The increasing presence of media has become an essential part of society's everyday life. People now spend more time consuming media than ever before. One study found that people consume media for an average of seven hours per day. Social media, television, movies, music videos, magazines, podcasts, books, and newspapers are all forms of media used to pass time during their daily activities. There are many positive aspects to this availability of media, such as accessibility, convenience, and variety.
There are also negative consequences associated with it, including body image issues, self-esteem issues, mental health problems, and other psychological problems.
One of the most prevalent negative effects is social comparison. This refers to the process whereby individuals compare themselves to others based on certain characteristics or values.
They may compare themselves to someone who is taller, thinner, wealthier, younger, older, etc., than them. In general, people tend to feel better about themselves when they have something in common with others around them. The problem arises when they don't see anyone like themselves represented within their environment. Then, they turn to media representations to find someone similar to themselves.
LGBT youth face unique challenges when compared to heterosexual youth. They struggle to be accepted by family members, friends, teachers, peers, employers, government officials, and strangers. They often hide their sexual orientation from others due to fear of discrimination and hate crimes. As a result, LGBT youth experience feelings of isolation, loneliness, depression, anxiety, stress, shame, guilt, and low self-esteem. These feelings can lead to higher rates of suicide attempts, substance abuse, eating disorders, self-harm, and other harmful behaviors.
The media has played an essential role in influencing these negative outcomes. It presents unrealistic standards of beauty, success, happiness, relationships, intimacy, sex, and more.
Magazines show images of models that are airbrushed and retouched to perfection. Television shows feature characters who look flawless without any imperfections. Movies show characters engaging in risky behavior without consequences. Music videos portray women as objects used for male pleasure. Podcasts depict men as macho and emotionally distant. Books highlight white cisgendered males as heroes and saviors. Newspapers promote the idea that you must fit into specific roles based on gender or race.
All these factors combined create an idealized world where everyone looks perfect and leads an exciting life filled with adventure and romance. This creates a sense of inadequacy within viewers because they don't measure up to those idealizations. They feel inferior because they aren't skinny enough, handsome enough, wealthy enough, charming enough, successful enough, etc., compared to what is shown on TV or online. The same goes for LGBT youth who see only straight individuals represented within their media consumption habits. They feel like outsiders because they don't relate to anyone around them. As such, this negatively impacts their self-esteem by making them believe they will never find someone like themselves and that they are not good enough.
Social comparison with media representations has significant implications for LGBT youth's self-esteem. It promotes unrealistic standards of beauty, success, relationships, intimacy, sex, and more. These unattainable ideals make it difficult for them to develop positive feelings about themselves. Instead, they turn to substances or other harmful behaviors to cope with their negative emotions. Therefore, it is vital to provide LGBT youth with representation within media so that they can relate better to others and improve their self-esteem.