The Power of Media Literacy – Challenging Unrealistic Ideals

Media plays a significant role in shaping how we view our bodies. Whether it’s through social media, advertisements, films, or magazines, we’re constantly exposed to idealised images that can lead to unrealistic standards. This exposure often leads to negative comparisons, low self-esteem, and body dissatisfaction. Practising media literacy allows you to critically assess these images and resist their influence, helping you to cultivate a healthier, more realistic body image.

In this chapter, you’ll learn to identify the ways media promotes unattainable beauty standards and understand the impact of edited and curated content. You’ll also explore tools for filtering what you consume, setting boundaries, and finding positive sources of inspiration. By the end of this chapter, you’ll be equipped with strategies to reduce the negative effects of media on your body image, building resilience against comparison and fostering a more authentic self-view.

• Understanding Media Influence on Body Image

  • The Idealisation of Beauty: Media often promotes narrow definitions of beauty, favouring certain body types, skin tones, and facial features. These standards are not representative of real-life diversity and are frequently unattainable for most people.

  • The Power of Repetition: Repeated exposure to idealised images can lead to internalised beliefs that these standards are the “norm,” making us feel inadequate when we don’t match them.

  • Curated and Edited Content: Many images we see, especially on social media, are highly curated and edited. Filters, lighting, and photo manipulation create an unrealistic image, leading to comparisons with something that isn’t even real.

• Media Literacy as a Tool for Body Image Resilience

  • What is Media Literacy?: Media literacy is the ability to critically analyse and question media content, understanding that it doesn’t always reflect reality. In terms of body image, it means recognising that much of what we see is altered, curated, or selectively presented.

  • The Benefits of Media Literacy: Practising media literacy reduces the influence of unrealistic standards and helps you maintain a balanced self-view. Research shows that people who practise media literacy are less likely to experience body dissatisfaction and more likely to have higher self-esteem.

• Creating a Balanced Media Diet

  • Curating Your Feed: Social media can be a positive space if used mindfully. By unfollowing accounts that make you feel negative about yourself and following accounts that promote body diversity and positivity, you can shape a healthier media environment.

  • Setting Boundaries: Limiting time on social media, or taking breaks from certain platforms, can help reduce exposure to harmful content, allowing you to focus on other fulfilling activities.

• Identifying Unrealistic Standards

  • What It Looks Like: Pay attention to images in media that promote a single, narrow beauty standard. This may include extremely thin or muscular bodies, flawless skin, or idealised facial features that are often unattainable for most people.

  • How to Practice:

    • Notice patterns in the images you consume. Are certain body types, skin tones, or features overrepresented?

    • Question whether these standards reflect reality. Remind yourself that these ideals are often manufactured for specific agendas, such as selling products or maintaining engagement.

  • Example: The next time you see an image that makes you feel self-critical, pause and consider whether this standard is attainable or healthy. Recognise that everyone’s body is unique and that beauty comes in diverse forms.

  • Benefit: Identifying unrealistic standards helps reduce the impact of idealised images on your self-worth, allowing you to see beauty in a broader and more inclusive way.

• Questioning Edited and Curated Content

  • What It Looks Like: Much of the content you see, especially on social media, is edited or highly curated. Filters, lighting adjustments, and even body-editing apps alter people’s appearances, creating a standard that isn’t genuine.

  • How to Practice:

    • Take a critical look at images and videos, especially those that seem “too perfect.” Ask yourself if it’s likely that editing or filtering was used.

    • Remind yourself that these images don’t reflect real life. Just as you might present yourself in a certain way in a carefully chosen photo, others do the same but often to a greater degree.

  • Example: When viewing someone’s “perfect” photo, remind yourself that it may have taken multiple attempts, filters, and editing to create. Real life doesn’t have the same filters.

  • Benefit: Understanding the prevalence of edited content helps you develop a more realistic perspective and reduces the likelihood of unfair comparisons.

• Curating a Positive Social Media Feed

  • What It Looks Like: Following accounts that celebrate body diversity, promote self-acceptance, or focus on non-appearance-based accomplishments can create a healthier social media experience.

