{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Words: Annabel Rose | Photographs: Influencers\u2019 own","standfirst":"Among the stresses of being a teenager, more than a third feel upset about their body. It affects everyone differently, but a negative body image can be serious: it\u2019s associated with a poorer quality of life, including psychological distress, eating disorders and smoking. It can also affect school performance and attendance.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EAs an image-focused app, Instagram often gets extra scrutiny. At the start of 2019, an estimated 24 million people in the UK used it, for an average 53 minutes a day. Instagram\u2019s especially popular among young people; up to 71% of females and 61% of males aged 15 to 24 use it.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs anyone who\u2019s ever asked a young person to put their phone away will know, suggesting they \u2018just log off\u2019 won\u2019t get you very far. Social media is vast and complex \u2013 it has a positive side, too. Over the past decade, the idea of body positivity has been on the rise on social media.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003EThe Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England found that exposure to body-positive posts on Instagram was associated with improvements in young women\u2019s mood and body satisfaction, relative to thin-ideal and neutral posts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr /\u003EWe spoke to five social media game changers about their Instagram feeds, the messages they share and how they take care of themselves on social media \u2013 including how they cope when the hate comes flooding in.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003EMegan Crabbe - \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.instagram.com/bodyposipanda/\u0022\u003E@bodyposipanda\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null},{"type":"mediaBlock","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/4609/megan-2.jpg","width":2000,"height":3000,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null}]}],"config":null},{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EWhy did you start your Instagram account?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI discovered the body positivity movement \u2013 at the time it was a small community. I was fascinated by diet culture (our cultural obsession with dieting, weight loss and thinness as the only way to be good enough) and fatphobia (our cultural fear of fatness and thinking that fat is the worst thing you can be) and I wanted to write about it. I also wanted to challenge myself to post pictures of my body as it was changing from no longer dieting.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EWhat\u2019s the biggest message you want to get across?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat people deserve better than hating their body \u2013 even if they can\u2019t see how they could possibly stop. I\u2019d like them to look at me and see that a different way is possible; they\u2019re just as deserving of body peace as I am.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EWhat\u2019s the next step for the movement towards body acceptance?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe all could benefit from taking a look at where we\u2019re getting our body positivity from: are we just accepting the most palatable versions? My success is based on the privileges I have in my body. I don\u2019t push the boundaries of what society says is ideal too much \u2013 I\u2019m medium-sized, able bodied, young, mixed race but light skinned\u2026 So many people in bodies more marginalised than mine are saying the same things but not getting the recognition or attention they deserve.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EOn such a visual platform like Instagram, how do you keep a sense of perspective and avoid defining yourself by your body?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s been especially tricky for me to navigate in this last year as I\u2019ve been labelled more and more as an \u2018influencer\u2019 and brought into the world of events and photoshoots and trips. They\u2019re incredible opportunities, but they\u2019re about getting the right picture with flawless make-up and outfits. I find myself getting a little bit lost in that.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI challenge myself to post things that I wouldn\u2019t have considered \u2018Instagram worthy\u2019 a couple of years ago, or to not wear as much make-up for a while. I remind myself that I have more to offer than how I look and I ground myself in activities that remind me of that.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EHow do you deal with horrible comments?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThey bounce off me now. It took a long time \u2013 it hit me hard at first. The people who come onto my account and attack me aren\u2019t people whose opinions I wish to put value in. The only people whose opinions of me I wish to value are the people that I love and myself. I\u2019ve taken away their power to define me; I get to do that.\u200B\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003EMolly Forbes - \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.instagram.com/mollyjforbes/\u0022\u003E@mollyjforbes\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null},{"type":"mediaBlock","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/4605/molly-1.jpg","width":3648,"height":3648,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null}]}],"config":null},{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EYou\u2019re a mum. What are your top tips for navigating the topic of body positivity with kids?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s not necessarily about how positive you are \u2013 but it really matters how negative you are. If you\u2019re not sure you can say nice things about your body, avoid saying anything negative (like diet chat, talking about calories, or placing morality over food). Children learn through role modelling. If you\u2019re telling them they\u2019re brilliant and worth more than their bodies, but you\u2019re talking about yourself negatively and showing that your appearance is really important to you, that\u2019s the bigger message.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EHow do you make sure that social media doesn\u2019t damage your wellbeing?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI take my own advice! I try not to use it too late at night because it affects my sleep. I have regular days off; I turn off my phone and keep it out of the way for a bit. If it\u2019s starting to make you feel down, step away! Even if all your mates are online, you don\u2019t have to be plugged in 24/7.