Within the last decade, social media platforms have become a popular way of self-representation and self-expression; primarily amongst most teens and twenty-somethings. Selfies, self-portraits, have become a popular trend in social media that have replaced portraits with self-enhanced pictures. Selfies "capture and preserve ourselves in [a] material[istic] way", through self-awareness from a controlled "projected awareness" (Suler 175). This allows the artist to create their own identity, allowing their self-portraits to reveal what they want their audience to see. Meanwhile, detaching themselves from the body and viewing their pictures through the eyes of the audience. While selfies play a large role in self-presentation within social media, how do selfies encourage body dysmorphia, self-objectification, and lower self-esteem in young adults …show more content…
Most of the time, idealized bodies in the media are an unrealistic perception of the average body. Yet the audience is unable to recognize the difference between tangible and fabricated. As a consequence, body dysmorphia can become self-destructive for those with focusing on the ideal body. These individuals obsessively focus on their imperfections in an attempt to conform to an idealistic identity. Teens and young adults have a higher tendency to become more affected by the consequences of body dysmorphia due to selfies, because of increased emphasis that media has placed on the body and appearance. Users of extensive social media will go to extreme measures to compare themselves to their counterparts and will rest at nothing to get their fifteen seconds in the limelight. Which includes, but is not limited to posting nude pictures or pictures that invoke sex to attract an unwanted audience. In reaction to the effects of social media lead to low self-esteem, self-objectification and in severe cases body