Presentation from APA National Convention in San Diego: the impact of social media on women's self-image and self-representation. Part of a symposium co-sponsored by Division 46 (Media Psychology) and Division 35 (Psychology of Women) by Dr. Pamela Rutledge
Introduction to ArtificiaI Intelligence in Higher Education
The Impact of Social Media on Women's Self-Image and Self-Representation
1. Did You PhotoShop Your Facebook Picture? The Impact of Social Media on Self-Representation and Self-Image Pamela B. Rutledge, PhD, MBA Media Psychology Research Center Symposium on Women and Media: Global Perspectives on Promoting Social Change August 14, 2010,
This segment will provide a review of current trends in social media that impact gender representation, voice, and image. Specifically, a participant will: · Recognize how the use of digital technologies and social media can influence gender norms From the 2006 “ Dove Evolution ” exposé of retouching video to the French Elle April 2009 ‘No Make-Up’ issue, a backlash is rising in response to rampant photo retouching. Social networking sites are driving the conversation and mass media is playing catch-up. Content is no longer distributed as one-to-many. Social media has created a many-to-many conversation that is creating a new ethic of authenticity and transparency and a population of media-literate content providers. Photo-retouching is not new news, but digital photography is cheap and easy and photo retouching software is available with every new computer. Retouching, airbrushing, rearranging images is the rule rather than the exception. In response, initiatives have been launched in France and the UK proposing that the government require publishers to label photos that have been altered. In spite of a trend toward using more “real” people in mass media, many magazine editors believe they cannot stop retouching because the consumers are not interested in seeing all the flaws. Research is mixed on the impact of knowing an image is altered on the viewer’s body image satisfaction. The conversation, however, is no longer in the hands of profit-seeking media conglomerates or research-citing academicians. The public has the inconvenient habit of deciding for themselves what they do and don’t want. Social media has unleashed the public voice. In a world of augmented reality full of digitally altered female images, women and girls are knowingly producing and altering them and themselves for public display. This presentation will discuss the themes and trends about photo alternation and women’s images emerging across social media tools, such as blogs, twitter, and YouTube. Will this new environment create savvy media consumers and redefine beauty or are women and girls more media-literate than ever and still want an airbrush?
This is the original traditional media communications model.
What we see in social networks is that, unlike traditional mass media, social networks allow people to connect and exchange information many-to-many rather than one–to-many. Stanley Milgran’s Small World Studies that people are much more closely linked than we thought and that was before Web 2.0. In the period from 1999 to 2008, the number of consumer magazine subscribers increased by 4.4%. The number of Internet subscribers rose 77%
All social media manage information in some way; all are interactive
1 Million users by the end of 2004; still restricted to college campuses
The conversation, however, is no longer in the hands of profit-seeking media conglomerates or research-citing academicians. The public has the inconvenient habit of deciding for themselves what they do and don’t want. Social media has unleashed the public voice. In a world of augmented reality full of digitally altered female images, women and girls are knowingly producing and altering them and themselves for public display. This presentation will discuss the themes and trends about photo alternation and women’s images emerging across social media tools, such as blogs, twitter, and YouTube. Will this new environment create savvy media consumers and redefine beauty or are women and girls more media-literate than ever and still want an airbrush?
Joinson, A. (2008). ‘Looking at’, ‘Looking up’ or ‘Keeping up with’ People? Motives and Uses of Facebook. Paper presented at the CHI 2008, Florence, Italy. Haythornthwaite, C., & Kendall, L. (2010). Internet and Community. American Behavioral Scientist, 53(8), 1083-1094. doi: 10.1177/0002764209356242
Listen to the groundswell.
Not the kind of PR these brands and people wanted!
My colleague, Dr. Jerri Lynn Hogg and I have research in process based on the assumptions that…
My colleague, Dr. Jerri Lynn Hogg and I have research in process based on the assumptions that…