Social Media Is Making Women Feel Terrible About Their Bodies

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Glamour magazine EIC Cindi Leive is making the morning talk show rounds to discuss the discouraging results of a Glamour survey which shows that 54% of women feel unhappy with their bodies. In comparison, when Glamour did a similar survey in 1984, 41% said they were unhappy with their bodies. Today, 80% of women surveyed said just looking in the mirror made them feel bad.

What changed between now and then? Leive thinks that social media is to blame. In 2014, you aren't comparing yourself just with movie stars, but with normal people who are curating perfect (perhaps Photoshopped) lives on Instagram.

"Celebrities, we all know, have a lot of help. They have a whole pack of trainers and dietitians who help them feel good about their bodies," Leive said on the Today show. "But really, when you're looking at women on social media, you're thinking, that's the girl next door. If she can do it, I ought to be able to do it." Glamour's survey of 1,000 women ranging in age from 18 to 40 also revealed that 64% of woman said that looking at photos on Facebook, Instagram and other social networking sites left them feeling bad about their bodies.
· How Do We Feel About Our Bodies? Glamour Survey Has Surprising Answers [Today]
· How Do You Feel About Your Body? [Glamour]
· Why Glamour's EIC Wants You to Go on a Date [Racked]