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Written By: Shalini Manchi

Edited By: Raghvi Sethi

It has been 18 years since the launch of YouTube, 10 years since the launch of Instagram, and 17 years since the launch of X, formally known as Twitter. In our generation, these social platforms consume most of our screen time, and without us even realizing it, start changing our ideologies of society and the world as a whole. One of the topics that repeatedly comes up online is body image. With so many users worldwide, it is not hard to imagine that almost every person at some point would have had a video related to body image or figure show up on their FYP (“For you” page).

But what one would find hard to believe is the magnitude of people influenced by these kinds of videos and unfortunately, it’s not always in a positive way.

If you see some of the first videos regarding body image, you would ask, “Who would even believe that?” Sadly, you’ll be surprised by how many people believed – and still believe – everything they see online. These videos are the beginning of a cycle of self-judgment and negative body image that can result in significant negative implications for both yourself and your body. You start punishing your body for not mirroring the ones we see online. However, before judging your body, you must take into consideration that the image you see on the internet, is a perception of a different person who has no idea about your own struggles and achievements. Also the creator might even be trying to target an audience that believes the right body type is the one that society accepts.

The videos you would see online back then were directly influenced by what society thought a healthy body meant. Naturally, every person would want to embody whatever the current trend was in order to fit in. Of course, this was only the start of the internet’s brutal and negative influence over body image.

Now, with the rise of so many video-sharing platforms, it is hard to escape from the internet’s matrix. The internet is a place where trends surface and die out in the blink of an eye. What was “in style” today might be outlandish tomorrow. Because of the internet’s fast pace, you might wonder if it still influences individuals as it used to. Even if trends disappear in a short period of time, their influence still lingers on. A 30-second clip can leave someone questioning their choices for days, weeks, and even months.

The opinions on body image expressed in the clip stay in your head and without you even noticing it, echo through your day-to-day actions. They blur and can even block your own opinions, rendering you helpless to societal viewpoints. In regards to body image, when you repeatedly see one thing, your mind subconsciously registers that image as the standard or “typical” of society. Your brain then desires to see this image everywhere, whether it be your own body or that of a stranger.

You might feel that it is you who is judging a person by their appearance, but in fact, it is just the image that you have been accustomed to by the media, hindering your ability to understand that everyone is unique with their own strengths and flaws.