Virtual Conference The Analysis of Causes and Effects of Negative Body Image in Adolescent Girls in the U . S

This study focused on the factors that are responsible for causing negative body image in adolescent girls in the United States (U.S) and its effect on them. The qualitative methods of data collection with the help of constant comparison method and content analysis were adopted. A combination of social media platforms such as online blogs and articles were surveyed to facilitate the study. The theoretical framework of this study was built on the Dramaturgy theory with a focus on appearance management and identity related issues in adolescent girls. The findings of this study indicated that excessive exposure to and usage of social media, and the expectation to achieve unrealistic beauty standards set by the society has a negative effect on adolescent girls. It was also found that excessive social media usage can cause low self-image, low self-esteem, negative body image, depression and eating disorders in adolescent girls.

listed included, a) body image concerns, b) fashion trends for adolescents, c) media and adolescent body image, d) beauty standards. Content analysis of these topics were made to understand the influence of fashion industry via celebrities and fashion models. And the contemporary fashion trends for adolescent girls in the U.S. were assessed to evaluate their effect on body image.

Results and Discussion
The results of this study indicated that excessive exposure to and usage of social media, and the expectation to achieve unrealistic beauty standards set by the society has a negative effect on adolescent girls. Social media causes constant pressures related to appearance for adolescents. The findings of this study also suggest that, exposure to social media and physical/mental/psychological well-being, emerged as themes of this qualitative study.
The first theme, exposure to social media, encompassed the negative effects of social media and how it pressurizes in achieving unrealistic beauty standards. For example, one blog stated, "An issue that is commonly seen in different kinds of media is the lack of reality", (Davis, 2016). And since media is constantly promoting unrealistic beauty myths and unachievable body standards, adolescents have the tendency to believe that such standards related to beauty and body are normal (Anschutz & Engels, 2010;Chittenden, 2010;Piercy, 2018).
The influence of celebrities, fashion models, fashion magazines and advertisements, television, and other forms of print media adds to the pressure of unrealistic and unachievable beauty standards (Maltby, Giles, Barber and McCutcheon, 2005). Therefore, the first theme exposure to social media, also comprised of the causes of negative body image in adolescents. As Betts (2019) mentioned in her blog, "Teens that see this on social media can start to have unrealistic expectations for themselves that can lead to self-esteem issues with an unhealthy ideal body image. The personas that they create that are different from their real selves can also lead to anxiety and self-esteem issues". And as Davis (2016) expresses, excessive usage of social media causes dissatisfaction with one's own body and lead to negative body image. It also negatively effects adolescents by further leading to low self-esteem and eating disorders (Davis, 2016).
The second theme physical/mental/psychological well-being, comprised of the effect of social media on the physical, mental and psychological well-being of adolescent girls. Through this study it was found that social media not only creates unnecessary pressure due to the unachievable beauty standards but also causes low self-image, low self-esteem, negative body image, depression, eating disorders, and other harmful effects on adolescent girl's physical, mental and psychological development and well-being (Maltby, Giles, Barber, & McCutcheon, 2005;Davis, 2016;Piercy, 2018).
Conclusion The findings of this study indicate that exposure to social media and its excessive usage, can lead to negative body image for adolescent girls. Piercy (2018) suggests that adolescents are more vulnerable during this stage of life because they are going through many changes related to their physical, mental, emotional, social and psychological development. Research has shown that adolescent girls and women are more prone to being affected by such endorsements related to the physical appearance by the media, and therefore tend to associate their identities with their physical appearance (Choate, 2007;Anschutz & Engels, 2010;Davis, 2016). Therefore, the findings of this study concurred with Goffman's (1975) theory of dramaturgy in terms of self and identity along with beauty and appearance management (Stone, 1975).
An important limitation of this study was that, this study was limited to the narratives presented on social media and did not focus in-depth on the role of family and peers on adolescent girl's body image. For future research, it would be beneficial to analyze the role played by family and peers on adolescent girl's opinion towards their body image.