More than half of teenagers and young people in Romania want to change their physical appearance because of social media, according to a study. However, the study shows that young people from the Z and Alpha generations would like to be recognized in the online social environment for their personality.
According to a study done by Acnemy, the self-image of teenagers and young people is significantly influenced by their activity on social networks, most admitting that the standards related to physical appearance observed in social media negatively influence their self-esteem. At the same time, digital natives say they want to be recognized online for their personality, humor and honesty, without being scrutinized for their physical appearance.
In 2024, 97% of respondents say they access multiple social media platforms every day, and 93% of 12- to 20-year-olds use Instagram most often, while 82% of them use at as often the TikTok platform.
Young people feel pressure from social media platforms
Only 7% of young people said that social media does not affect their self-confidence, while over a third of them feel that their self-confidence is significantly affected, and 69% feel stress, anxiety and self-doubt due to the pressure of physical appearance in social media. 64% of digital natives say they sometimes avoid exposing themselves on social media for fear of negative comments they might receive or use filters to look better, and 19% of respondents have considered having cosmetic surgery because of social media pressure.
More than a third of them believe that the appearance of their skin is the source of their insecurity when exposing themselves on social networks, and 71% want to improve the appearance of their skin. Almost half of young people experience acne or post-acne spots, with 63% of them wanting to feel supported in their fight against acne.
Almost half of teenagers and young adults believe that their self-image is significantly influenced by the beauty standards they see on social media platforms, while 68% of digital natives feel pressure to change their physical appearance to live up to the standards observed in the online social environment. However, most digital natives say they value personality and attributes such as perseverance, humor and honesty in other users, and want to be recognized for the same, with empathy and kindness.
The study was conducted between July and September 2024 on a sample of 100 people between the ages of 12 and 20.
Source: www.descopera.ro
