in disordered eating behaviours due to social comparisons (Santarossa and Woodruff, 2017). Social media triggers low self-esteem in people dissatisfied with their body image. A study in the United Kingdom established by Kelly et al. (2018, p. 59) found that girls demonstrate low self-esteem (12.8%) and body-weight displeasure (78.2%) more often compared to 8.9% and 68.3% in boys, respectively. The outcomes underscore the adverse effect of social media on self-esteem due to negative body image perceptions.

Data Collection Methods to Study Body Image and Social Media

Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire (BIAQ)

BIAQ is one of the leading tools used to collect data for evaluating the implication of social media on body image perception. BIAQ includes self-reported questions that focus on behavioural avoidance of situations or practices that influence body image-related distress or displeasure. According to Legenbauer et al. (2020 p. 3), the form contains 19 components spread across four subcategories, which include clothing, social activities, restraint, and grooming/weighing. However, a German version of the questionnaire encompasses three elements; it contains clothing, eating restraint, and social activity, founded on 11 sublevels. The survey consists of a 6-pointscoring scale that establishes the occurrence of targeted behaviour; it starts with never (0) and ends with always (5) (Sandoz et al., 2020). BIAQ measures behavioural evasion across several purviews that reflect body image discernments.

Therefore, the scale is useful in helping clinicians understand body image concerns demonstrated by patients. Internal consistency validates BIAQ’s significance as a tool for assessing the implication of social media on physical appearance perception. Legenbauer et al. (2020, p. 3) confirm that the questionnaire has good internal consistency marked by a Cronbach’s α=0.64-0.76. Besides, it shows stable test-retest reliability between α=0.64 and α=0.81. Another evaluation by Stapleton, McIntyre and Bannatyne (2016, p.103) found that BIAQ has a dependable internal validity between α=0.64 and α=0.8 based on psychometrical measurements. The tool also provides appropriate, discriminate data across age and gender and between clinical and non-clinical groups.

Body Image Assessment Scale-Body Dimensions (BIAS-BD)

BIAS-BD is an assessment tool examined in 2009 by Gardner et al. that helps collect data to examine how body size affects females’ perception of their physical appearance. The survey utilizes a pictographic scale of profile figures intended to characterise different body proportions ranging between 60% and 140% of a representative Body Mass Index (BMI) of females. Wagner, Aguirre and Sumner (2016) explain that the U.S. Air Force created BIAS-BD through the Material Command Unit with the help of the Generator of Body Data (GEBOD) program. Accordingly, the developers used a sample of 4,325 respondents and ran a regression analysis to produce outlines within intervals of five per cent for each size of a female body (Wagner, Aguirre and Sumner, 2016). Thus, it contains 17 shapes representing diverse BMIs while upholding body dimensions. BIAS-BD is useful in predicting BMI as a positive correlation component associated with people’s sense of dissatisfaction with physical appearance (Sharif, 2017, p. 718). A review by Wagner, Aguirre and Sumner (2016) shows that BIAS-BD produces significant results when assessing the influence of social media on body image elements, such as actual size and dissatisfaction. For instance, the bivariate correlation study conducted by Lewallen (2016, p. 109) indicates that Instagram induces a moderately positive relationship between real BMI and dissatisfaction. Both components had a mean of 21.59 and 13.76 and standard deviation of 3.17 and 11.74, respectively, at r = 0.44 and p < 0.001 (Wagner, Aguirre and Sumner, 2016). Although there is no sufficient evidence to ascertain the validity of BIAS-BD, the statistics exemplify its significance in collecting data to investigate the correlation between social media and body image.

Body Checking Questionnaire (BCQ)

BCQ is a self-administered survey used to collect data for assessing the ways people react to their bodies when exposed to elements, such as social media, which influence their perception. The survey contains 23 items ranked using a Likert scale ranging from one to five (Maïano et al., 2019). The rating helps to determine how usually a particular behaviour occurs when exposed to triggering factors. Reas (2017) expounds that BCQ considers the total score of individual components between 23 and 115. Besides, it includes a single measurement factor (Body checking), which is compared to interrelated sub-factors. In addition, an Idiosyncratic Checking Scale (ICS) with five elements is integrated into BCQ to examine unusual control behaviour. Legenbauer et al. (2020, p. 3) confirm that BCQ has a reliable internal consistency with Cronbach’s α=0.83-0.92. A German version of BCQ shows similar validity levels marked by Cronbach’s alpha between 0.83 and 0.95. The robust stability makes BCQ a useful tool for collecting data to study the implication of social media on body image perception.

