The body and its duplications: the impact of social media on preadolescents' body image

Drawing on a phenomenological approach, the paper articulates the results of a study aimed at examining the influence of peer and media variables on body disaffection in 11- to 14-year-old preadolescents. The proposition that the use of altered virtual body images is linked with forms of body disaffection will be explored. Broadly, adolescence has been targeted as the most likely time for the emergence of body dissatisfaction. However, a growing body of research suggests that such dissatisfaction may develop earlier, during the preadolescence and lead to dieting, social anxiety, etc. and related behaviours that are risk factors for chronic body image problems. The question turns to the extent to which body image dissatisfaction and disorder may be more salient among preadolescents who use social media to disseminate altered images of their bodies. In addition, a reflection on the new form of dualism between the virtual and the real body will be explored.