Olivia Wageman

Body image is often talked about from a woman’s perspective.  While a recent study from La Trobe University in Australia shows that forty-one percent of women and seventeen percent of men ages 15-19 felt concerned about their body image, that seventeen percent in men is often less explored.

According to the same study, body dissatisfaction can lead to increased risk for low self-esteem, depressive symptoms, steroid use in men, reduced quality of life, and eating disorders.

Tim de Guzman is a DePaul student that uses social media, just like many other college students.  de Guzman describes how growing up in a predominantly white community created insecurities surrounding his Filipino features and his weight.  de Guzman says, “My weight, my appearance, my image was always on the back of my mind.”  After coming to DePaul, de Guzman says that he surrounded himself with people and energy that he wanted in his life.  He says, “It helped me realize to love who I am and to embrace all of that.  I learned to build my self-confidence with the people I’m with and focusing on the energies in my life rather than how I actually look.”

de Guzman says he feels content with his life, but social media can shake his inner validation.  He says, “I’m very self-aware of the ways social media has an impact on us and how we view ourselves, but I still find myself getting trapped in that.”  de Guzman says, “People are putting on a façade of how they want to look and I try my best not to beat myself up.  It can be discouraging sometimes, especially if you’re having an off day.”

Joshua John is a DePaul student that doesn’t use social media as much.  He says, “I don’t really use it as a basis to judge my appearance.” He says that sometimes he uses it almost as a log to see who his friends are.  John says he looks at who he talks and connects to on a consistent basis. 

John has tried using Tinder but hasn’t had much success, he suggests perhaps because of a bad profile.  John says, “Maybe cause of how I look, maybe because I’m brown or something.”  John is Indian and explains that he has talked to other brown people and has found similar results when talking about dating apps. 

As John has gotten older, he has realized he has to take care of his body in the long run, despite the fact he chooses to smoke.  There is a lot more stress as people get older and John felt a big shift when he moved into college.  He says, “I am shy and that holds me back from talking sometimes.”  John says he does not like being the center of attention in public spaces, especially when he doesn’t feel presentable, but feels open around his friends.  He says, “I like the attention around friends because I’ve deemed them to see the real me.”

Social media can be a wonderful thing, as can dating, but when it brings out an insecurity, it can strike a nerve.  Take notice of triggers and find content that inspires and motivates.  Social media affects everyone, even people who have a small digital footprint.