Psychological Effects of Body Shaming in Adolescence

Abstract

This study aims to determine the degree to which peers, the media, and social media influence adolescents\\\' body image, individual shame of other people for their appearances, and stress that results in a number of psychological consequences and also the impacts of negative body image and its influence on quality of life. We should be conscious of the fact that we were all formed differently. We shouldn\\\'t be ashamed of being unique. Boys and girls, you are both gorgeous inside and out, regardless of how big your waist, stomach, or scale reading may be.

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

According to WHO, "adolescents" are those between the ages of 10 and 19. The Dramatic changes in physical development, mental growth, sexual development, psychological development, and social development occur between childhood and maturity. The coping strategies for dealing body shaming issues are psychological maturity, emotional intelligence and dispute management. The appearance-based harassment needs to be focused with great interest in this competitive era. Adolescence is thought of as a stage between youth and adulthood. Every year, 9 out of 10 teenagers deal with body shaming and related stress, which eventually makes them more likely to consider suicide. Body shame directly and frequently leads to increase in depression symptom levels for all school going and college-bound youths throughout the course of the whole school years. Based on an analysis of online descriptions, we would define body shaming as an unrepeated act in which someone makes uninvited, generally unfavourable judgments or comments about the target's physique. Children and young people who gain a lot of weight experience several types of weight-related discrimination and harassment, such as rejection and teasing. Body shaming does not just apply to obese people. Body shaming can affect slender people or particular body parts, as in the phrases "You need some meat on your bones" and "Your legs look disgusting." So, we propose that the term "body shaming" is only a catch-all for more nuanced phenomena like weight-fat or skinny-shaming. There are 1.2 billion adolescents worldwide, or one sixth of the entire population, which is a record high. Through 2050, this figure is anticipated to climb, especially in low- and middle-income nations, where over 90% of 10- to 19-year-olds reside. Body shaming is the practise of disparaging someone's physical appearance. Your body or someone else's body could be the subject. The body shaming can cause eating disorders, depression, high anxiety, low self-appreciation.

II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Kamila Czepczor-Bernat et al (2022), This article evaluates the connection between bad emotions and body image and its influence on quality of life. People experience humiliation and despair when they encounter the standards set by society and discover that their bodies do not conform. Depression will result from this, and avoidance behaviour will follow. The author of this essay came to the conclusion that obese people should receive treatment to enhance their quality of life and inspire them to control their negative emotions and body dissatisfaction

M.Manjunatha et al (2020), The article deals with the media is important to society. Today's advertising places less emphasis on the product and more on the model's physical attractiveness and attributes. This established standards for both men's and women's ideal bodies. It encourages racism and can cause eating disorders. This finding serves as the foundation for the study as we seek to understand the extent and circumstances of the influence of these commercials.

Milla Evelianti et al (2020), This study is based on the adolescent’s experience on body shaming treatment. The findings revealed that the majority of the adolescents faced a moderate level of body shaming treatment. The results of numerous studies have demonstrated that body shaming can have negative effects on the victims. High school students in the Depok area who participated in the survey said that while some teens who had moderate body shaming had good body images, those who experienced high body shaming had negative ones.

Qingqing Sun et al (2018), The purpose of the article was to look into the factors that connect materialism and body dissatisfaction. The outcomes of route analyses showed that higher materialism indirectly predicted more body dissatisfaction through increased body shame and surveillance. By establishing a connection with the variables, body dissatisfaction and materialism, this study adds to the body image literature. Our findings indicated that increased body shame and body monitoring are significant factors that contribute to the explanation of relationships between materialism and body.

Khushi Mukherjee et al (2022), The article discusses the frequency of body shaming among adolescents and the stress that they experience as a result, which in turn contributes to an elevated rate of suicide. It was noted that when compared to the global reports, the overall percentage of each issue is higher. If the issues are not addressed quickly, the number of suicides will continue to rise.

Constanze Schlüter et al (2021), This article examined the scientific definition of body shaming and the classification of body shaming and the influence of body shaming on mental health.

III. BODY SHAMING AND ADOLESCENCE

Body shaming is the act of disparaging someone's physical appearance. Your own body or someone else's body may be the subject. A person's size, age, hair, clothing, diet, and level of perceived beauty can all be discussed in the discussion.

In addition to the overall sensation of loathing one's body, body shaming can result in eating disorders, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and body dysmorphia.

