Aurora Miller

Padgett
ENGL 1102
February 23, 2014
Annotated Bibliography
Inquiry: How has social media affected body image and contributed to eating disorders?
Proposed Thesis: Social media sets the tone for the bodies of male and females should look like
and causes some people to develop eating disorders as their body perception changes.
Rutledge, Christina M., Katherine L. Gillmor, and Meghan M. Gillen. "Does This Profile Picture
Make Me Look Fat? Facebook And Body Image In College Students." Psychology Of Popular
Media Culture 2.4 (2013): 251-258. PsycARTICLES. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
The researchers of this article argue that it is very seldom for you to see a computer screen, in a
college library, that doesnt have Facebook pulled up on it. They thoroughly researched what
aspects of Facebook are associated with body image. In order to accurately associate a cause
with an effect they conducted a survey. They proposed that 1) Individuals who have more
Facebook friends, spend more time on Facebook, and are more emotionally invested in Facebook
will be more oriented toward their appearance. 2) Individuals who have more Facebook friends,
spend less time on Facebook, and are less emotionally invested in Facebook will have more
positive views of their appearance. They found correlation between body image perception and
Facebook usage in their study. This further supports my thesis that social media changes the
perception of yourself. I agree with their statement that less emotionally invested Facebook users
have more positive views of themselves, vice versa. This is something that we see daily in the
social media world around us, but the article further proves and gives great insight on the exact
features that contribute to body image distortion.
Hobza, Cody L., et al. "What About Men? Social Comparison And The Effects Of Media Images
On Body And Self-Esteem." Psychology Of Men & Masculinity 8.3 (2007): 161-172.
PsycARTICLES. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
This article opens by stating, The average person in the Unites States is exposed to hundreds, if
not thousands of media advertisements each day. They go on to say that ideally attractive men
and women are featured together, potentially sending the message that men and women may
obtain ideal partners if they are will to work towards societys expectations. The research
reported that men body build and do intensive workouts to meet these expectations society set, so
they can appeal to women. As Hobza investigates how the media affects men, he hypothesized
that men who viewed ideal physical images of other men or images depicting status and wealth
would report lower levels of body esteem and self esteem. It was found that body esteem was
affected, but self-esteem was not. I agree with these findings of this article because it proves that
the media affects men, not just women. The perception of themselves are based off the approval
they receive from women as they try to form their bodies into the shape society has set.

Ferguson, CJ, ME Muoz, A Garza, and M Galindo. "Concurrent and Prospective Analyses of
Peer, Television and Social Media Influences on Body Dissatisfaction, Eating Disorder
Symptoms and Life Satisfaction in Adolescent Girls." Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 43.1
(2014): 1-14. Print.
This article shows a study that examines television, social media and social media influences on
body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms and life satisfaction in adolescent girls. A few
hundred girls were assessed and later 101 of them were reassessed. Results showed that neither
television exposure to thin ideals nor social media use predicted negative outcomes, with the
exception of a small correlation between social media use and reduced life satisfaction
concurrently, but not prospectively. By contrast, peer competition was a moderately strong
predictor of most negative outcomes, both concurrently and prospectively. The exceptions to this
were eating disorder symptoms concurrently and life satisfaction prospectively. These results
suggest that peer competition, rather than television or social media exposure, is more salient to
body and eating issues in teenage girls. However, social media use did predict later peer
competition, suggesting possible indirect effects for this type of media. These findings spark up
other questions to me. Do these findings mean that Social media is not the direct cause of body
image and eating disorder problems, but the gateway for peer competition to cause such? Are
there other factors that contribute to body dissatisfaction, not just social media alone? The
researchers of this scholarly article presented a new spectrum of variables and reasoning behind
how social media directly affects the body image and eating disorders.
Lwin, May O, and Shelly Malik. "The Role of Media Exposure, Peers, and Family on Body
Dissatisfaction Amongst Boys and Girls in Singapore." Journal of Children and Media. 6.1
(2012): 69-82. Print.
This fairly recent article written on children in Singapore explores the difference in body
dissatisfaction created by social media in boys and girls. This article shows that social media
affects the body image of male and females worldwide, not just here in America. The researchers
found through a survey they conducted on 277 children, ages 10-13, that television and
engagement with social media were significantly related to girls body dissatisfaction.
Shockingly, it was not the same for the boys. Boys were influenced by other factors such as
family member criticism, not social media usage. Bother genders were equally affected by the
way their peers perceived their weight. This article backs up the article about that peer review
has a strong influence on body image, not just social media.
Helen, Borland W, and Akram Selina. "Age Is No Barrier to Wanting to Look Good: Women on
Body Image, Age and Advertising." Qualitative Market Research: an International Journal. 10.3
(2007): 310-333. Print.
This UK article argues if older women body perceptions are related to fashion advertising.
Women, both young and old, were examined using a Contour Drawing Rating Scale to see
what their self images were and the ideal size they believe models should be. It was found that
the older womens body images were not affected by fashion models who were skinny, however,
they believed that models used should look like normal people. This article suggests that older
woman are less likely to be affected by social media or to develop eating disorders because they
know that the images society implicates to be beauty, are not what normal females look like.
Also, this further supports that social media and body image perception are being investigated
worldwide.