Iulian Boldea, Dumitru-Mircea Buda (Editors)

CONVERGENT DISCOURSES. Exploring the Contexts of Communication

Arhipelag XXI Press, Tîrgu Mureș, 2016

ISBN: 978-606-8624-17-4

Section: Communication, Public Relations and Journalism 120

THE IMPACT OF MASS COMMUNICATION ON THE BODY

IMAGE: TRADITIONAL MEDIA VERSUS NEW MEDIA

Ioan Lesuțan

Lecturer, PhD, ”Vasile Goldiș” West University of Arad

Abstract: Many studies have proven the existence of a connection between the body image

dissatisfaction and the exposure to images of an ideal body which is highly promoted in traditional

mass media. The consumption of media content has grown exponentially lately due to the outburst of

new media which allow the access to these whenever and wherever. Therefore, the exposure, as

duration and volume, to such messages that promote ideal of the human body has grown. Does this

growth have a significant impact on the level of dissatisfaction towards one’s self-image? Are the new

media a higher risk factor compared to the traditional media in developing certain disorders

regarding the body dissatisfaction? The present study, based on a review of the existing data, tries

some possible answers to these questions.

Keywords: Mass communication, New media, Body image dissatisfaction, Social media, Appearance

comparison, Facebook use

Among the population, as well as at academic level, there is an increased concern

regarding the impact of mass media on the behavior and on the physical and psychological

well-being of the individual. One of the effects most often brought up into discussion as a

topic is the one on the satisfaction towards one’s own body image, especially among the

young female population. The body image dissatisfaction is associated with the emergence of

certain physical and mental imbalances (eating disorders - anorexia and bulimia, depression),

which have consequences not only at individual level, but also at societal level. The factors

identified to cause this dissatisfaction are the exposure to media, the messages coming from

family and also from peers1, some studies suggesting that the media is the most powerful

factor in this tripartite paradigm of influence2, having a major socio-cultural influence on the

development of one’s individual body image.

The consumption of media content has grown exponentially in recent years mainly due

to the development of new technologies that allow access to this content from anywhere and

at any time (Internet, mobile phones, social networks - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.),

due to lower costs for reaching media content and for its production. Therefore, the

percentage of media influence (measured as duration and volume of exposure) is increasingly

higher, or it should be so, regarding the development of one’s attitude towards body image.

The concept of “body image” has been defined in many ways and from different

points of view. One of the most frequently mentioned viewpoints is the one proposed in the

socio-cultural paradigm developed by K. Thompson, M. Heinberg, M. Altabe and S. Tantleff-

1 H. Keery, P. van den Berg, J. K. Thompson, An evaluation of the tripartite model of body dissatisfaction and eating

disturbance with adolescent girls. Body Image, 1/2004, p. 237–251. 2 H. Dohnt, M. Tiggemann, M., The Contribution of Peer and Media Influences to the Development of Body Satisfaction and

Self-Esteem in Young Girls: A Prospective Study. Developmental Psychology, 42(5)/2006, p. 929-936.

Iulian Boldea, Dumitru-Mircea Buda (Editors)

CONVERGENT DISCOURSES. Exploring the Contexts of Communication

Arhipelag XXI Press, Tîrgu Mureș, 2016

ISBN: 978-606-8624-17-4

Section: Communication, Public Relations and Journalism 121

Dunn who speak of the existence of three dimensions of “body image”: a perceptual

dimension, which refers to the mental representation of body image, representation resulting

from one’s perception of his/her own appearance; an evaluative dimension, aimed at the

attitude towards one’s own body and a third one which concerns the impact that body image

perception and the attitude towards one’s own body have over one’s behavior. The

development of one’s body image is influenced by three main factors: parents, peers and

media and by two mechanisms that mediate the influence of these factors: the internalization

of the ideal of the body image and the tendency of comparison with others3.

According to the socio-cultural paradigm of the body image, the body image

dissatisfaction may occur and may develop by comparing their appearance with the

appearance of others. People feel the need to evaluate themselves and, in the absence of some

objective references, they do it by comparison to other individuals, as stated by Festinger's

social comparison theory (1954). Studies show that people compare themselves not only with

other persons but also with images from media4. The increased tendency of self-appearance

comparison is often associated with a high level of body image dissatisfaction.