Adolescents who experience body shame are far more likely to experience depression. The result might lead to

1.  Physique shaming may lead to unhappiness with one's body, which can lead to low self-esteem.
2.  It affects outcomes for obese women trying to quit binge eating.
3. Among the mental health issues linked to body-shaming are: anxiety, body dysmorphic disorder, and depression.
4.  Poor quality of life (due to body dissatisfaction).
5. Psychological discomfort.
6.  Higher chance of self-harm or suicide

The most public shaming is done in this form of criticism on the basis of body weight.

It was discovered throughout the study that 74% of teenagers have suicidal thoughts, which is a significant percentage.

Body shaming is more prevalent than ever in a society dominated by social media and fitness models! Even if it offends them, people believe that their opinions count. When there is no face to be seen, making a statement is simple. Creating a troll is simple if you have a name for it. We've all read those hateful remarks, so let's not waste time concentrating on them.

The media wields a weapon that serves several purposes in society. Both men and women focus more on their own looks. Less attention is paid to the product itself in advertisements and more on the model's appearance and physical attributes. Since not everyone is born with glowing skin, a good-looking figure, or healthy hair, this is a cause for concern. One of its bad traits is that these advertisements set expectations for ideal male and female bodies. Racism and eating problems are promoted by it.

According to a recent survey performed in Chennai, 42% of women felt pressurised to seem "Beautiful," and 76% desire to have a lower body size than their current figure. Barbie dolls are quite popular among young girls. Cases of teenage girls having reduced body esteem and a strong desire for a slimmer body shape are after being exposed to dolls.

As per survey conducted in Pune 34% of girls and 42% of boys face obesity/underweight related criticisms and 18% of girls face criticism related to Acne. Whereas 15% of boys face criticism related to short height.

Both sexes have a high prevalence of suicidal ideation as a result of depression, although girls are more likely than boys to feel the impulse. As a form of control, many abusers even permanently alter the appearance of their victim partners. The survivor may eventually start to feel ugly and embarrassed. A common tactic used by abusers to weaken their partners physically as well as emotionally is to have them restrict their food intake, lose weight, and exercise more.

In our environment, it can be challenging to appreciate your body without making an effort, and it may take years of work to achieve this. Before one comes to experience empathy, acceptance, and finally love for their body, there are numerous obstacles to overcome.

Images, written pieces, films, blogs, and vlogs all frequently convey signals to us about how we need to appear. Many children received direct instructions to alter their looks because they were overweight, underweight, or out of proportion.

Those who were taunted and harassed as youngsters had peer wounds that, if not treated, might bleed for a lifetime. Children have a strong need to belong and feel comfortable among their peers. A child's perception that they are not OK, good enough, or deserving of affection begins to solidify when they feel rejected because of their looks. The result may be a lifetime spent trying to alter their physical appearance, but the sense of worthlessness runs far deeper than that.

Conclusion

Body shaming is the act of degrading someone based on their physical appearance, it affects both men and women psychologically and physically, and it has transformed the \\\"ideal body type\\\" in our culture for decades. We should be conscious of the fact that we were all formed differently. We shouldn\\\'t be ashamed of being unique. Boys and girls, you are both gorgeous inside and out, regardless of how big your waist, stomach, or scale reading may be.

References

[1] Kamila Czepczor-Bernat, Adriana MOdrzejewska, Justyna Modrzejewska and martyna Pekala (2022), “A Preliminary Study on Body Image and Depression Among Adults During COVID 19”, Elseiver, Archives of Psychiatric Nursing 36, 55-61 [2] M Manjunatha and Dr.Hemantha Kumara V (2020), “A Study on the psychological effects of body stereotypes as portrayed by televised commercial advertisements on men and women aged between 18-25 years”, Journal of Xi\\\'an University of Architecture & Technology, Volume XII, Issue IV, 2004-2016 [3] Constanze Schlüter, Gerda Kraag, and Jennifer Schmidt (2021), “Body Shaming: An Exploratory Study on its Definition and Classification”, International Journal of Bullying Prevention [4] Milla Evelianti, Nita Sukamti and Meila Kusuma Wardana(2020), “The Relationship between Body Shaming Treatment and Body Image in Adolescents in Depok”, Jurnal Ilmiah Keperawatan Orthopedi, Volume. 4, Number. 2, 70-76 [5] Khushi Mukherjee (2022), “Body Shamming Stress on Adolescents Leading to increased Rate of Suicide among Them”, IJIRT, Volume 8, Issue 11, 228-230 [6] Qingqing Sun (2018), “Materialism, Body Surveillance, Body Shame, and Body Dissatisfaction: Testing a Mediational Model”, Frontiers in Psychology, Volume 9, Article 2088

Copyright

Copyright © 2022 Rahul Bharadwaj V, Aishwarya P, Akshaya SR. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.