Week 7, Body Modification On Social Media
Body modification has become very popular these days on social media platforms, both for business and personal use. With people posting photos and videos of their body changes on social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok, it is easier for them to gain more fans and attract public attention. Even now, for content creators who want to be seen by the public, they not only have to look perfect by doing body modification but also have to follow an algorithm.
There are concerns about how social media can influence body modification. To keep up with social media trends or to increase their likes and followers, some people may feel pressured to change their bodies. In addition, it has happened that people have shared risky and unrestricted body alteration practices on social media, which may be damaging and harmful. According to (Duffy & Meisner 2023, p. 301) Creators must orient themselves towards production and promotion tactics that will likely make them acceptable for mass consumption in order to surrender to the platform's perceived expectations and desires, as imposed by algorithms and other visibility mechanisms. As a result, many of these content creators have to undergo surgery on their body parts such as plastic surgery, botox, eyebrow embroidery or liposuction to cover up their flaws coupled with photo edits in order to have an attractive look.
On the other hand, it does not only happen to the content creators but because of the existing social media, the community has been affected. Now many of the teenagers, especially women, want to look perfect because seeing influencers and content creators with modified bodies that look always perfect in front of the camera makes a negative thing. Because of excessive obsession, many of them try the "cheap way" which results in many problems with their bodies because they want to look perfect but with a limited budget and edit their entire body with editing applications. They found that, especially for girls who have a strong tendency to make social comparisons, exposure to digitally altered photos led to higher body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls compared to the original photos according to (Tiggemann 2022, p. 174).
Due to the impact of social media and people wanting to look perfect, people who have the desire and thought of changing their body should do extensive research and look for a reliable and safe practitioner. The dangers and negative effects of the surgery they are thinking about should also be known in more detail. In addition, social media users should always be aware of what they consume and what they share to avoid supporting or encouraging harmful behaviors.
Reference :
Duffy, BE & Meisner, C 2022, "Platform governance at the margins: Social media creators" experiences with algorithmic (in)visibility’, Media, culture & society, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 1-17.
Tiggemann, M 2022, "Digital modification and body image on social media: Disclaimer labels, captions, hashtags, and comments", Body image, vol. 41, Elsevier Ltd, Netherlands, pp. 172–180.
