ABSTRACT
This chapter examines adolescent girls to see whether selfie activities are related to the girls’ self-objectification, appearance anxiety, and body esteem. Based on a nationally representative sample of US social media users, J. Fox and M. A. Vendemia found that women put more effort into presenting a socially desirable physical appearance online by editing photos, and women’s body image and tendency to compare themselves negatively ideal others drove the behavior. The chapter describes between three types of selfie activities: frequency of selfie posting, editing selfies, and one’s investment into selfies. Editing and investment imply that users scrutinize their appearance before and after posting selfies. Qualitative research, which undertakes in-depth investigations of people’s experiences, has generated differing perspectives of selfies. Posting selfies could result in adolescent girls’ appearance anxiety as they receive and interpret feedback from their social networks on their appearance. The notion that selfies are tools of self-empowerment, at least terms of body image, is challenged by these results.
