Youth Body Dysmorphia

Youth Body Dysmorphia

Amy (renamed for privacy reasons), the twelve-year-old girl I was tutoring, kept checking if anyone was looking at her. More accurately, Amy wasn’t checking to see if anyone was looking at her; she was checking if anyone was noticing her body. She sucked her breath in, fixed her posture, and tried to hide the rolls she didn’t have. I paused our lesson on central tendencies for a second and told her, “Amy, you’re so beautiful,” and watched her smile light up. She relaxed, focused, and for the first time that day, seemed excited to learn.

That brief moment forever altered my understanding of the pressures young girls and boys face to achieve the perfect image to meet the expectations that society has set for them to look a certain way. I had come to tutor that day expecting to teach Amy mean, median, and mode; instead, I developed a concern for the way that our environment was shaping the mental health of our youth. Disheartened by how deeply society’s standards affected her, I knew it was necessary to understand what was causing young girls and boys to develop these sensations so early on. 

Numerous factors cause children to develop an unhealthy relationship with their bodies. Some key factors that shape these issues are concerns of family, influences of different forms of media, bullying, and social media. 

Family Concern

Although most families are often concerned for the health of their child have good intentions, when it comes to shaping their child’s nutrition and physical activities, they can unintentionally cause their child’s mental health to deteriorate. Some families may even put their children on diets due to a concern for their future health, causing their children to develop unhealthy eating and exercising patterns through adolescence and adulthood. 

Media 

Most of us have grown up watching animated movies with protagonists that all had one thing in common: perfect bodies (ie: superheroes with muscular figures, princesses with tiny waists, etc.). On the other hand, when we look at villains, we often see “imperfect features” (ie: a body or facial features that are considered conventionally undesirable by society). When children are exposed to these forms of content early on, they start labeling certain features as good and bad. This forms an idea of a “good” and a “bad” body without them even noticing, shaping their views on how they’re supposed to look.

Bullying

Most of us have experienced at least some form of bullying, but even if you haven’t, I can guarantee that you have at least seen others getting bullied, which can also affect one’s mental health. This is typically the case because when children see that others are getting excluded and made fun of for looking a certain way, they try not to have “undesirable” features that may cause them to be exposed to bullied too.

Social Media

Although social media has some positive impacts, when it comes to the mental health of our youth, it can clearly be seen that they’re often the ones experiencing the adverse effects of its use. This is mostly because social media posts tend to be more glamorized than the real appearances of people through editing, filters, etc. The issue with social media becomes more prevalent with younger people because the majority of our youth aren’t as experienced with social media as older people, making it very easy for them to compare themselves with the manipulated photos they encounter on their social platforms.

Conclusion

The pressures that youth face don’t simply appear on their own but are the result of a society that often prioritizes appearance over other values. Amy’s story is just one example of how early these expectations develop and how they can shape a child’s sense of self-confidence. When families, media, peers, and social platforms all implicitly reinforce ideas of perfect bodies, children begin to assume that they must meet these standards of perfection to be accepted by society. Ultimately, it’s imperative to recognize these influences to challenge the insecurities that our youth are forced to develop by fostering environments where children feel valued for who they are, regardless of their appearance. 

By Doga Ozecik