Social media and weight loss
Vanessa Rivers
Social media and weight loss
In our modern age, social media takes a lot of space in many forms or for many reasons of use. The virtual community gives way to exchanges between peers to express an opinion, share passions and common causes or just to socialize. Social media also leads peers to compare themselves to each other and sometimes to envy certain spheres of one's life and the other. In this same sense, the quest for human perfection is felt and gives birth to several trends such as the obsession with body image.
Physical appearance seems very important in our digital society and the promotion of a so-called "standard" physics brings several people to want to follow models or influencers on the so-called digital platforms in order to adopt the same way of life that they and to possibly be like them. This phenomenon encourages people to start programs or weight loss diets and a specific lifestyle. Healthy and realistic? Let's look at it more closely.
A double-edged sword
Facebook and Instagram can be rewarding platforms, a source of motivation and a great way to get started on weight loss with other people. Being in a common online transformation process makes it possible to communicate and exchange recipes, exercises or testimonials instantly. The peer opinion of the virtual community seems to be very important so the incentive to progress is strong.
Caution is needed with this kind of phenomenon that can also have a negative effect and motivate people in the wrong way if they have higher risk behaviors such as eating disorders or obsessive behavior related to body image. Attendance to social media is also associated with greater concern about thinness.
It is important to remember that all morphologies are different and that everything we show on social networks is not necessarily applicable to our reality or good for our health. We must also pay attention to frauds related to weight loss on digital platforms such as misrepresentation, phony photos, fraudulent profiles, the promotion of fraudulent products or a lack of transparency on the part of the influencer.
In conclusion, if social networks become a problem, it is better to filter our content that appears in our newsfeed to avoid accidental publications or that could cause us to feel negative emotions towards our body image and rather bet on positive message profiles that allow us to feel good. By using social media as a motivational tool for weight loss cautiously, it's possible to make a profit, but you have to be able to tell the difference between reality and fiction. It is important to choose who and what influences our consumption behavior without going into obsession and over-comparison.