Did You PhotoShop Your Facebook Picture?The Impact of Social Media on Self-Representation and Self-ImageThe Impact of Social Media on Self-Representation and Self-Image

Pamela B. Rutledge, PhD, MBAMedia Psychology Research Center

Symposium on Women and Media: Global Perspectives on Promoting Social Change

August 14, 2010,

Social Media has changed everything

1.What we do isn’t new

2.How we can do it is new

3.This shift has fundamentally changed the experience of communications

4.This challenges the validity of our assumptions about the impact of mass media

Mass Media: One to Many

•

Social Media: Many to Many

Many Types of Social Media

• Information searches• Folksonomy• Blogs & microblogs• Wikis• Social Networking

Top 10 Websites Worldwide

1. Google2. Facebook3. YouTube4. Yahoo!5. Windows Live6. Baidu.com7. Wikipedia8. Blogger.com9. MSN10. Twitter

60% are social media sites

60% are social media sites

Broadband Access• No longer a relevant indicator of Internet

access

• 95% of people 18-29 years of age own cell phones

• 59% of Americans go online wirelessly

• African Americans and Latinos outpace other groups with 87% using mobile devices for Internet access

Social Networking Explodes• Facebook is a

powerful example of the adoptions of social networking sites.

• Facebook started in April 2004

Facebook Today• 500 Million Active Users

• 50% log on to Facebook each day

• Average user has

• 130 friends

• Connected to 80 community pages, groups and events

• Creates 90 pieces of content each month

• More than 30 billion pieces of content shared each month.

The Big Question

• How has this new environment changed the way we think about ourselves?

• Are we becoming savvy media consumers or do we pine for an airbrush?

Social Networking Site: Defining Characteristics

• Network boundaries• Profile space• Facilities for uploading content• Ability to form and display

connections with individuals and groups

• Ability to browse and search• In-network communication

A Whole New World

• Information is on-demand and interactive

• No more geographical or time constraints

• Everyone has a voice

• Messages can’t be controlled

• No ability to restrict secondary uses

• Information can be triangulated

• Information is permanent and searchable

• Shifting boundaries of public and private

Expectations in the New Environment• Immediacy

• Validation

• Response

• Connection

• Authenticity

• Transparency

• Self-relevance

“We're tired of fembots.

We can handle the truth.”

Celebrating Authenticity

French Elle

Magazine

“No Make-Up” Issue

Jamie Lee Curtis

Shares Her Real vs.

Retouched Photos

Busting Fakes

Ann Taylor, Ralph

Lauren,

Katie Couric and

Redbook

Impact on Self-Image• Most research on body image is pre-Facebook• Studies post-2004 suggest that

• Women and girls still have body image concerns

• Media literacy isn’t working• Media literacy with celebrities

is the least convincing of all• Photos of real women are

everywhere

Assumptions• People engage in social

comparison• Information is increasingly self-

relevant• Authenticity is valued• Social media and interactive

technology change the locus of control

• Self-efficacy influences global self-image

Pilot Study: Social Media & Body Image

• Theoretical:

• People engage in social comparison as a normal behavior

• Self-efficacy influences global self-image

• Environmental:

• Information is increasingly on-demand and self-relevant

• Authenticity is valued

• Social media and interactive technology change the locus of control

Preliminary Results• Hypotheses supported in preliminary

data:

• Women are more influenced by what their friends looks like than what celebrities and models looks like

• Technological competence is positively correlated with positive self-appraisal of appearance

Retouching Profile Photos

• 85% felt little or no pressure to alter their profile photo

• 95% felt their photo looked just like them

• Technical proficiency was irrelevant to whether or not someone retouched their photo

• 13% altered their photos

• 75% altered their photos to“Look my best”

Before

After

Before & After

Summary

• Interactive and social media have changed the psychological experiences of communication

• The shift from traditional to user-controlled information changes the impact

• Individual action through production, control, and choice creates an environment of empowerment

• Perceptions of personal competence are more effective in creating global self-esteem

• Results indicate that competence can support positive body image

THANK YOU

Pamela B. Rutledge, PhD, MBA

Media Psychology Research Center

http://www.mprcenter.org

Email: prutledge@mprcenter.org

Phone: 949-544-1300