Teenagers are being exposed to social media content on their daily routine, with a wide range of social media platforms on which individuals can connect with others, share or receive information and entertain themselves. Social media has positive and negative effect on teenagers. Since social media platforms like Instagram depends on posting images, content creators can easily manipulate the posted pictures of their bodies though editing and filters, accordingly creating unrealistic beauty standards.
Also, when teenagers experience body dissatisfaction it may cause various psychological disorders, unhealthy ways of weight loss and eating disorders. This study aims to identify the effect of Instagram exposure on body image perception among teenagers.
The research depends on quantitative method, by conducting a survey on teenagers to measure the effect of their exposure to pictures on Instagram and their body acceptance. The survey sample will be 400 teenagers, ranging in age from 13 to 19, from those who use Instagram. Social media platforms have become an essential part of teenagers' daily routines, and it is still the most controversial issue to be studied as it is in continuous growth.
Teenagers were found to be logging in to their accounts on social media for 6 to 8 hours, which makes them heavy users, and the majority of the sample agreed that they used Instagram throughout their online activities as a location-based social network mobile application for sharing photos and videos that allowed users to apply digital filters and share their photos and videos on other social networks and social media platforms. However, half of the sample recorded a low degree of Instagram addiction, yet 45% scored a moderate degree of Instagram addiction, may be because every day a new application is created and a decrease the assigned time for Instagram.
The answers of the participants revealed that they experienced a moderate level of body acceptance due to being exposed to standardized beauty scales in online advertisements and content.