Social Media And Anxiety Essay

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Chapter Two: Is Social Media Causing Anxiety? For many, the thought of dancing itself is enough to cause a quicker heartbeat and a light, panicked sweat. Aptly named chorophobia, dancing can evoke feelings of anxiety and nervousness, especially when the audience is large. The social stigma of dancing can prevent many from enjoying the art, as discussed in the previous chapter. This chapter will analyze how various social platforms will come into play in affecting the mental health of dancers and those that are influenced by the industry. There are remarkably few studies that examine this phenomena, which has made drawing from relevant literature difficult. However, there is enough evidence to suggest that social media plays a considerable role in the long term mental health
In 2016, 89% of people in the UK had at least one social media profile (Royal Society for Public Health, 2017, p. 6). This increase is troubling for the world of dance, as social media has been shown to lead to negative body images through the sharing of specific images and forms of media. It has been shown that Instagram, for example, has led to a decrease in self-image among women aged 18 to 25 (Fardouly, Willburger and Vartanian, 2017). This has led to anxiety and depression for many users. The primary concern is for younger dancers and children that operate in the industry, as social media use among smaller children has opened their worlds to an increased number of images that lead to a want to conform. News outlets have frequently cited the dangers of social media for children due to body image, including CNN (Knorr, 2017). It can be assumed that young dancers are exposed to heightened levels of risk of suffering from negative body images as a result of social media interaction and the increased display of body images that they do not conform

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