  • How to Practice:

    • Go through your social media feed and unfollow accounts that make you feel self-critical or that promote unattainable standards.

    • Replace these accounts with ones that align with positive, supportive messages about body image, mental health, or self-growth.

  • Example: Look for accounts that feature body positivity, fitness without appearance-focused language, or people who are transparent about the realities of social media.

  • Benefit: By curating a positive feed, you’ll reduce exposure to harmful content and create a space that reinforces healthy, inclusive body image messages.

• Setting Boundaries with Social Media

  • What It Looks Like: Reducing the time spent on social media or setting rules around usage can limit exposure to images that may harm your body image.

  • How to Practice:

    • Set a daily limit for social media use, or consider turning off notifications during certain hours to reduce the impulse to check your feeds.

    • Practise “media fasting,” where you take a break from social media for a few days or even a week, noticing how it impacts your mood and body image.

  • Example: Set an app timer on your phone to limit social media to 30 minutes a day, allowing yourself time for more fulfilling offline activities.

  • Benefit: Reducing exposure to social media gives your mind a break from comparison and helps you reconnect with other areas of your life that bring you joy and satisfaction.

• What types of media make you feel positive, and which make you feel negative about your body?
  Reflecting on this question helps you identify which sources to reduce and which to embrace, creating a more supportive media environment.

• How do you think your body image might change if you reduced your exposure to unrealistic images?
  Considering this can motivate you to limit negative influences and give yourself more space to develop a healthy body image.

• What steps can you take to bring more positive influences into your media consumption?
  This question encourages proactive steps to build a feed that inspires and uplifts you, rather than one that makes you feel inadequate.

These exercises will help you develop media literacy skills and reduce the influence of unrealistic standards on your body image.

1. Media Detox Challenge

   • Purpose: Taking a temporary break from social media or certain types of media content allows you to reset and observe how media impacts your body image.

   • Steps:

     • Choose a timeframe for a media detox, whether it’s one day, one weekend, or an entire week. During this period, avoid media sources that promote unattainable beauty standards.

     • Journal about your experiences each day. Notice any changes in your mood, body image, or self-esteem.

     • After the detox, decide what adjustments you’d like to make to your media habits based on your observations.

   • Reflection: A media detox helps you become more mindful of media’s influence and gives you a clearer perspective on how to curate a healthier media environment.

2. Social Media Feed Audit

   • Purpose: Auditing your social media feed helps you identify and remove accounts that don’t support a positive body image, replacing them with more uplifting influences.

   • Steps:

     • Spend some time scrolling through your feed. For each account, ask yourself if it makes you feel positive or negative about yourself.

     • Unfollow accounts that promote unrealistic ideals or make you feel self-critical.

     • Seek out and follow accounts that feature body diversity, self-acceptance, or content focused on interests beyond appearance.

   • Reflection: Auditing your social media feed helps transform it into a space that supports your well-being, making it easier to build a positive self-image.

3. Reality Check Journal

   • Purpose: A reality check journal helps you challenge unrealistic media messages and create balanced, realistic perspectives.

   • Steps:

     • Each time you feel self-critical after seeing an image in the media, write it down in your journal.

     • Identify any unrealistic standards present in the image, such as edited content, idealised body types, or curated settings.

     • Write a realistic statement to counter the image’s impact, such as, “This image is edited, and no one looks perfect all the time.”

   • Reflection: Practising this regularly builds resilience against unrealistic ideals and helps you internalise a more realistic, accepting self-view.

• Media Literacy Reduces the Impact of Unrealistic Standards: By critically analysing media, you can resist idealised images and build a healthier, more inclusive view of body image.

• Curating Your Media Diet Can Support Body Acceptance: Choosing to follow positive, body-affirming accounts and setting boundaries with harmful content helps reinforce a supportive self-image.

• Regular Practice of Media Literacy Builds Resilience: Developing media literacy skills empowers you to resist comparison and focus on what truly matters in your body image journey.