This research paper explores the pervasive influence of highly visual social media platforms on adolescent body image concerns and the resulting internalizing symptoms. These two themes seem to be further supported by the study by Marengo (2018). In contrast, other themes brought out by the survey included the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth, issues with pornography, sex education, intimacy in a relationship, sexual harassment and authority, gender dysphoria, and parenting styles in LGBTQ+ families, among others. More shall follow the conclusion and implications targeting points and areas necessary to be further studied about the psychological well-being of the adolescent.
The digital world is impacting adolescents’ beliefs, activities, and mental health, with social media emerging as the most important medium for this process. The fact that more than half of all teenagers (45%) use social media “almost constantly” demonstrates the frightening repercussions of social media (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). These young people’s constant exposure to digital information, particularly visual material found on TikTok and Instagram, is producing significant alterations in their ideas of themselves and their bodies. According to the Social Cognitive Theory, humans socialize to get cues from their surroundings about what to do next. Social media is a great illustration of this. Research reveals that children are exposed to an idealized and unrealistic standard of beauty, particularly through social media. Their sense of self-worth may deteriorate as a result, and internalization symptoms may develop (Marengo, 2018).
According to Chua and Chang (2016), the interactive components of social media, such as likes, comments, and filters, may make it more difficult for adolescents to cope with their body image since they are more inclined to seek validation and approval from their peers. According to the cultivation theory (Gerbner, 2002), how people get information from the media influences how they perceive the world. This includes social media, where users may establish false beauty standards and focus excessively on their physical appearance. The goal of this study is to analyze the complex interaction between social media and adolescent body image by taking into account a wide range of characteristics such as sexual orientation, pornographic exposure, sex education, and parenting methods.
Marengo (2018) pursued the relationship between very visual usage of social media by adolescents and body image concerns and internalizing symptoms. According to the researchers, more exposure to highly visual social media networks being closer to real life, like Instagram or Snapchat, was actually linked with body image concerns that translated to internalizing symptoms. The current study pinpoints the mediating role of concerns with body image in the relationship between the use of social media and psychological distress.
Marengo’s (2018) findings highlight the importance of examining how negatively the usage of social media exacerbates body image issues and internalizing symptoms. Teenagers often have negative self-perceptions and are dissatisfied with their bodies, and social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954) offers a useful framework for understanding them. This is because they see idealized photographs of their bodies on social media platforms. The behavior of comparing oneself to those of higher social status is known as upward social comparison, and it is particularly harmful to one’s feeling of self-worth. Adolescents may acquire feelings of inadequacy and become obsessed with achieving unreachable beauty standards as a result of their constant exposure to photographs of celebrities and peers that have been edited in a way that is not only apparent but also altered.
In addition, very interactive social media inherently evoke another standard of appraisal through likes and comments, compelling adolescents to keep referring to their appearance in the pursuit of looking for validation and consent from peers (Chua & Chang, 2016). The pressure to keep a perfect look online appears to foster a kind of self-objectification and body surveillance in the presentations that an adolescent makes about herself. “This continuous self-monitoring and comparison can only lead to more cases of psychological dysfunctions, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and eating disorders.
McDermott (2021) conducted a metanarrative review that aimed to explicate effective mental health care for LGBTQ+ youth by pointing out the involvement of social media use in body image with respect to mental health outcomes. Being one of the high-level concerns, some of the points that make this a specific, directed, and powerfully focused place of concern include anxious preoccupations unique to the stakes and challenges surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity among LGBTQ+ youth in regard to social media use and its impact on body image and mental health. In more detail, the review elaborates on how LGBTQ+ youth are under increased threats related to mental health issues in the forms of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and attempts, as opposed to their heterosexual and cisgender peers. Social media largely offers support, and at times even serves as a stressor, for LGBTQ+ youth as they gain identity and acceptance in online communities (Craig, 2021).
Various factors that comprise an identity, such as race, socioeconomic status, and ability, add up to provide the cues of sexual orientation and gender identity that help the youth realize unique life experiences and predicaments (Crenshaw, 1991). The intersectionality theory finds application in understanding mental health aspects in the youth that identify as LGBTQ+. As part of the intersectionality framework, such aspects as racism, homophobia, and transphobia are identified in the creation of even greater stressors for youths of color within the LGBTQ+ community, further in terms of how social media impacts body dissatisfaction and exacerbates mental distress. Contributory psychological blame also arises on the given use of social media, relevant to dependent resources and support systems from low-income families for LGBTQ+ youth.
