Revealing and seductive profile pictures on social networking websites like Facebook are rather common these days. While plenty of men might be charmed by the act (typical), women perceive such female peers to be a lot less competent and much less socially attractive. A research in Oregon State University meant to study the effects of media on the image of a girl’s body suggests that sharing all such pictures online has more adverse effects for the female user rather than being a positive move. As a result, the paramount pressure on young women to look ‘sexy’ could be devastating.
Elizabeth Daniels believes that young women find themselves at loss in regards to Facebook photos. Any woman posting wholesome photos of herself runs the risk of depriving herself of the attention of men while those who post the more fashionable photos could invite discouraging response from her female peers. Considering the fact that online social media is pretty much the primary platform for youth to interact, an understanding of how the system works and affects them becomes of utmost significance. We must also bear in mind the effect that discouraging and revolting comments could have on a young mind.
Daniels required a couple of fictitious Facebook accounts named after Amanda Johnson who is 20 years of age. Both accounts contained same interests that a girl that age would have such as Lady Gaga as the liked musician while Twilight being the liked book. You can guess the only difference by now: the profile picture. The wholesome picture featured a high school senior wearing a short-sleeved shirt, jeans and a scarf covering the chest. Conversely, the fashionable photo featured Amanda wearing a low cut dress with a garter belt showing. 58 teen girls and 60 young women assessed the pictures and answered a few questions.
The results suggested that Amanda in the wholesome photo was prettier, likely to be a good friend and competent. In light of this, Daniels suggests that women select photos that reveal their true self rather than hiding it behind revealing photos.
