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This week, I read the article Body Image and Social Media Use Among Emerging Adults: The Mediating Role of Appearance Comparisons by Fardouly and Vartanian (2016). The study examines how social media usage influences body dissatisfaction among young adults through the mechanism of appearance-based social comparison. Using a large sample of college aged participants, the authors found that the frequency of appearance related activities on social media, such as viewing others’ photos and posting selfies was strongly associated with negative body image. Importantly, they argue that it’s not just the amount of time spent online that matters, but the type of engagement. Comparing oneself to others’ highly curated images tends to increase body dissatisfaction and self-objectification, especially for women. The study helps clarify the psychological process behind body image anxiety, showing that internalized beauty ideals are constantly reinforced through interactive online environments.

This article directly supports my documentary project, which explores how social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram contribute to body image pressure and disordered eating among female college students. The concept of “appearance comparison” is central to my project, it helps me interpret both the academic research and the emotional narratives I’m collecting through interviews. The article also reinforces the importance of analyzing not only the media content itself, but also how individuals emotionally respond to it. I plan to incorporate this theoretical framing into my paper’s analysis section and use it to guide my interview questions about self-comparison, confidence, and self-perception online.

This week, I conducted one or two online interviews for my documentary and started collecting initial insights from participants. Hearing their honest stories made me realize how universal this experience is, even across different backgrounds. I plan to film more b-roll footage this weekend to visualize some of the ideas that came up in the interviews, especially moments related to food, reflection, and self-image. Suddenly, the schedule feels much tighter as the semester is moving quickly, but I’m determined to keep up with the pace. I know this project means a lot to me, and I’ll do my best to make steady progress in both the academic and creative parts of it.

Reference
Fardouly, J., & Vartanian, L. R. (2016). Social media and body image concerns: Current research and future directions. Current Opinion in Psychology, 9, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.09.005

This week I read the article “Influence of social media exposure on body image: An experimental study of Instagram use and body dissatisfaction among college women” by Kleemans et al. (2018). The study explores how idealized Instagram content affects female college students’ perceptions of attractiveness, mood, and self-esteem. Participants who viewed “fitspiration” and beauty influencer posts reported significantly higher body dissatisfaction than those who viewed neutral lifestyle content. The authors explain this through social comparison and objectification theories, showing how even short exposure to appearance-focused content can trigger negative self-evaluation and desire for body modification. The study also points out that media literacy and self-awareness can help reduce these negative effects, suggesting that critical engagement, not total avoidance, may be a healthier approach.

This article supports my MA documentary project, by providing strong empirical evidence that aligns with the personal stories I want to highlight. While my project takes a qualitative approach, Kleemans et al.’s findings help frame the mechanisms social comparison, body surveillance, and algorithmic exposure—that I plan to illustrate visually through interviews and narrative structure. It also reinforces my intention to balance critique with empathy: not portraying social media as purely harmful, but showing its emotional complexity and the blurred line between pleasure and pressure.

I also developed a short writing piece that may serve as an opening scene for my film:

“It’s a normal Monday night. I open the fridge and see the leftover mandarins from Cherry Pantry. I tell myself I just want one but I keep eating. Yes, my relationship with food is not healthy. Unexpected food like this makes me nervous. This is an eating disorder a result of years of dieting. Over the past two years, I’ve lost 22 pounds. I thought it was about a breakup. Later, I realized it was about Xiaohongshu.”

This week, I focused on reviewing the footage I shot earlier and planning my next interviews. I haven’t filmed new scenes yet, but I’m organizing my interview questions and identifying potential participants. I plan to film one interview this weekend and capture more b-roll that connects food, emotion, and social media imagery. My next goal is to integrate the academic research more clearly into my visual storytelling and begin experimenting with voiceover narration.

Reference
Kleemans, M., Daalmans, S., Carbaat, I., & Anschütz, D. (2018). Picture perfect: The direct effect of manipulated Instagram photos on body image in adolescent girls. Media Psychology, 21(1), 93–110. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2016.1257392

These are some of the thoughts and pieces I wrote during the Writing Workshop class, as I reflected on my MA project and my progress this semester.

Free Writing

Professor Laura mentioned today that two-thirds of the semester has already passed. I didn’t realize time went by so fast! When I look back, even though I’ve been moving a bit slowly, I can see that I’m moving in the right direction. I’m really glad I took this class this semester. If my project had to jump directly into the spring semester, I think I would have felt very stressed.