More help could also come from case studies and anecdotal evidence to bring forth the true practical impacts of using social media on mental health, especially in the context of LGBTQ+ youth. For example, Haimson (2019) hosted an exemplary qualitative study surveying the experiences of transgender and gender non-conforming youth with diverse social media sites. For instance, explaining to the researcher his ordeal, idealized masculine bodies by Instagram, Haimson (2019), a 16-year-old transgender boy, said that the image has made him feel dysphoria and pine inadequacy. The images of “I just see all these pictures of guys with perfect abs and muscles. I might never be able to look like that. It makes me hate my body even more. The following personal stories could not illustrate more clearly the urgent need for empowering, affirming, supportive landscapes to spawn positive body image and mental health among LGBTQ+ youth.
Exposure to pornography is another factor found in relationships with body image and sexual scripts of adolescents. For instance, Braithwaite (2015) studied the influence of pornography on sexual scripts and hooking-up behavior among emerging adult college students and related findings from the work to establish that how much college students consumed pornography was positively related to acceptance toward casual sex, hooking up, and being motivated by sexual attitudes. In today’s world, so much literature surrounding the issue supports the fact that exposure to pornography actually plays a leading role, directing the sexual expectations and behavior of adolescents in a way that may contribute to the development of body image concerns and low self-esteem.
This indicates that the viewing of pornography in adolescence bears serious psychological and cultural influences that can create society and sex with unrealistic expectations. In most cases, pornography attaches to different forms of body types that are idealized and real, thus leading to tendencies of body discontent and insufficient information about sexual relationships. Furthermore, the gender roles and power structures portrayed in pornography pave the way for dangerous stereotypes and work toward making sexual aggression and violence accepted in society.
The impact of pornography on body image and sexual behavior is far more destructive; virtually everyone can reach them and be exposed to it; even children at their entry levels have a high exposure. Martellozzo (2016) found that 53 percent of 11- to 16-year-olds admitted to viewing online pornography, whereas boys were more likely to have observed it on purpose. With such material increasingly available and realizing that little comprehensive sex education takes place in most schools, this can very easily form a high percentage of distorted views and attitudes toward sexuality and relationships among young people.
In this view, other solutions to problems with body images have support from comprehensive sex education. Along the same line, they could be the ideal way through which psychological health among adolescents can be supported. According to information from research, Marí-Ytarte (2020), therefore, has evidence about the linkage between sex and relationship education to the autonomy and emotional health of young people. In addition to this, other information included that stand-alone sex education programs focusing on autonomy, emotional intelligence, and healthy relationships may work as mechanisms for positive features of positive psychology and generate the way of exacting positive implications for body satisfaction and self-esteem. Therefore, this is accurate information retraced with open communication on sexuality, affording adolescents knowledge on how to cope with puberty to actually form a good sense of self.
An assessment of the similarities and variations between a variety of sex education programs demonstrates the importance of inclusive and comprehensive programming in the process of increasing psychological well-being. Rather than reducing risky sexual behaviors, studies suggest that sex education initiatives that promote abstinence until marriage may enhance feelings of shame and guilt associated with sexual activity. This is because abstinence is required for marriage. Nonetheless, comprehensive sexuality education classes that teach students about healthy relationships, consent, and contraception have been linked to a decrease in the frequency of sexually transmitted illnesses (STDs) and unwanted pregnancies.
Furthermore, sex education curricula that cover a wide range of gender identities and sexual orientations can be an invaluable source of support for LGBTQ+ youngsters. These children frequently face additional challenges concerning their psychological well-being and self-esteem. Adolescents who identify as LGBTQ+ can benefit from inclusive sex education, which reduces isolation and stigma. This form of education creates a comfortable environment in which students can discuss their sexuality and relationships.