Reference List

Alebachew, F. and Ashagrie, M. (2017) ‘The body-image concept analysis of youth and adolescent’, American Journal of Biomedical and Life Sciences, 5(6), pp. 130-134.

Cramer, E.M., Song, H. and Drent, A.M. (2016) ‘Social comparison on Facebook: motivation, affective consequences, self-esteem, and Facebook fatigue’, Computers in Human Behavior, 64, pp. 736-746.

Fardouly, J., Pinkus, R.T. and Vartanian, L.R. (2017) ‘The impact of appearance comparisons made through social media, traditional media, and in person in women’s everyday lives’, Body Image, 20, pp. 31-39.

Ho, S. S., Lee, E. W., & Liao, Y. (2016) ‘Social network sites, friends, and celebrities: the roles of social comparison and celebrity involvement in adolescents’ body image dissatisfaction’, Social Media+ Society, 2(3).

Jung, M.R. and Jeong, E. (2017) ‘Convergence factors influencing body image in adolescents’, Journal of Digital Convergence, 15(8), pp. 267-275.

Kelly, Y. et al. (2018) ‘Social media use and adolescent mental health: findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study’, EClinical Medicine, 6, pp. 59-68.

Legenbauer, T. et al. (2020) ‘The body image approach test (BIAT): a potential measure of the behavioral components of body image disturbance in anorexia and bulimia nervosa?’ Frontiers in Psychology, 11, p. 30.

Lewallen, J. (2016) ‘When image isn’t everything: the effects of Instagram frames on social comparison’, The Journal of Social Media in Society, 5(2), pp.108-133.

Maïano, C. et al. (2019) ‘Psychometric properties of the body checking questionnaire (BCQ) and of the body checking cognitions scale (BCCS): a bifactor-exploratory structural equation modeling approach’, Assessment.

Reas D.L. (2017) ‘Body checking questionnaire (BCQ)’, in Wade, T. (ed), Encyclopedia of feeding and eating disorders. Singapore: Springer. pp. 65-69

Robinson, L. et al. (2017) ‘Idealised media images: the effect of fitspiration imagery on body satisfaction and exercise behaviour’, Body Image, 22, pp. 65-71.

Saiphoo, A.N. and Vahedi, Z. (2019) ‘A meta-analytic review of the relationship between social media use and body image disturbance’, Computers in Human Behavior, 101, pp. 259-275.

Sandoz, E.K. et al. (2020) ‘Relative associations of body image avoidance constructs with eating disorder pathology in a large college student sample’, Body Image, 34, pp. 242-248.

Santarossa, S. and Woodruff, S.J. (2017) ‘# SocialMedia: exploring the relationship of social networking sites on body image, self-esteem, and eating disorders’, Social Media+ Society, 3(2).

Sharif, P.S. (2017) ‘Development and psychometric evaluation of the breast size satisfaction scale’, International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 30(8), pp. 717-727. Web.

Slater, A., Varsani, N. and Diedrichs, P.C. (2017) ‘# fitspo or# loveyourself? the impact of fitspiration and self-compassion Instagram images on women’s body image, self-compassion, and mood’, Body Image, 22, pp. 87-96.

Stapleton, P., McIntyre, T. and Bannatyne, A. (2016) ‘Body image avoidance, body dissatisfaction, and eating pathology: is there a difference between male gym users and non–gym users?’ American Journal of Men’s Health, 10(2), pp. 100-109.

The link between social media and body image (2019) Web.

Vannucci, A. and Ohannessian, C.M. (2018) ‘Body image dissatisfaction and anxiety trajectories during adolescence’, Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 47(5), pp. 785-795.

Wagner, C., Aguirre, E. and Sumner, E. M. (2016) ‘The relationship between Instagram selfies and body image in young adult women,’ First Monday, 21(9). Web.