This week, I started working on the literature review for my paper. Because I will interview people for my documentary, I feel that using interviews as my research method is a good idea—it allows me to contribute to both my paper and my film at the same time. But now I realize I don’t yet know how to find my interview participants. This is something Professor Laura asked me last week, and it made me realize I need to find people very soon. My plan is to put up flyers on campus and give a $10 Starbucks gift card to each participant.

While reviewing the articles I’ve read for previous blogs, I noticed that some of them will be useful in my paper, and some may not be directly needed. But I also realized that not every article must appear in my final paper. Some readings helped inspire my topic and method, and that’s still valuable for my research process.

My next plan is to continue collecting stronger and more focused academic articles for my literature review. I also want to start writing down how these theories connect to the real stories my participants will share. This way, my paper and documentary can support each other more closely.

I know I still have a lot to do, especially finding interview participants and planning the shoots. But I feel clearer about each step now. I believe if I keep going like this, I will finish a project that I’m proud of. I’m excited to move forward and see how everything will come together in the rest of the semester

Poem – “Moving, Still Forward”

Time went by so fast.
Moving slowly, but moving forward.
Interviews and stories help my project.
Planning clearly makes me confident.
Small steps still mean progress.
I will finish something proud.

Short Reflection (Optional)

Editing others’ work helped me reflect on my own project and gave me ideas for better examples, references, and stylistic inspirations for my film. It also made me realize what I still need to improve and reminded me how helpful collaboration is in this class.

This week, I read the article Influence of Appearance-Based Social Media Use on Body Image and Eating Behavior in Young Women by Brown and Tiggemann (2023). The authors examined how frequent exposure to beauty-focused and diet-centered content on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok affects young women’s self-perception and eating habits. Their findings show that repeated appearance-based social media use intensifies body dissatisfaction, increases restrictive eating intentions, and heightens negative mood—especially among women who actively engage in self-presentation behaviors online. The article also highlights how algorithmic reinforcement can create a continuous loop where users are repeatedly exposed to idealized bodies, making comparison almost unavoidable on these platforms.

This article contributes strongly to my documentary project, which explores how social media amplifies body image anxiety and unhealthy food relationships among female college students. It supports my focus on the emotional and behavioral consequences of scrolling through curated content. The concept of self-presentation reinforcement will directly guide my interview design, as I plan to ask participants about how likes, comments, and editing tools shape their eating behavior and self-confidence. It also confirms that TikTok and Instagram are not just passive influences but actively promote ongoing comparison that can lead to disordered eating patterns — an important connection I want to illustrate visually in my opening scenes and interview structure.

Feedback reflection
From the preproduction binder review, I received helpful feedback that I should:
• begin recruiting interview participants as soon as possible
• diversify my interviewees to show a range of experiences
• improve some visual decisions and strengthen lighting/audio setups
• borrow higher-quality equipment from the Klein

• regularly share work-in-progress with others to gain more critique and suppor

Based on this feedback, my next steps include finalizing interviews with at least 3–4 students, scheduling equipment checkout, and continuing conversations with peers and faculty for creative input. I will also test both sit-down interview setups and more natural eating-moment B-roll to refine my visual language. I’m excited to push my project forward with more intentional production planning.

Reference

Brown, Z., & Tiggemann, M. (2023). Influence of appearance-based social media on body dissatisfaction and restrained eating: The role of self-presentation. Body Image, 46, 274–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2023.05.009

This week, I read the article NetGirls: The Internet, Facebook, and body image concern in adolescent girls by Tiggemann and Slater (2017). The authors conducted a longitudinal study exploring how Facebook use relates to body image concerns among adolescent girls over time. They found that increased Facebook use predicted greater internalization of the thin ideal and higher body dissatisfaction, even when controlling for age and baseline media exposure. The study emphasizes that the visual and interactive nature of social media—where users post and evaluate images—creates constant opportunities for appearance-based comparison. The findings suggest that the psychological mechanisms linking social media and body image issues begin early in adolescence and may persist into young adulthood.