Adolescents’ interactions with social media and body image issues may have a negative impact on their relationships and mental health as adults. Simon and Barrett (2010) investigated the link between early adult mental health and nonmarital romantic relationships, with an emphasis on gender disparities. The study’s findings emphasize the importance of strong relationships for psychological well-being, as they were linked to better mental health outcomes for both sexes. Men and women appear to have different consequences on their adult mental health as a result of their early engagement with social media and body image. In contrast, women were more likely to suffer the negative repercussions of failed relationships or low-quality partnerships.
As per underlined, longitudinal studies provide valuable data regarding the distant consequences of body image concerns from early adolescence. Researchers once investigated if disordered eating beginning in adolescence is an increasing problem in the last years, leading to death or individuals deciding to take their body dissatisfaction with them to the grave. Endlessly newer data indicate that it may also start at some time in elementary school, if not earlier, and if so, it may indicate a real-time increase. Indeed, early interventions in the development of a healthy pattern in terms of body and relation are required. This suggests that encouraging resilience toward body image during adolescence is likely to decrease its long-term constraints on adult relational and emotional health.
Furthermore, as social media and technology evolve, research and interventions to help people have pleasant online interactions must continue. The COVID-19 epidemic has resulted in a rapid transition to online communication and virtual interactions, opening up new potential and threats to intimacy and mental health. Future research into how these changes have affected adult relationships is critical, as is how to foster healthy intimacy and mental health in the age of social media and other digital connectivity.
Sexual harassment is yet another factor alongside body image concerns leading to psychological distress among adolescents. Research conducted by Nielsen and Einarsen (2012) looked at these aspects of prospective relations with workplace sexual harassment and psychological distress. The research concluded by stating the fact that there is a strong relationship. Secondly, the factor of sexual harassment is found to be associated with the symptoms of anxiety and depression. While this study has some implications, it could be the case that similar implications existed in the adult literature and could be expected for adolescents who can experience sexual harassment in person and online, in turn raising potential risks to them in relation to negative body perceptions and consequences to their mental health.
These have to necessarily entail much wider societal and cultural issues that give rise to sexual harassment and, in the process, normalize it when sustaining the psychology of teenagers. The very depiction of women and girls as sexual objects by the media, and the prevalence of cultural factors, conceptions of rape, and attitudes that sanction victim-blaming further contribute to the process of normalization in sexual harassment and silencing of its victims. Legal frameworks and educational systems that do not directly deal with sexual harassment and provide support to the victims may further heighten exposure to the psychological outcomes of the phenomenon.
About 4% of the respondents went further to admit having feelings of racial/ethnic discrimination, while a similar proportion also felt to experience sexual harassment. It illustrates how, according to them, racism, lack of respect by peers, and lack of respect for a person’s gender identity cause deterioration in mental health. Even more so, cases of sexual abuse compound other forms of discrimination, such as racism and homophobia, as they have a much bigger impact on mental health and body image. Additional barriers in reporting sexual harassment and seeking support services place LGBTQ+ and youth of color at increased risk for developing more psychological Firstly; I will state the assumptions made so far in this paper.
Concerns about body image can be especially difficult for adolescents who experience gender dysphoria. This is because these adolescents may believe there is a gap between their gender identification and physical appearance. Kaptan (2021) used a matched case-control design to evaluate transgender individuals’ perceptions of gender dysphoria and social support. According to the findings, transgender people reported better mental health and less dissatisfaction with their bodies after receiving more social acceptance. Our findings highlight the importance of social support mechanisms in promoting positive body image and psychological well-being in transgender youth. These mechanisms include accepting families and societies that welcome transgender individuals.
Gender dysphoria is essentially a mental health complication for transgender adolescents. Hence, various support systems by both human and non-human are valuable when sailing through gender dysphoria and mental health. Online and virtual spaces, in particular social media, group blogs, or even forums, will definitely offer the ‘sense of belonging’ that transgender youths miss throughout their offline life. Such online spaces will bear invaluable information, resources, and emotional support that go a long way toward offering solidarity from peers facing similar experiences and challenges for the transgender youth. This reinforces the equal importance of recognition of the potential risks borne by these online communities, which solidify and make available resources for transgender young people with far greater reliability and inclusivity.