Forming one’s body image is not only the result of social factors influences, but also

of those individual factors. Among the individual factors fall the biological factors (age,

gender, body mass index etc.) and the psychological ones (social skills, perfectionism, level of

acceptance etc.), and within the social factors one can distinguish between factors with direct

influence (the feedback coming from significant others like peers, parents) and those

influences of mass-media (the exposure to images of an idealized body) 5.

A meta-analysis, based on 77 studies, conducted by Grabe, Ward and Hyde, in 20086,

shows that both experimental research, as well as correlational research maintain a positive

relationship between the consumption of traditional media (newspapers, magazines,

television) and the body image dissatisfaction. Most of the research in the field, regarding the

relationship between the body image and the media, have investigated and still investigate the

influence of the exposure to some idealized images of the body that are mainly spread by the

traditional forms of media (magazines, television and music videos). In movies, magazines

and on television shows there are present, almost exclusively, thin bodies, the overweight or

the full bodied people are missing or are presented in a somewhat negative perspective.

According to the theories on communication, repeated exposure to media content

makes the viewers start accepting the images in media as being representations of reality or

even being the reality itself (see, for example, the theory of cultivation by George Gerbner

which argues that the consumption of media messages makes the individual adopt certain

beliefs, ideas about a some sort of an ideal society, as well as the models and stereotypes

presented in TV programs)7. Thus, the images broadcast by media containing thin and

idealized bodies (often processed, improved by using certain computer programs or by using

various photo or video techniques) cause women (and also men, to some extent – in their case

the ideal body is the over muscular one) to see in these images the pattern of attractiveness,

3 K. Thompson, Heinberg, M. Altabe, S. Tantleff-Dunn, Sociocultural Theory: The Media and Society, Washington, DC, US:

American Psychological Association, 1999. 4 S. Grabe, L. Ward, J. Hyde. The role of the media in body image concerns among women: A meta-analysis of experimental

and correlational studies. Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 134, No. 3/2008, p. 460–476. 5 E.C. Dreghiciu, Factori individuali și sociali asociați imaginii corporale în adolescență (PhD thesis, [Resume]) "Babeş-

Bolyai" University of Cluj. 2013 http://193.231.20.119/doctorat/teza/fisier/1327 accessed 18.06.2016. 6 S. Grabe, L. Ward, J. Hyde Op. cit. 7 G. Gerbner, L. Gross, M. Morgan. Growing up with television: Cultivation processes. In J. Bryant & D. Zillman (Eds.),

Media effects: Advances in theory and research (2nd ed.), Mahwah, New Jork: Erlbaum, 2002, p. 43 - 67.

Iulian Boldea, Dumitru-Mircea Buda (Editors)

CONVERGENT DISCOURSES. Exploring the Contexts of Communication

Arhipelag XXI Press, Tîrgu Mureș, 2016

ISBN: 978-606-8624-17-4

Section: Communication, Public Relations and Journalism 122

and the expectations of the others which lead these women to have a certain behavior meant

to bring them closer to this ideal.

Exposure, even for a short period of time, to images containing ideal representations

of the body, leads, most studies show, to the occurrence of some negative emotions towards

the way one looks and to the increase of the body image dissatisfaction. But the amount of the

effect is small to moderate8, as media has a significant impact only on people who have

already developed some eating disorders or are already dissatisfied with their own

appearance9.

Along with the explosive development of communication technologies (in late 1980s,

in particular) and due to the digitization of media content, new forms of media have appeared

(called in the specialty literature new media) 10. Their occurrence has led to two major changes

in terms of mass communication. On one hand, new media have “democratized” the media

content, meaning that it has become much more accessible to the consumer by reducing the

costs of its production and distribution, but especially due to the change in the manner of

consumption: the consumer is no longer a passive one – as in the case of the traditional media

(in this case he is called, somewhat suggestively – a receiver), but he became a producer and

distributor of media content.

The new media have greatly increased the consumption, the individual is almost

continuously in contact with the messages transmitted through the medium of communication.