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESocial media is one of the few places in our world where we have a certain amount of control over what we see. If an account is making you feel inferior, don\u2019t be afraid to unfollow. I sometimes worry that if I unfollow someone they\u2019ll be upset, but actually, it\u2019s protecting your wellbeing. If you don\u2019t want to unfollow, \u003Ca href=\u0022https://help.instagram.com/290238234687437?helpref=search\u0026amp;sr=2\u0026amp;query=mute\u0022\u003Emute them\u003C/a\u003E \u2013 they don\u2019t even have to know. You can take responsibility about what shows up in your feed, much more than on television and in magazines. I try to think of my likes as a \u2018click currency\u2019. We all have a certain amount of power in raising up positive accounts, so they\u2019re more likely to show up in our feeds and other people\u2019s too.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EHow do you deal with negative comments on social media?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI get loads! I\u2019m not going to lie and say it doesn\u2019t bother me. I\u2019m sensitive and empathetic, that\u2019s what makes me good at my job, but if someone says something nasty, it hurts my feelings. It helps to remember where those comments come from. When I felt unhappy about myself, I\u2019d never message someone something nasty, but I\u2019d often think that nasty thought. It was always a reflection of how I felt about myself.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI try to allow myself to process it for five minutes, then I move on and get it back into perspective. I surround myself with friends and my family. My husband isn\u2019t at all interested in any media (including social media) \u2013 that keeps me grounded, and reminds me what the important things are.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003EVirgie Tovar - \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.instagram.com/virgietovar/\u0022\u003E@virgietovar\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null},{"type":"mediaBlock","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/4610/virgie-1.jpg","width":2000,"height":2664,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null}]}],"config":null},{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EWhat\u2019s your biggest message?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThat every person deserves to live free from discrimination and thrive, regardless of size or health status. I met a group of fat activists who refused to diet and they were living fabulous lives. I realised that was what I\u2019d always wanted: to be able to live a happy life full of things that people care about (like romance, and friendship, and going to the beach) as a fat person! I\u2019d been taught that only thin people got those things. My account is a documentation of my own joy and the things that matter most to me, as somebody who prioritises thriving. When you\u2019re a woman, and you\u2019re fat, and you\u2019re a person of colour, like myself, there\u2019s something really powerful in that.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EDoes seeing different-sized bodies online matter?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESocial media can shift the occipital lobe (the visual processing centre of our brains). To see how it happens, go to the plus-size section of a website. Spend 30 minutes looking, then go to the \u2018normal\u2019 size section. Those models, who if starting there would\u2019ve looked \u2018normal\u2019, look very much below average. And that\u2019s the reality: most models are not the national average. I\u2019m noticing more honest representations of bodies, and I\u2019ve felt emboldened. Powerful change happens when we take a step into fear and vulnerability and document our bodies the way they really exist, including the jiggle, the chub rub, or the arm fat!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EHow do you use social media without it damaging your wellbeing?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Do not scroll\u2019 is my main rule, it\u2019s the only way I can stay grounded. Most of the time, I go to my profile, do whatever, and leave. To see how my friends are doing, I go straight to their accounts. I mostly use social media to connect with people I know in real life because I can understand their complexity. I know that they live a regular life with problems, just like all of us.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt wouldn\u2019t be appropriate to expect them to share those moments on social media, but when we don\u2019t see that complexity it creates an image that we\u2019re failing.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EHow do you deal with negative comments on social media?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESometimes people are just prejudiced. There\u2019s still a moment where I feel hurt because someone has said something hurtful; it\u2019s a normal, human response. But I have a rule that I don\u2019t allow bigots to determine my mood. If you\u2019re a troll, I\u2019m going to delete your comment, report you and block you.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EConflict can escalate very quickly where there\u2019s no face-to-face contact, so I have a 24-hour cooling off period. The minute feelings of conflict begin, I walk away. It\u2019s difficult, but no matter how important (and honestly, no matter how timely) the conflict is, it\u2019s better to take that time.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003EDan Richards - \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.instagram.com/theonearmedwonder/\u0022\u003E@theonearmedwonder\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null},{"type":"mediaBlock","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/4612/dan-2-c-elise-dumontet.png","width":2000,"height":3000,"altText":"","caption":"Photo by Elise Dumontet","link":null}]}],"config":null},{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EWhat\u2019s your biggest message?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI promote body confidence and positive body image. The media feeds a perfect, idealistic image of what a person should look like. I dealt with my own self-acceptance a few years ago; I know what it\u2019s like to go down that road.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019d compare myself to other men, looking at photos and thinking \u2018I\u2019d love to look like that\u2019 \u2013 but I\u2019m never going to look like that. For one thing, my arm and shoulder are never coming back, no matter how advanced medical science gets! At my worst, I\u2019d even compare myself to other upper limb amputees; it was very morbid. Then I had a lightbulb moment where I thought, \u2018I can\u2019t keep doing this.\u2019\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EHow does body image affect men?