Other school-based supports related to gender include Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) and gender-inclusive policies. These further establish better mental health outcomes associated with the presence of GSAs in mitigating levels of being a victimization piece for LGBTQ+ students, involving the use of the preferred identity of a student and the absolute need for gender-neutral restrooms (Kociw, 2020).
This would be useful in putting a positive body image and mental health experience into the lives of an adolescent. The acceptance and support from the family must be part of the process. Family therapy and parent education help guide some of the families on the process of gender transitioning and make their child be at home and be supported by that child. Research following the following work results have shown that the mental health and self-esteem outcomes for transgender youth are enhanced when the family supports them compared to children not receiving the supportive family.
Parenting may very well influence self-esteem and body image perceptions among LGBTQ-identified adolescents. He posited that all children of LGBTQ people are destined to grow up well-adjusted, resilient, and competent adults through prosocial and accepting parenting practices. As regards the underlying study, it has it that families with a positive family environment, high emotional support, and free communication have a greater likelihood of yielding better mental health results and higher levels of self-esteem for children with LGBTQ+ parents. More importantly, researchers have further pointed out that George’s parenting practices should come into play for adolescents’ perceptions about their bodies and their psychological well-being in conditions of LGTB+ youth, who are working their way through other stressors related to their actualities of sexual orientation or, perhaps, gender identity.
The other family structures and community environments that equally affect the mental health and body image of LGBTQ+ youth are wide and varied. For example, single-parent families present unique challenges for seeking support and resources outside of the family system for their LGBTQ+ youths, primarily with respect to such situations that entail financial stress and lack of social support. The co-parenting or supportive parenting arrangements, arranged for by young persons who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender, provide a dynamic where, in fact, they are not only supported by one adult but by several adults who give them consistently accepting, protective, and nurturing relationships so that their development is optimally supported (Farr, 2019). LGBTQ+ youth do not have one source of support or resilience; however, definitely, growing numbers of such resources would tend to take on the roles of such, such as LGBTQ+ affirming youth centers and support groups.
The undefined complex interplay of parenting styles and family structures with community environments should be probed more deeply in future research that constructs mental health and body image among LGBTQ+ youth. Longitudinal research in this line, which traces the life courses of LGBTQ+ youth from childhood through to adult development, has been core in providing some of the insight relative to the long-lasting effects of practices associated with parenting and family support on individuals’ psychological health. In addition, research will delve into the interventions extended on a family level and those provided within the community that might further yield positive mental health for the LGBTQ+ youth so that they should target support strategy.
Social insidious influences of social media on worries regarding body image and internalizing symptoms among adolescents. The findings by Marengo (2018) and the resulting corroboration of themes, as reinforced in this paper, suggest the compounding influence of the uptake of social media on the concern of body image across a few different spheres of human sexuality and mental health. This is exactly the situation where well-targeted interventions are in order, likely to combine good media literacy and sex education with good parenting practices to try to make things far better when it comes to body image and mental health in the young.
This is further compounded by the fact that it shows the intertwining of social media use and body image resultant intertwined, and mental health among LGBTQ+ youth, so the available structures of support have to be way past an inclusive and affirmative capacity, both offline and vis-à-vis online. Family acceptance, programs in schools, and community resources also contribute a lot toward resilience and a good self-image in LGBTQ+ youth. This is likely to allow the underpinning environments that create the situation in which sexual harassment, gender stereotypes, and discrimination continue to be addressed if supportive conditions are made for all adolescents. Wider social and cultural conditions making contributions to the underpinnings creating sexual harassment, gender stereotypes, and discrimination must be addressed.
Second, regardless of the changes in social media and technology faces, what will always be most important is that the researchers, educators, policymakers, and parents remain keen to understand the changes and stay on top of things affecting the mental health and well-being of adolescents. Therefore, future research is needed to explore long-term associations of intervention on body image concerns and relationships with psychological outcomes by assessing the utility of the specifically identified interventions that are conducive to fostering positive development.
It comes with the development and implementation of interventions that support systems that aim at empowering them. Helping the youths, in essence, helps in coming up with critical engagement in content, advocacy, and contribution towards ensuring youth co-create and have affirmative spaces, which can develop agency and resilience against the encumbrances presented by social media and society at large.