The broadcast forms of the traditional media (radio, television, theater, cinema etc.) are

dependent on time - the public may listen to or watch the shows at the time and for the

duration determined by the producers and by the space - the broadcasting of these messages is

done in some specially designed places for this kind of thing. The new media have removed

these barriers, the public having control over the moment and the place of consumption is no

longer conditioned by the space-time proximity to access the media content. Thus, media

content can be consumed at anytime and anywhere: at work, on the street, on public transport

etc. Therefore, in the case of this analysis, the impact of these medium of communication on

one’s body image, people are much more exposed (as duration and volume) to images of the

human body, many of which being idealized.

The changes in communication have determined a reorientation of research regarding

the impact of the media on body image, monitoring the impact of social media (particularly

Facebook - this being the most popular social media platform with over 1.71 billion active

users worldwide, of which 1.03 billion daily users on average in June 201611) on the

satisfaction towards one’s own body image, due to the large number of users and due to the

fact that it is the preferred medium of communication amongst the young.

Facebook allows users to create a public or semi-public personal profile and to

personalize their pages with photos and information about themselves. Just like in magazines,

the images can be edited and “improved” before being published. Moreover, users can

monitor their self-presentation and can promote an idealized version of their selves.

8 S. Grabe, L. Ward, J. Hyde Op. cit. 9 C. F. Ferguson, In the Eye of the Beholder: Thin-Ideal Media Affects Some, but Not Most, Viewers in a Meta-Analytic

Review of Body Dissatisfaction in Women and Men. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, Vol. 2, No. 1/2013, p. 20–37. 10 For more details see our article Media, multimedia and new media – notes on comprehending certain terms from the theory

of communication, Communication, Context, Interdisciplinarity, Studies and Articles, Volume III, Section:

Communication,”Petru Maior” University Press, 2014, p.346-351, http://upm.ro/cci/?pag=CCI-03/vol03-Com 11 Facebook. (2016). Timeline. http://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/ accessed 01.09.2016

Iulian Boldea, Dumitru-Mircea Buda (Editors)

CONVERGENT DISCOURSES. Exploring the Contexts of Communication

Arhipelag XXI Press, Tîrgu Mureș, 2016

ISBN: 978-606-8624-17-4

Section: Communication, Public Relations and Journalism 123

Because over 300 million new photos (much of which having as subject persons and

the way they look) are uploaded daily onto the platform12, Facebook provides a favorable

environment for engaging in various comparisons with others, including comparisons

regarding body image. Furthermore, due to its nature, the new medium of communication

allows the fusion of two of the factors identified as being responsible for the occurrence of the

body image dissatisfaction, namely the media and the messages from peers. Therefore, there

should be a much greater impact of the new media and of Facebook in particular, on the

development of one’s body image than in the case of the traditional media.

Several studies (mostly of correlational type) have investigated the association

between the usage of Facebook and the concerns towards their own body image of young

women. Tiggemann & Slater (2014)13 analyzing the relationship between the Internet and the

concerns of young girls of 10-12 about their own body image have concluded that the time

spent on social networks has a closer correlation with the concern towards body image than an

overall exposure to the Internet. Thus, the authors conclude that social networks (mainly

Facebook) are a powerful socio-cultural force in building their body image at preteenagers.

To similar conclusions have come other studies, as well: Meier & Gray (2014)14, Kim

& Chock (2015)15, Eckler, Jr. & Paasche Kalyango (2016)16, studies attended by teenagers,

female students and / or young women: there is a positive correlation between the usage of

Facebook and the body dissatisfaction.

There are few studies investigating in an experimental manner Facebook's impact on

one’s body image and they often focus on particular aspects of body image. Mabe, Forney, &

Keel (2014)17 have experimentally investigated the impact of Facebook on the preoccupation

with one’s body shape and weight and the data obtained showed that the concern of those

exposed to Facebook was low even compared to the group who were exposed to a neutral site.

Even if one can speak of an association of the usage of Facebook with eating disorders, it is

rather reduced. The usage of Facebook can sustain the concern for body weight and shape and

increase the degree of anxiety - both regarded as risk factors in the nutrition pathology, but

still more research is needed (especially longitudinal and ecological) for a better

understanding of the effect that social media have in maintaining the risks of eating disorders.