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen you mention body confidence, everyone straight away jumps on the idea that it only affects women. That\u2019s so far from the truth. It can affect anyone, and it\u2019s not just about size. Anything that you don\u2019t like about yourself that\u2019s on your body (for example, scars or birthmarks) can give you a negative body image. The minute you start talking about your feelings, it\u2019s an area of vulnerability; the thing I\u2019ve found with men is that you get the impression that being vulnerable is being unmanly.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA lot of men are reluctant to talk about a lot of things, but I think the most courageous thing a man can be is vulnerable. When I asked for help, it didn\u2019t make me less of a man. Being vulnerable allows empathy as well \u2013 you can appreciate other people\u2019s experiences when they go through hard times.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EHow do you deal with negative comments?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019ve been quite lucky really, I\u2019ve only ever had one troll. I find it happens a lot more to women. I replied to the troll with a joke, laughed at myself as I did it, and left it at that. They never replied \u2013 I killed them with kindness. There\u2019s two ways of looking at any situation: fly off the handle, or look at it, digest it, and then make a decision.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI try not to get consumed with one little thing that could ruin my day. I\u2019m still a normal person: things might happen very close to home and make me angry, but I don\u2019t put that online for the world to see. There are things that you wouldn\u2019t share online. Anyone that uses social media to influence an audience, whether you have one follower or a million followers, has to use it responsibly.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch3\u003EImogen Fox - \u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.instagram.com/the_feeding_of_the_fox/\u0022\u003E@the_feeding_of_the_fox\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null},{"type":"mediaBlock","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/4607/imogen-1.jpeg","width":923,"height":1280,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null}]}],"config":null},{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EWhat\u2019s your biggest message?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFundamentally, that your body is never to blame. Society\u2019s messed up, and it\u2019s nothing to do with you \u2013 your body is never the problem.\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EWhy do you post such honest stuff?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf I\u2019m experiencing something, at least one other person feels like I do. Sharing how I\u2019ve moved through it helps other people think they could feel differently, too. I post pictures and people message me saying they\u2019d been ashamed because they didn\u2019t think anyone else had a body like theirs, but mine was and they thought it was lovely!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EWhy do you talk about being neutral about your body?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWho told us that we needed to love our bodies? It\u2019s overambitious for a start, we just have to get on with what we\u2019ve got. It\u2019s about trying to find a place where, with the upmost kindness, you can see that your body just carries who you are.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019re not our bodies: we\u2019re minds and souls and spirits, all the glorious stuff. I don\u2019t love every inch of my body. As a disabled person, I think it\u2019s unhelpful and unfair to ask marginalised bodies to love the thing that makes them oppressed, even though society is ultimately to blame for that.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EWhy do you share other accounts on your Instagram stories?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI try and show bodies you\u2019d never normally see, especially in the media. All the extremes are normal, but you can\u2019t know what\u2019s normal if you don\u2019t see it. The truth is a rainbow of diversity and delight.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou can curate your feed so all bodies become normal. It\u2019s almost like exposure therapy \u2013 if you keep seeing glorious fat bodies, eventually you\u2019ll feel like celebrating your body for its difference rather than using that as a reason to punish it.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EDo you curate your own feed?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI have strong boundaries. If anyone talks about diets or body shames, I\u2019ll pop them a message and say, \u2018While you\u2019re doing that I just can\u2019t follow you.\u2019 Most people are lovely about it. Imagine how you\u2019d feel if all you saw on your feed was things that made you smile. Make your feed entirely kittens for two weeks and see how different social media feels at the end of it.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EDoes social media have the power to change the real world?\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI really want to believe so. I hope for more than people leaving the page feeling a little more comfortable in their own skin: I hope they want others to feel comfort in theirs, too. I hope people speak out more when they hear someone being horrible, or notice that events aren\u2019t accessible, or that ad campaigns aren\u2019t diverse. It needs to be more than personal, otherwise nothing changes.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERemember, \u003Ca href=\u0022https://help.instagram.com/581066165581870\u0022\u003Epeople must be 13\u002B\u003C/a\u003E to use Instagram. For section-specific information on staying safe online, visit \u003Ca href=\u0022https://members.scouts.org.uk/supportresources/3588/stay-safe-leaflets-for-young-people\u0022\u003Escouts.org.uk/staysafe\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"08 November 2019","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[],"id":48475,"nodeName":"5 positive influencers making a difference online","title":"5 positive influencers making a difference online","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/4609/megan-2.jpg?cc=0,0.19851851851851851,0,0.42648148148148146\u0026width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd2940dc70","caption":"Megan 2 (1)","type":"jpg","size":4525175,"width":2000,"height":3000,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"5 positive influencers making a difference online","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Can social media be good for body image? Find out how social media users are tackling negative body image and using social media for good.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC80ODQ3NSJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2019/november/5-positive-influencers-making-a-difference-online/"}