Understanding this impact and negotiating the digital space effectively should now be a transdisciplinary commentary conducted by researchers, educators, parents, and policymakers. It is from this backdrop that concrete, evidential, and appropriate steps to assist the psychological well-being of the youth in the digital space in regard to a proper understanding of complex interrelations involving social media, body image, and diverse aspects of human sexuality need to be put in place. Comprehensive schooling, inclusive support systems, and embracing social justice will offer adolescents the right power to build a positive self-image, have healthy relationships, and build on resilience in the challenges in this world and society consumed by social media.
Anderson, M., & Jiang, J. (2018). Teens, social media & technology 2018. Pew Research Center, p. 31, 1673–1689.
Braithwaite, S. R., Coulson, G., Keddington, K., & Fincham, F. D. (2015). The influence of pornography on sexual scripts and hooking up among emerging adults in college. Archives of Sexual Behavior, pp. 44, 111–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0351-x
Buchanan, N. T., Settles, I. H., Wu, I. H., & Hayashino, D. S. (2018). Sexual harassment, racial harassment, and well-being among Asian American women: An intersectional approach. Women & Therapy, 41(3-4), pp. 261–280. https://doi.org/10.1080/02703149.2018.1425030
Chua, T. H. H., & Chang, L. (2016). Follow me and like my beautiful selfies: Singapore teenage girls’ engagement in self-presentation and peer comparison on social media. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 190-197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.09.011
Craig, S. L., McInroy, L. B., Bogo, M., Leung, V. W. Y., & Arango-Ricks, S. (2021). Social media and LGBTQ+ youth mental health: A scoping review. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, p. 5, 100167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadr.2021.100167
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039
Elsaesser, C., Russell, B., Ohannessian, C. M., & Patton, D. (2017). Parenting in a digital age: A review of parents’ role in preventing adolescent cyberbullying. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 35, 62-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2017.06.004
Farr, R. H., Tornello, S. L., & Rostosky, S. S. (2022). How do LGBTQ+ parents raise well-adjusted, resilient, and thriving children? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 31(6), 526-535. https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214221121295
Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117-140. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872675400700202
Gerbner, G., Gross, L., Morgan, M., Signorielli, N., & Shanahan, J. (2002). Growing up with television: Cultivation processes. In J. Bryant & D. Zillmann (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (pp. 43-67). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Haimson, O. L., Dame-Griff, A., Capello, E., & Richter, Z. (2019, November). Tumblr was a trans technology: The meaning, importance, history, and future of trans technologies. In Proceedings of the 2019 Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-13). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300441
Kaptan, S., Cesur, E., Başar, K., & Yüksel, Ş. (2021). Gender dysphoria and perceived social support: A matched case-control study. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 18(4), 812-820. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2021.01.174
Kosciw, J. G., Clark, C. M., Truong, N. L., & Zongrone, A. D. (2020). The 2019 National School Climate Survey: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youth in Our Nation’s Schools. A Report from GLSEN. Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). 121 West 27th Street, Suite 804, New York, NY 10001.
Marí-Ytarte, R., Moreno-López, R., & Barranco-Barroso, R. (2020). Sex and relationship education for the autonomy and emotional well-being of young people. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 536145. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01280
Marengo, D., Longobardi, C., Fabris, M. A., & Settanni, M. (2018). Highly-visual social media and internalizing symptoms in adolescence: The mediating role of body image concerns. Computers in Human Behavior, 82, 63-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.01.003
McDermott, E., Eastham, R., Hughes, E., Pattinson, E., Johnson, K., Davis, S., … & Jensen, O. (2021). Explaining effective mental health support for LGBTQ+ youth: A meta-narrative review. SSM-Mental Health, 1, 100004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2021.100004
Nielsen, M. B., & Einarsen, S. (2012). Prospective relationships between workplace sexual harassment and psychological distress. Occupational Medicine, 62(3), 226-228. https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqs010
Martellozzo, E., Monaghan, A., Adler, J. R., Davidson, J., Leyva, R., & Horvath, M. A. (2017). It was not normal to watch it. A quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of children and young people.
Simon, R. W., & Barrett, A. E. (2010). Nonmarital romantic relationships and mental health in early adulthood: Does the association differ for women and men? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 51(2), 168-182. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022146510372343