As a young woman in college I know that social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or anything really that is on the Internet are huge influences on young women today. In my opinion college women are probably the biggest percentage of people that use social media on a regular basis. Although the Internet and social media is used as a way for people around the world to connect with family members, friends or strangers, they also provide a platform for women to seek out diet and exercise advice and a place for women to make comparisons with peers. Many times women use social media, thinspiration blogs and sites to seek out ideas of different unhealthy techniques that others use to lose certain amounts of weight or to continue losing weight.
Along with unhealthy encouragements online come unhealthy encouragements on clothing which can also be found online and in some stores. Earlier in the year Urban Outfitters was under heavy criticism for a few t-shirts that they recently released which they included encouragements for young women to “Eat Less” and “Nothing Tastes as Good as Skinny Feels!.” This issue was a very big deal and many celebrities even spoke out about how this clothing was completely absurd and was not something to joke about.
A lot of the encouragements that young adults encounter on the Internet can be found on different blogs as well as websites like tumblr, which can also be considered a social media website. Many of the encouragments come from quotes and images which are actually easily accessible that I was even able to attain some. Unfortunately these images are steering women in the wrong direction and are encouraging women to change in order to be “perfect” and “beautiful.”
Women's Pressures 