There is no significant effect on the body dissatisfaction - in terms of body shape and

weight – as a result of the usage of Facebook is the conclusion of another experimental study

(Fardouly, et. all, 2015) 18. According to this study, women have a negative state of mind after

their exposure to Facebook as compared to their exposure to a neutral site, but this state of

mind is not exclusively linked to the comparison regarding their body image. Facebook offers

a variety of dimensions (other than appearance, body image) for comparison, such as social

status and life experiences. Women can judge other females or others on Facebook as being

12 https://zephoria.com/top-15-valuable-facebook-statistics/ accessed 08.09.2016. 13 M. Tiggemann, A. Slater. Net Tweens: The Internet and body image concerns in preteenage girls. Journal of Early

Adolescence, 34/2014, p. 606–620. 14 E. P. Meier, & J. Gray. Facebook Photo Activity Associated with Body Image Disturbance in Adolescent Girls.

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 17 (4) /2014, p. 199-206. 15 J. W Kim, T. M Chock. Body image 2.0: Associations between social grooming on Facebook and body image

concerns. Computers in Human Behavior, 48/2015, p. 331-339. 16 P. P Eckler, Y. Kalyango, M. E. Paasch, M. E. Facebook use and negative body image among U.S. college women. Women

& Health, 2016, p. 1-19. 17 A. G Mabe, K. J.Forney, P. K. Keel. Do you “like” my photo? Facebook use maintains eating disorder risk. International

Journal of Eating Disorders, 47 (5)/2014, p. 516-523. 18 J. Fardouly, P. C. Diedrichs, L. R. Vartanian, E. Halliwell. Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook

on young women's body image concerns and mood. Body Image, 13/2015, 38-45.

Iulian Boldea, Dumitru-Mircea Buda (Editors)

CONVERGENT DISCOURSES. Exploring the Contexts of Communication

Arhipelag XXI Press, Tîrgu Mureș, 2016

ISBN: 978-606-8624-17-4

Section: Communication, Public Relations and Journalism 124

happier or having a better life than them, which can lead to the induction of a negative state of

mind. The mentioned study states that exposure to Facebook is associated with the

dissatisfaction towards other dimensions of one’s body image than those analyzed in the

traditional way: body weight and shape, namely is associated with the dissatisfaction with

one’s face, hair and skin - probably this is due to the fact that Facebook has more portrait type

images than those of the entire body, scientists believe.

Given these data (even if they are relatively few) we can say that the increase of the

consumption of media messages (especially by the contribution of new media) has no

significant impact on the growth of the dissatisfaction with one’s own body image. Moreover,

even new media seem to be a lower risk factor than the traditional media in the development

of the body dissatisfaction. Before the outburst of new media, women were confronted, in the

media, almost exclusively with unrealistic images of the beauty promoted by magazines,

movies and television. With the emergence of new media, women have more diversified

images available regarding the appearance and a greater control over the content they

consume.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. Dohnt, H., & Tiggemann, M. (2006). The Contribution of Peer and Media Influences to the

Development of Body Satisfaction and Self-Esteem in Young Girls: A Prospective Study.

Developmental Psychology, 42(5), 929-936.

2. Dreghiciu, E. C. (2013). Factori individuali și sociali asociați imaginii corporale în

adolescență ((PhD thesis, [Resume]) "Babeş-Bolyai" University of Cluj. Accessed

18.06.2016, 193.231.20.119/doctorat/teza/fisier/1327

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on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women's body image concerns and

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Iulian Boldea, Dumitru-Mircea Buda (Editors)

CONVERGENT DISCOURSES. Exploring the Contexts of Communication

Arhipelag XXI Press, Tîrgu Mureș, 2016

ISBN: 978-606-8624-17-4

Section: Communication, Public Relations and Journalism 125

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maintains eating disorder risk. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 47(5), 516-523.

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16. Tiggemann, M., & Slater, A. (2014).Net Tweens: The Internet and body image concerns

in preteenage girls. Journal of Early Adolescence, 34, 606–620