Body Image Promotion
Instagram promotes male body images by allowing men to advertise themselves, gaining millions of followers and becoming immensely popular. This causes men to become aware of their bodies and those who are not fit enough are not perfect. Because of this, men who are not in perfect shape are less attractive and less desirable in their own eyes, which causes them to lose confidence in themselves. Masculine toxicity instills the notion that you must be a fit man to be manly, and Instagram has given many a platform to advertise their "manliness" causing others to feel worse about themselves.
Mass media are believed to be a pervasive force in shaping physical appearance ideals and have been shown to negatively impact females' body image. Little research has attended to the effects of media exposure on males' body image. The current experiment exposed 158 males to television advertisements containing either ideal male images or neutral images that were inserted between segments of a television program. Participants were blocked on dispositional body image and attitudes toward appearance variables to assess for moderating effects. Results indicated that participants exposed to ideal image advertisements became significantly more depressed and had higher levels of muscle dissatisfaction than those exposed to neutral ads. Inconsistent with past research, no dispositional effects were noted that would suggest the influence of schematicity on mood and body image changes.
