Survey: social media increase pressure on girls to lose weight

Girls are under pressure to slim down because of social media Keystone-SDA

A Swiss report shows that girls experience greater pressure regarding their body image on social media than boys. At the same time, their self-esteem increases over the course of adolescence.

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According to the JAMESfocus report published on Friday, girls aged 12-19 have internalised ideals of thinness to a much greater extent than boys. In contrast, boys tend to internalise muscular body ideals.

Over 1,100 young people aged between 12 and 19 from all three Swiss language regions took part in the study.

According to the report, the internalisation of muscular ideals had no influence on the self-esteem of the young people. A different picture emerged for thinness: young people who strongly desire to be thin have significantly lower self-esteem, the study found.

The report said this could be due to different experiences on social media. What teenagers get to see on these platforms is highly individualised due to algorithmic recommendations, it said. The authors of the study believe that girls may come into contact more frequently with content that places a strong focus on appearance.

The results of the report also show that young people attach greater social importance to the prevailing ideals of beauty as they get older. It said 16 to 19-year-olds are more likely to agree with statements such as “It is very important to look good if you want to achieve something in our society” than 12 and 13-year-olds. At the same time, however, their self-esteem also increased with their age.

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The authors of the study said in a press release that it is important to support children and young people in taking a critical approach to social ideals of beauty. As ideals of thinness are internalised at an early age, preventative measures should not wait until adolescence.

The report is part of the James Study, which is being conducted by the Zurich University of Applied Aciences on behalf of Swisscom. The youth-media survey is carried out every two years in Switzerland.

Adapted from German by AI/sb

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