Supervised by Dr. Helen B. Marrow, Tufts University's Department of Sociology. 

Project Background:

The power of social media on young women’s body image perception is notable. Specifically on the platform Instagram, where suggested posts in people's feeds facilitate easy access to eurocentric body ideals and mainstream influencers. The impacts of encountering such images can vary significantly for young females in society. Being a plus-sized individual myself, who uses Instagram, I find personal motivation within my own journey to undertake this research. My aim is to contribute towards fostering a sense of comfort and acceptance of one's body image among others. To achieve this goal, I recognize the necessity of comprehending the different elements contributing to body image dissatisfaction, the first being social media’s influence. 

Methodology:

I will be conducting research on how young women's bodies are depicted on current social media platforms, particularly through an in-depth analysis of public Instagram posts. This analysis will explore the images shown, beauty ideals referenced, treatment of body modification, and promotion of diet culture. To gather my data, I'll use popular hashtags like #beauty, #women, #femalebodies, and #girls to find public posts. I'll choose the first 25 images from each hashtag, focusing on young women's bodies. Once I have this sample, I'll code it using both deductive and inductive approaches.

Objectives: 

This study seeks to raise awareness about the pervasive images that young teens are exposed to on Instagram. Its goal is to understand what needs to be done to empower them to navigate the dynamic realm of social media, ultimately fostering a positive body image.