This article contributes to my documentary project by reinforcing the idea that body image anxiety linked to social media is not only widespread but also deeply internalized. While my project focuses on female college students rather than adolescents, the study helps contextualize how early social media habits shape long-term patterns of self-evaluation and eating behavior. I plan to draw from this insight by including interview questions that explore participants’ histories with social media—when they first started comparing themselves online, and how those experiences have evolved over time.

This week during production day, I filmed several new B-roll shots for my project, focusing on moments of everyday detail and emotion to help build the visual rhythm of my documentary. I also began organizing potential interview settings and plan to film my first interviews this weekend. Additionally, I spoke with Professor Jan Fernback, the MSP program director, about my project’s direction. She encouraged me to stay consistent and manage my time strategically so I can make steady progress each week. Moving forward, I’m determined to improve my time management, follow the project timeline closely, and keep pushing myself creatively and academically.

Reference
Tiggemann, M., & Slater, A. (2017). NetGirls: The Internet, Facebook, and body image concern in adolescent girls. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 50(1), 80–83. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22557

Looking back on the first half of the semester, I feel that my research has been progressing steadily toward the goals I set at the beginning. My main aim was to build a strong theoretical foundation connecting social media use, body image anxiety, and eating behaviors among young women. I am proud that I have developed a solid literature base through consistent reading, including works by Perloff (2014) and Fardouly et al. (2015). I also refined my research strategy by using broader and more precise keywords, following earlier advice from Kristina DeVoe, which helped me find more relevant academic sources. This process has made me more confident in situating my documentary within a well-defined scholarly conversation.

In terms of production, my project vision has become much clearer. At the start of the semester, I only had a broad idea of exploring social media’s effects on body image. Now, I can visualize how I want the documentary to look and feel. I’m especially proud of the initial media I created—close-up shots of colorful desserts, ice cream, and fresh fruits and vegetables. These test shots not only helped me experiment with lighting and framing but also deepened my understanding of how idealized food imagery on social media can represent both pleasure and pressure.

Academically, I believe my project aligns well with the MA project expectations of producing theoretically informed creative work. My documentary applies concepts such as social comparison theory and objectification theory to real, lived experiences. By translating abstract theory into visual storytelling, I aim to create a piece that is both analytically grounded and emotionally resonant. The accompanying paper will connect my visual choices and interview narratives back to these frameworks, demonstrating how the medium itself becomes part of the critical inquiry.

For the rest of the semester, I look forward to conducting interviews and combining them with the visual metaphors I’ve already begun developing. I’m excited to hear participants’ perspectives and to see how their stories can shape the final narrative.

Feedback summary:
During the Project Treatment and Initial Media workshop, I received encouraging feedback from my professor and classmates. They appreciated the aesthetic quality of my food imagery and how it captured both temptation and tension. They also suggested that I consider filming people eating—to contrast the polished, idealized food seen online with the natural, imperfect, and emotional act of eating in real life. This idea really inspired me, and I plan to experiment with these scenes in my next round of filming. My next step is to prepare detailed interview outlines and explore how to visually blend everyday eating moments with the theoretical themes of my project.

References

Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, P. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Halliwell, E. (2015). Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women’s body image concerns and mood. Body Image, 13, 38–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.12.002

Perloff, R. M. (2014). Social media effects on young women’s body image concerns: Theoretical perspectives and an agenda for research. Sex Roles, 71(11–12), 363–377. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-014-0384-6

This week I read the article Social Media Effects on Young Women’s Body Image Concerns: Theoretical Perspectives and an Agenda for Research by Perloff (2014). The article reviews the emerging research on how social media shapes young women’s body image and eating concerns, emphasizing theoretical frameworks such as social comparison theory and objectification theory. Perloff argues that social media differs from traditional media because it is interactive, peer-driven, and visually oriented, which intensifies pressures to compare appearance and internalize unrealistic body ideals. He proposes a conceptual model that connects individual vulnerability factors (such as low self-esteem or high appearance comparison tendency) with specific social media uses, leading to body dissatisfaction, dieting, and disordered eating. The article also points out gaps in existing studies, including the need for more qualitative work and intersectional perspectives.

