About Me

My name is Jana Schroeder and I am currently in my last year at the Royal Holloway University of London studying Business and Management. I was torn between two career choices, and therefore educate myself almost daily on my other interests. Ever since I can think, my biggest passion has been animals of all kinds, even the ones I’m scared of! So, if I wouldn’t be here I would probably be in a lab right now, on my way to becoming a veterinarian or biologist of some sort maybe. However, my father taught me to find a stable job with flexible hours, so that I can enjoy my passions to the full extent with proper finances. This does not mean that I dislike my current career path, as I have spent my past two summers interning at large corporations, and truly realized my potential in an office environment. I was often given projects that carried rather large responsibilities for a new intern, which I mastered with ease. Apart from that I am gaining knowledge on wildlife conservation and rehabilitation through online courses. The climate crisis has also led me to completely cutting all animal products out of my diet, as not only the animals are to be considered as an ethical factor, but also the planet itself! My business goals are therefore to be an employee of a large multinational firm, potentially even Volkswagen, and gain further degrees in business and maybe biology. In my free time, I would like to open some type of animal shelter and be a part of programs that educate the public on conservation problems and animal rights. I feel this would be the perfect balance for me, in order to not get bored of one path or the other.

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Body Image

For this particular blog, I decided to look at the effects of social media on psychological well-being, moreover how young women appear to be affected the most drastically. The mental aspects of this modern social media addiction, as I would call it, include forms of anxiety and clinical depression. One topic I want to leave out of this discussion, are the worldwide suicides linked to this issue, as I would rather go in to depth about the average young woman and what this new era of social networks are doing to her mental health. Studies show that females are significantly impacted more than males by continuous social media exposure. Along with that, the use of social media has not shown any correlation with overall mental satisfaction, yet it remains to have such a negative impact on a daily basis. According to a report from 2017, 7 out of 10 young adults have experienced cyber bulling, which is the main reason for anxiety related issues in regards to social media. Along with this, the portrayal of body image is a factor that influences women’s perspective on their own looks, often leading to psychological and physical disorders such as depression and anorexia. Often young women can grow their platform based on their looks which mostly differs from the normal body development a woman undergoes. The discussion of body positivity and self-love has been ongoing on social media, but has sadly been mostly addressed by what I call “Instagram models”, since I personally use this platform the most, and other than twitter it seems to have the most substantial effect. The image below shows a well-known model with a large following from both females and males. This picture specifically shows off not only her body, but also her face barely any makeup, giving the appearance of a “natural beauty”. However, it’s important to note that most women in this industry have had surgical procedures done to enhance their beauty and slow down aging processes. Studies also show that these women are more often than not struggling with eating disorders, due to negative comments or messages regarding their bodies.

While in recent years these public figures have spoken out about issues occurring on social media platforms, it comes mostly from individuals that are far away from the norm and appear as effortless to their followers. Raising the question of the effectiveness of these discussions, since a “perfect” looking women is claiming to love herself and her body, but at the same time encouraging other to do the same. Especially to young women and girls this concept can quickly become confusing, and have a negative effect rather than positive. When taking a closer look at comments they are mostly left by men, either complimenting or insulting these women. This is having a major impact on women, as often their partners will continue to follow and engage with these profiles that represent some form of their ideal woman. This is happening to not only myself, but also numerous friends, who see their body as being out of the norm. Although these public figures are individuals who do not possess the genetic material that most others have, they are in the spotlight and celebrated for their looks on a daily basis. Something that is surfacing the internet more and more, is the hashtag #selflove. Targeted outside this range of perfection, and being promoted by women with a platform that do not necessarily reflect these ideas of body image. Such hashtags are beginning to modernize the average women, with the intention of lowering anxiety, depression and physical disorders resulting from social media. More and more pages exposing these models for editing their pictures excessively or undergoing surgical procedures are surfacing and aiding in creating a positive and safe environment for young women.