Beauty ideals in social networks

Beauty ideals in social media

Especially during puberty, adolescents look for role models and guidance to help them consolidate their own body image and identity. To do this, they use various media offerings to compare themselves with stars, media figures and influencers. This also applies to social networks, because there you can find new inspiration and visual “templates” for a body image that is socially accepted by the public and worthy of imitation. Influencers in particular are much more than just role models. Due to the numerous excerpts from their personal lives and often direct communication with fans, they belong to the group that young people place deep trust in. They seem like a good buddy, sometimes even like a big brother or sister, and therefore create a long-term and closer basis of trust than many television stars.

The always perfect bodies and lives…

The always perfect bodies and lives that are suggested on social networks create great potential for imitation among young people and have a lasting impact on the understanding of beauty. Even though many young people are aware that the pictures of celebrities are usually not created naturally, but rather with extensive retouching, there is still a need to emulate the ideal as best as possible. Television formats such as “Germany’s Next Top Model” or “The Bachelor” also encourage young people to set strict meal plans, promote muscle building and focus all their energy on purely external values. The body has become something that we can shape and change according to our ideas. It obviously shows discipline to refrain from eating too much food and fits perfectly into our performance society. Full, shiny hair, tanned skin and a flawless, slim body are still the image of a beauty ideal in numerous media offerings today.

New body positivity

But our world has also become more open today. For years, people have been demanding and protesting to rethink the concept and idea of ​​an ideal of beauty and not just focus on one-sided and external values. Because what exactly is “perfect”? If you break away from relevant television formats or well-known influencers, a completely new world suddenly opens up to us. A world in which all people are beautiful, in which naturalness and individuality are the order of the day. It is becoming more and more common to find models on television or in magazines who are curvier, who have a disability or who simply do not fit the typical idea of ​​a “beauty ideal”. Many influencers are also increasingly showing themselves without make-up and naturally in order to make it clear that every person is ideal in their own unique way and does not have to conform to distorted body ideals or even emulate them.

Fake mentality and body challenges on the internet

Despite developments towards more “body positivity”, the pursuit of the perfect body remains present and is reflected in the online behavior of adolescents. They post pictures and clips in often revealing poses in order to collect praising and appreciative comments for their own bodies or compete in various challenges to have the slimmest thighs or the most athletic appearance. The ability to access social networks and material from role models around the clock also increases the personal pressure to become a perfect ideal of beauty. But this is exactly what poses numerous risks such as eating disorders, (cyber) bullying , harassment or problems in the context of data protection.

What can parents do?

Below you will find some tips on how you can support your children in dealing with and raising awareness of beauty ideals.

• Even for younger children: Pay attention to the selection of media heroes (How are they portrayed? What content and messages are conveyed? Are the media heroes based on pure gender-typical clichés or do they break out of typical gender roles?).
• Show interest in the media worlds of adolescents and question their enthusiasm, for example for a particular influencer.
• Stay open: talk to young people in open, honest conversations about what they have seen, but also about stereotypical role models and the problem between reality and fake representations and reflect on it together.
• Strengthen adolescents’ self-confidence and self-confidence.
• Suggesting Instagram accounts that deviate from the mainstream can help your child feel better about their body. The content then appears naturally in your own timeline and offers more variety. examples for this are

1. celestebarber
2. Fine.bauer
3. girls' evenings
4. Hanna Bohnekamp
5. Saggysara
6. tesfu_tarik
7. Chessiekingg
8. pinkstinks_de

Source and thanks to Jennifer Madelmond from the Baden-Württemberg State Media Center

Also read: Fake world Instagram: Fitfluencers and their tricks