This article contributes directly to my MA documentary project about how social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram amplify body image anxiety and eating concerns among female college students. Perloff’s framework helps me understand how interactive features like likes, comments, and algorithm-driven feeds can encourage negative social comparisons and self-objectification. Importantly, the call for qualitative research validates my decision to use a documentary format and personal interviews, giving voice to lived experiences that quantitative surveys might miss. His discussion of vulnerability factors will also shape my interview questions — for example, I want to ask participants about how they compare themselves to peers online, and whether they feel pressure to alter eating habits or body image because of content they see on social media.

This week, I focused on expanding my literature review and improving my research strategy. Based on earlier suggestions from Kristina DeVoe, I refined and broadened my keyword searches to include terms such as “appearance-based social comparison,” “objectification theory,” and “college women eating behaviors.” This helped me discover more relevant, high-quality academic sources and gave me a clearer plan for building the theoretical foundation of my project. Next week, I plan to continue refining my interview questions and start identifying potential participants for my documentary.

Reference
Perloff, R. M. (2014). Social media effects on young women’s body image concerns: Theoretical perspectives and an agenda for research. Sex Roles, 71, 363–377. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-014-0384-6

Figure 1
Social comparison theory illustration. Adapted from “Is social comparison good or bad? Explained with examples,” by Communication Theory, n.d. (https://www.communicationtheory.org/is-social-comparison-good-or-bad-explained-with-examples/).

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This week I read the article Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women’s body image concerns and mood by Fardouly, Diedrichs, Vartanian, and Halliwell (2015). The study investigates how brief exposure to Facebook affects women’s mood, body dissatisfaction, and perceived discrepancies in weight/shape, face, hair, and skin. The researchers compared Facebook exposure with viewing an online fashion magazine and an appearance-neutral control website. They hypothesized that Facebook use would lead to more negative mood and greater dissatisfaction with body and facial features than appearance-neutral content, due to the highly social and comparative nature of Facebook. They also examined whether trait appearance comparison tendency moderated these effects. Results showed that Facebook use can heighten body dissatisfaction and negative mood, especially among women who already have a tendency to compare their appearance to others.

This article contributes directly to my MA project, which explores how social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram influence body image anxiety and eating concerns among female college students. Although this study focused on Facebook, its findings about social comparison processes and appearance-based content are highly transferable to TikTok and Instagram, where visual self-presentation and peer interaction are even stronger. It gives me a theoretical basis to explain how constant exposure to curated images and peer comparisons can worsen body dissatisfaction and eating-related anxiety. It also highlights the role of individual vulnerability (like a pre-existing tendency to compare) — an idea I want to bring into my documentary by asking participants about how they personally respond to social media images.

This week, I didn’t make much progress on production work because of other deadlines. However, in recent class exercises, I felt that I improved a lot, especially since I hadn’t used a camera for a long time. I really missed being in the studio, and the part I enjoy most is interviewing people. In this week’s class, I was responsible for asking the interview questions, which helped me practice my interviewing skills and reminded me why I love this process!! I also started drafting some potential interview questions for my own project, and doing that suddenly made my project feel much clearer. Next week, I plan to identify potential participants and continue reading more research and articles related to social media and body image to keep building a strong foundation for my documentary.

Reference 

Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, P. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Halliwell, E. (2015). Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women’s body image concerns and mood. Body Image, 13, 38–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.12.002

This week I read the article A systematic review of the impact of the use of social networking sites on body image and disordered eating outcomes by Holland and Tiggemann (2016). The authors review 20 empirical studies examining the relationship between social networking site use and body image concerns. Their findings suggest consistent links between time spent on platforms like Facebook and Instagram and negative body image outcomes, such as body dissatisfaction, appearance comparison, and disordered eating symptoms. The review highlights how highly visual and interactive aspects of social media intensify pressures around appearance, particularly for adolescent and young adult women. Importantly, it also identifies methodological gaps in prior studies, such as over-reliance on correlational designs and lack of longitudinal data.

This article contributes directly to my project by reinforcing the idea that social media platforms play an important role in shaping body image anxiety among young women. My MA documentary project will not only explore these issues from a statistical or correlational perspective but also bring them to life through interviews and personal narratives. Holland and Tiggemann’s findings show the academic consensus on the harmful role of social media in this area, which gives my project a strong research foundation. At the same time, the article’s critique of existing methodologies motivates me to approach the topic differently—by using qualitative storytelling methods that can capture nuance and lived experiences that numbers alone cannot provide.

