Social Media Use Increases Likelihood Of Undergoing Cosmetic Surgery
By Movieguide® Contributor
A new study found that young women who regularly use social media are more likely to consider cosmetic surgery.
“The prevalence of body dissatisfaction among young women has long been a pervasive issue, with social media promoting unattainable beauty standards,” said Lauren Conboy, a researcher at the University of South Australia who worked on the study.
The university’s study reported that young women who frequently use social media are “excessively self-judgemental” and are more open to cosmetic procedures.
“The study of 238 young Australian women (aged 18-29) also identified that 16% of women had already received cosmetic surgery and that more than half (54%) would consider having it in the future,” it continued. “Only 31% said that they would not undertake surgical cosmetic procedures.”
Dr. John Mingoia, one of Conboy’s co-researchers, added that even after women undergo cosmetic surgery, “less than 40 per cent are satisfied with their bodies post-surgery.”
“Social networking sites are clearly a pervasive mode of comparison and body dissatisfaction for young women; however, due to their extreme popularity, they present an opportune platform to disseminate messages that may counter potentially harmful appearance-related content,” he explained. “If young women continue to access cosmetic surgery without addressing underlying self-compassion concerns, they may never feel content in their own body.”
Instead of looking to social media, young people should seek to find their identity in Christ. Through reading the Bible, people struggling with body image will discover that their worth comes from who God created them to be.
Movieguide® previously reported on Sadie Robertson Huff’s struggles with body image and how she relied on her faith:
Author and outspoken Christian Sadie Robertson Huff recently opened up about a childhood spent in the public spotlight during her time on DUCK DYNASTY.
“Being on camera, in general, can definitely make you be pretty nitpicky on what your body looks like because you see yourself on camera so much and people comment on your body so much that you’re hyper-aware of what it looks like,” Huff told Yahoo Life.
“During this time I helped lead others into victory over their battles – but little did they know, I was staying behind on the battlefield,” her blog post read.
In her times of struggle, Huff said that she fell back on her faith and her identity in Christ.
“Whenever I was struggling with an eating disorder, I leaned on the words that Jesus says that actually I am loved and that I’m not too far gone,” she told Yahoo Life, “and not only can I forgive other people but I can forgive myself and move on.”
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