Virtual Filters, Real Pressures: The Impact of Social Media on Teenage Girls' Body Image
Virtual Filters, Real Pressures: The Impact of Social Media on Teenage Girls' Body Image

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the influence of social media, particularly the use of filters, on the perception of body and beauty in adolescent girls. It highlights how the questioning of physical appearance becomes prevalent in adolescence, exacerbated by exposure to retouched images and unrealistic beauty standards conveyed online. We argue that the intensive use of filters can damage young people's self-esteem, creating a dissonance between their real appearance and their online representation, and potentially leading to body image problems and inferiority complexes. Our research highlights the importance of analyzing the effects of digital representations on the perception of beauty standards and body representations, proposing a mixed research methodology that examines the interactions between online and offline spaces. We also examine the psychological implications of adopting these digital norms, which can lead to unrealistic expectations and body dissatisfaction among adolescent girls. Based on the intersection of the state of the art on this issue, a questionnaire and a qualitative survey, the article explores how the filters used in social media contribute to the construction of a gendered and stereotyped body image, and questions the continuity between digital and real identities. We propose an epistemological reflection on how digital data and body perceptions are interpreted and integrated into studies of the body and identity construction.

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