This week, I did not make much progress on my project beyond keeping up with the reading. It has been a busy week with other commitments, and I struggled with time management. However, in Dr. Shaw’s Tuesday class, I learned many useful tips about time management, which gave me a clearer idea of how to plan my project timeline. This was really helpful and made me feel more confident about organizing my work for the semester!!!! Next week, I plan to outline my interview questions and review at least two additional academic sources so I can continue to build a strong literature base.

References

Holland, G., & Tiggemann, M. (2016). A systematic review of the impact of the use of social networking sites on body image and disordered eating outcomes. Body Image, 17, 100–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.02.008

Published September 12, 2025 by Weinala Hailati

One media product that closely inspires my project is the documentary Miss Representation (Newsom, 2011). Although the film broadly examines how media shapes women’s self-perceptions and societal opportunities, what I found most compelling was its ability to balance individual stories with expert analysis. The film combines interviews with young women, activists, and academics, weaving these voices into a larger critique of how media constructs and perpetuates gendered norms. This combination of personal narrative and structural analysis mirrors what I hope to achieve in my own MA project, which will focus on how social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram amplify body image anxiety and eating concerns among female college students. To make a similar project, I will need strong interviewing skills, careful planning of visual storytelling, and the ability to create a tone that balances empathy with critical insight.

In order to accomplish my project, I will also need to develop both technical and research-related background knowledge. From previous coursework, I already have significant experience making short documentaries, and I especially enjoy conducting interviews. I feel confident in my ability to guide conversations, ask meaningful questions, and create a comfortable space where people can share their personal stories. However, my production skills are not as strong. I am not very familiar with how to capture high-quality images, and I often struggle with recording clear audio—my sound tends to come out uneven or distracting. These are areas I know I need to improve through practice this semester. On the research side, Perloff (2014) points out that while there is extensive literature on mass media and body image, “there has been relatively little theoretically-driven research on processes and effects of social media on young women’s body image and self-perceptions” (p. 364). This gap highlights why my project is timely and necessary. Perloff further argues that the interactive and visual nature of social media—“working via negative social comparisons, transportation, and peer normative processes”—can significantly influence body dissatisfaction and disordered eating (p. 365). These insights provide a theoretical framework that will strengthen the foundation of my project. By combining my strength in interviewing with improved technical skills and these scholarly perspectives, I will be better prepared to produce a documentary that is both impactful and responsible.

References

Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, P. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Halliwell, E. (2015). Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women’s body image concerns and mood. Body Image, 13, 38–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.12.002

Perloff, R. M. (2014). Social media effects on young women’s body image concerns: Theoretical perspectives and an agenda for research. Sex Roles, 71(11–12), 363–377. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-014-0384-6

Newsom, J. S. (Director). (2011). Miss Representation [Film]. Girls’ Club Entertainment.

This week I read the article “Social Media Use and Body Image Disorders: Association Between Frequency of Comparing One’s Own Physical Appearance to Others’ Physical Appearance on Social Media and Body Dissatisfaction and Eating Disorders” by Fardouly et al. (2015). The study investigates how frequent appearance-related comparisons on social media platforms are linked to negative body image outcomes, particularly among young women. Using survey data, the authors found that higher levels of comparison correlated strongly with body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors. The article highlights the role of visual-based platforms (such as Facebook and Instagram) in promoting unrealistic body ideals and amplifying appearance-based anxiety.

This article contributes directly to my project because it provides empirical evidence that social media engagement—especially appearance-related comparison—is a critical factor in shaping body image anxiety among female students. My documentary aims to explore the lived experiences behind these statistics, giving voice to students who feel pressured by constant exposure to filtered images and diet trends. While the article is quantitative and focuses on correlations, my work will build on this by presenting narrative and visual storytelling that humanizes these findings. It affirms that my project has both academic and social relevance, as it connects personal stories with broader cultural patterns identified in the literature.

This week, I worked on refining my topic. At first, my project idea was too broad—simply “female college students and body anxiety.” After further research, I decided to narrow my focus to the impact of social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram on eating habits and body image. I also drafted potential interview questions and started thinking about which students I could approach as participants. Next week, I plan to gather at least two more academic sources and possibly schedule my first informal conversation with a peer to test my interview prompts.

Reference
Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, P. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Halliwell, E. (2015). Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women’s body image concerns and mood. Body Image, 13, 38–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.12.002