Influencers, Insta, AI

Beauty ideals put young people under pressure

The pull effect on social media is huge - many young people want to be like their role models. However, influencers often use tricks to make themselves look slimmer, wrinkle-free and prettier.

(Bild: www.peopleimages.com, stock.adobe.com)

Young people feel under great pressure due to the omnipresent idealized body images in the digital space. Social media and influencers in particular are said to have a major influence on self-perception. 

On the occasion of the 21st International Safer Internet Day on February 6, Saferinternet.at and State Secretary for Youth Claudia Plakolm presented the results of a new youth study* on the topic of "Beauty ideals on the internet".

The results show that the pressure on young people to conform to unrealistic body images is high. At the same time, the important role of parents and other caregivers in dealing with beauty ideals becomes clear: over half of those surveyed would like to change something about their own appearance, and more than a quarter have already considered cosmetic surgery.

Series of images from the presentation:

Young people have always emulated role models
The media and personal environment have always had a particularly strong influence on how young people perceive their bodies. In a phase of life in which one's own identity is not yet firmly established and feelings of self-worth are often only weakly developed, unrealistic demands on appearance can be a major burden.

Whether pimples, cellulite or flab on the hips - everyone needs to be more honest about their own appearance.

Jugendstaatssekretärin Claudia Plakolm

"We need more reality instead of fake photos on social media to boost young people's self-confidence. Whether pimples, cellulite or flab on the hips - everyone is called upon to be more honest about their own appearance," says State Secretary for Youth Claudia Plakolm. 

Photos produced by artificial intelligence as a danger
"I think AI images of people who don't even exist are a danger when we talk about young people's ideals of beauty," says Plakolm. She will therefore campaign for an EU-wide labeling requirement for AI photos of fake people on social media.

The pull effect on social media is huge - many young people want to be like their role models. However, influencers often use tricks to make themselves look slimmer, wrinkle-free and prettier.

(Bild: www.peopleimages.com, stock.adobe.com)

(Bild: Saferinternet.at/APA-Fotoservice/Juhasz)

Around 70 percent of the young people surveyed are at least "fairly satisfied" with their appearance. Nevertheless, more than half (51%) would like to change something about their body, and this figure rises to 60% among girls.61% of all respondents post photos or videos in which they can be seen and attach great importance to their appearance. It is particularly important to them to look beautiful (68%), styled (64%) and slim (54%). To look as good as possible, young people use light, poses and/or cell phone angles (54%) and edit their photos and videos, for example with filters (41%).

This picture is AI-generated - would you have recognized it?

(Bild: Yevhenii - stock.adobe.com)

Influencers have a major influence on self-perception
Social networks have an impact on self-perception and influence whether you think you are beautiful or not - this is the opinion of two thirds of young people (65%). Girls in particular (76%) and respondents aged 15 and over (78%) agree with this statement. Almost three quarters (71%) of young people confirm that the images they consume on social networks lead them to compare themselves with other people. Around half (53%) state that they have already changed something about their own appearance because of such images.

Insults are the order of the day online
74 percent have already observed such a situation. Girls in particular (84%) report derogatory comments on the internet and in social networks. 63% of the young people surveyed would like edited images to be labeled.

Strategies against the beauty craze
Reality checks, social media breaks and improved self-perception as well as mutual support (e.g. through compliments) help young people to avoid being negatively influenced by beauty ideals on the internet. Parents and teachers are also called upon to act as contacts, as are platform operators to create as diverse a range of services as possible for users.

*The study "Beauty Ideals on the Internet" by the Institute for Youth Culture Research and Cultural Mediation on behalf of the Austrian Institute for Applied Telecommunications (ÖIAT) investigated the effects of using digital media on the body-related self-image of young people. To this end, 400 young people aged between 11 and 17 were asked about their experiences, supplemented by four in-depth focus groups with 56 participating pupils aged between 13 and 19.