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/).