Lee, M., & Lee, H. (2019). Can Virtual Makeovers Using Photo Editing Applications Moderate Negative Media Influences on SNS Users’ Body Satisfaction? Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 51(4), 231-238.
Introduction
It introduces how social networking sites have affected people negatively. Data collected from Korea has shown that people tend to upload images of themselves that they find most attractive or alter their own appearance to meet their standards. Editing one’s own appearance and posting it online drastically increased and has received negative feedback. Many of the young females who upload these edited pictures of themselves experience body dissatisfaction. The present study explored the role of photo editing behavior in the relationships between internalization, media pressure, and body satisfaction in the SNS environment. People till this day feel pressure for altering their photos and define their self worth based on that.
Method
For this survey 406 females were interested in participating but only 133 members were approved. This is because only the people who have used facebook/instagram for more than a year and spent the most were invited. The data from 133 females were analyzed and showed that ages from 20-29 used free editing applications. In the surveys, they included 4 subjects (photo editing behavior, Internalization, Media pressure and body satisfaction) and used a 5-point response format for all the questions, meaning 1 (definitely disagree) to 5 (definitely agree). Some questions used on the survey were, how often do you use photo editing applications, do you want your body to look very thin and if the pressure from the media made them want to be in better shape. Demographic information including education level, occupation, annual household income, height, and weight was collected. To measure this reliability the study used Cronbach’s alpha, and for their moderator they used 2 models. In model 1, it internalized the ideal body. Model 2, predicted media pressure. For both analyses the variable was to use editing applications. All the predictors were mean based and graphed on a simple slope to compare the relationship.
Results
According to table 1 photo editing apps create negative media pressure that leads to body dissatisfaction. Model 1 and Model 2 (Table 2) both showed the same patterns that had no effects of using editing apps that correlate with body dissatisfaction. People who experienced body dissatisfaction are associated with thin body images. However, at high levels of photo editing application use, media pressure did not significantly influence body satisfaction. According to Table 4 many people who use these apps for altering their appearance were still not satisfied with themselves. The levels of photo editing application use was low so the media pressure did not influence body dissatisfaction.
Discussion
The study focused on the recent behavioral trend among the users. As of the results, it is confirmed that effects on internalization and media pressure are negative. The photo editing applications are still increasing in female SNS users. Although it is better using these filters rather than dieting and having cosmetic surgeries. The authors have defined this as a cheater strategy. This study was also limited in the search area, meaning that this study focused on SNS users who used it more than one hour per day, which the concerns of body image can increase with the frequency and duration of time spent. Another missing part is not identifying whether the pictures were selfies or full body pictures. Overall, the study on 133 females in Korea identified that media pressure does not affect body dissatisfaction.
