Photography used in social media has created an impact on not only how we perceive our lived experience but how we perceive ourselves. This has created a generation of developing teens that are in the process of finding their identity while also competing against the standards created by social media influencers who post photographs that document unrealistic levels of appearance. The photographs on social media hold a powerful role in shaping our perception on what the “physical norm” is of the world around us.
With the emergence of the fitness industry taking over platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok, creators on these apps have harnessed the visual capabilities of photography to display their physical prowess and document their fitness journey. This form of photography has changed how individuals perceive their own body image and has both a positive and negative impact.
Looking at the brighter side of fitness photography, creators may inspire transformations in unhealthy individuals by showing why hard work and dedication may be fruitful to lead a better lifestyle. Specifically in the personal training sector of the fitness industry, displaying photographs on social media that showcase trainers in peak athletic form may increase the number of clients they receive. They essentially market themselves as an inspiration to take classes from the creator of the account. While this may inspire and motivate, it is unrealistic to expect everyone to achieve the body of the trainers they hire or the creators that they follow.
This inability to reach the aesthetic form of the influencers people follow, creates problems with idealized body image. I have scrolled on endless gym Tik Toks with users who deliberately curate their feed to show themselves at their peak aesthetic form (pump after a workout, lighting, photo retouching.) These images effectively contribute to unrealistic beauty standards and distort our perception of what an achievable physique may look like. It is often that consumers are surprised with the difference between how an influencer is displayed on their Instagram versus what they look like walking around in everyday life. Fitness mogul, David Laid, has been idealized since the emergence of these large social media apps. But once videos recorded showed his non curated physique, he has faced backlash from followers for misleading and now is faced with photoshopping accusations. This view from Laid’s followers mirror the same objective opinion made by Beaumont Newhall, mentioned in the article “When Staged Photography Becomes Art”, that “straight, pure and non-staged photography was the only type possible” to be respected by consumers. This perspective brought by Newhall should be acknowledged because this led to the definition and expansion of photography in the 20th century. The truthfulness and objectively realistic nature of the type of photography described by Newhall is still respected to this day because of how a non staged photograph is candid in nature.
Yes, people have a right to agree with Newhall, but there is honor in staged fitness photography only if the staged nature is expressed to followers. While it may not be ethical to portray a physique that is not possible to achieve, the way we can resolve the immoral behavior to post this content on social media is through transparency. And now in the fitness industry we thankfully have creators who make videos showing just how much a physique can change based on having a workout pump and lighting. This transparency is just what we need in this industry because it is up to the consumer to interpret the content they view.
Overall, the images we view on Instagram and Tik Tok can both motivate and distort, inspire and deceive, depending on how they are posted online. It is of utmost importance that users of these apps approach fitness content knowing that it is often the most idealized version of reality they are seeing. We must balance the scales of idealization and realism to ensure that our perception of our lived experience is not being negatively impacted by curated fitness photographs that are posted online.
Social media can impact our perception of lived experience in many negative ways and this goes beyond male fitness. The ecosystem where anyone can comment on you effecting your perception of self breeds an ecosystems enables anyone to do harm with no consequences. Conflating reality and perception can be unhealthy. We can look into data of females self harm and social media use and when they start engaging in use. Or look into why anorexia is so common in teen girls between 13 and 19 and how it becomes contagious.
Social media has played a huge role in the perception of how the ‘perfect’ body should look like. As these influencers all seem to have the ideal body that may actually be unattainable or just not what the influencer’s body looks like. By idolizing these ‘perfect’ bodies, people begin to chase an unachievable ideal and therefore causes detrimental harm to their mental and physical health.
I really like your take on how social media has impacted our perception of our lived experiences and ourselves. The fitness aspect of social media is particularly a vulnerable subject because it is centered around body image, and we know society has always pushed forth unhealthy body goals. With that being said, who do you believe is more vulnerable to negative impact from misleading fitness photography: those who are just starting to workout, or those who have been working out for a while but can’t reach the physiques of edited bodybuilders?
I like the parallels you made to Liver King especially since it portrays the dangers of photography to a T. I feel like most of us are able to relate to that connection since in a generation of social media presence, our generation is greatly affected through the emotions evoked by influencers.
I really like how you spoke about how photography has affected the way people perceive their bodies and their body image both in positive and negative ways. Many people like to use photography in order to see their fitness progress while others may look at photographs of themselves and not like the way their body may look in the image.