summary: A new study reveals the powerful influence of social media on young women’s attitudes about cosmetic surgery. The study of 238 young women found that those who used social media regularly were more likely to be self-critical and open to cosmetic surgery.
Approximately 54% of participants were considering undergoing cosmetic surgery in the future. This study highlights the urgent need to promote realistic body images on popular platforms.
Important facts:
- Of the 238 Australian women surveyed, 16% said they had undergone cosmetic surgery, and more than half (54%) said they were considering it.
- This study identified a correlation between frequent social media use and acceptance of cosmetic surgery, with overidentification of perceived defects as the main predictor.
- Despite the popularity of cosmetic surgery, fewer than 40% of women feel satisfied with their bodies after surgery.
sauce: University of South Australia
Kylie Jenner famously admitted that her signature pout was due to lip fillers, greatly increasing interest and popularity in cosmetic surgery. That’s the power of social media.
But why is social media so persuasive and what is driving young women’s attitudes towards cosmetic surgery?
In a new study from the University of South Australia, researchers investigated just this and found that young women who regularly use social media are overly self-judgmental and more likely to consider cosmetic surgery.
A study of 238 young Australian women (aged 18-29) found that 16% of women had already had cosmetic surgery and more than half (54%) were considering having cosmetic surgery in the future. It turned out that there was. Only 31% said they would not undergo cosmetic surgery.
Cosmetic surgery is an increasingly popular way to change a person’s appearance. From 2010 to 2018, cosmetic procedures and surgeries nearly doubled from 117,000 to more than 225,000. Approximately 7 million Australians (38% of the adult population) are currently considering cosmetic surgery in the next 10 years.
UniSA researcher and PhD candidate Lauren Conboy said the study highlights the serious and worrying impact of social networking sites on young women’s body awareness and attitudes towards cosmetic surgery. .
“The prevalence of body dissatisfaction among young women has been a pervasive problem for a long time, with social media promoting unattainable beauty standards,” Conboy says.
“Young people are the biggest users of social networking sites in Australia, so they are more exposed to unrealistic body ideals.” Not surprisingly, with increased use of social media, cosmetic surgery An increasing number of young women are receiving
“In this study, we investigated how self-compassion may change this relationship to understand what can be done to influence positive psychosocial well-being.
“Self-compassion is a neutral acceptance of flaws. Positive self-compassion makes us kinder and understanding of ourselves. However, negative self-compassion When you have compassion, you tend to overestimate and criticize your own shortcomings.
“Our study found that cosmetic surgery is widely accepted among young women, and that higher social media use is correlated with higher acceptance of cosmetic surgery.
“In particular, young women who over-identify with personal attributes that they believe to be unattractive are likely to feel negative about themselves, and despite being aware that these We found that they couldn’t seem to break free from negative thoughts. Excessive self-awareness was the most important factor predicting positive attitudes toward cosmetic surgery.”
UniSA co-researcher Dr John Mingoia said more needs to be done to prevent young women from pursuing unrealistic and potentially harmful body images such as those portrayed on social media. says it needs to be done.
“Social networking sites are clearly a pervasive outlet for comparison and body dissatisfaction for young women. However, because they are so popular, there are many ways to combat potentially harmful appearance-related content. It has become a great platform to spread the message,” says Dr. Mingoia.
“Surveys show that even when women undergo cosmetic surgery, less than 40% of them are satisfied with their body post-surgery.
“Clinicians need to test and ensure the psychosocial safety of young women who may be influencing their media representations of beauty before they go ‘under the knife.’ there is.
“If young women continue to undergo cosmetic surgery without addressing their underlying self-compassion concerns, they may never be happy with their bodies.”
About this psychology/body image research news
author: annabell mansfield
sauce: University of South Australia
contact: Annabelle Mansfield – University of South Australia
image: Image credited to Neuroscience News
Original research: Open access.
“Social Networking Site Use, Self-Compassion, and Attitudes toward Cosmetic Surgery Among Young Australian Women,” by Lauren Conboy et al. Technical Journal in Behavioral Sciences
abstract
Social networking site use, self-compassion, and attitudes toward cosmetic surgery among young Australian women.
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between overall use of social networking sites (SNS) and attitudes toward cosmetic surgery among young Australian women through the moderating role of self-compassion.
Recent research has identified self-compassion as a potential protective factor in body image concerns. However, few researchers have further investigated the construct of self-compassion in relation to SNS use. Therefore, the positive components of self-compassion (self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness) and negative components (self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification) were further investigated.
This study utilized a cross-sectional correlational design using self-report data to determine whether self-compassion moderates the relationship between SNS use and attitudes toward cosmetic surgery. A sample of 238 young Australian women aged 18 to her 29 years (M= 22.1, SD = 2.9).
Participants completed an online survey measuring their total daily social media use, self-compassion, and attitudes toward cosmetic surgery. SNS use was significantly negatively correlated with self-compassion and positively correlated with cosmetic surgery.
Self-compassion was significantly negatively correlated with attitudes toward cosmetic surgery. However, contrary to expectations, self-compassion did not significantly inhibit social media use or attitudes toward cosmetic surgery.
To better understand this relationship, the construct of self-compassion was further investigated and revealed that over-identification significantly predicted more positive attitudes toward cosmetic surgery. The current study focuses on the relationship between SNS use and attitudes toward cosmetic surgery.
Because over-identification is associated with ruminating on discomfort, this result suggests that SNS users who are more likely to dwell on dissatisfaction with their appearance are more likely to have positive attitudes toward cosmetic surgery. It may indicate that it is high.
Given the popularity of SNS use, this medium could be an excellent platform to disseminate appearance modification interventions for young adult women.
Future studies based on causality may confirm these suggested implications.