Research On The Problem Of Appearance Anxiety In The New Media Era

Appearance anxiety has become a social issue that attracts attention.After a survey of more than 2,000 college students in 2021 by the China Youth School Media,it was found that more than half of the college students had appearance anxiety.The digital media developed after the print media and electronic media is today’s new media.Compared with the era of traditional media,the new media has developed to today,and the degree of fit with life has reached a level that the former has never achieved.What the new media has changed is not only the way of life,but also the ideas and concepts are subtly affected.Especially in the era when the epidemic has not been eliminated,people not only rely more and more on the media,but also spend more time in contact with the media than before.In addition,compared with other studies on media,there are fewer studies on media and appearance anxiety in China,and most of them are after 2019.Although many foreign scholars have conducted investigations and analysis,they all focus on popular foreign media such as Instagram and Facebook,which do not necessarily conform to the domestic situation.This research analyzes the causes of appearance anxiety in the new media era from the perspectives of social culture,media technology,media platforms and media users,and from the theoretical perspective of communication studies using empirical research methods.The research first conducted a questionnaire analysis of 311 new media users.The design of the questionnaire combined the social appearance anxiety scale,the social physical anxiety scale and the relevant literature on the influence of the media.According to the characteristics of the new media,it was investigated whether the media had an influence on the appearance anxiety phenomenon..The survey results show that 255 people are dissatisfied with their appearance,which proves that the problem of appearance anxiety does exist,and through the results of the questionnaire,it can be found that users will indeed produce or even aggravate appearance anxiety in the process of using media.Furthermore,the study combines typical cases of appearance anxiety among Xiaohongshu users.The Xiaohongshu APP is an emerging medium whose influence has gradually increased in recent years.The platform focuses on two aspects of life sharing and e-commerce consumption.Users’ participation in Xiaohongshu is very high,and most of the topics discussed are related to life,and Xiaohongshu is a medium that uses pictures and videos as the main means of communication.The surge in the number of male users is in line with the content and orientation of this survey.This research first looks at the wider social environment and finds that both consumption and gaze amplify their effects under the influence of new media.In order to obtain benefits,capital uses new media as a driving force for consumption,and hype the standardized beauty shaped by consumption,creating false needs and meaningless anxiety for users.In addition,users who put their own appearance in the new media are also subjected to multiple gazes.Users constantly examine themselves in the gaze,and eventually generate anxiety.Developed media technology not only meets people’s need for expression,but also meets the needs of collecting and distributing massive data in the era of new media.However,as a tool,new media has two sides.In the new medium users can spread all kinds of things,including feelings of anxiety.Negative emotions tend to be more contagious than positive emotions.And the algorithm technology is not objective,and there is the power of capital behind it.Only content that meets the requirements of capital appearance can be pushed to the homepage,and the user’s activity data on the media platform is also used by capital.The commonality of media platforms and the characteristics of the Xiaohongshu platform will also allow users to chase traffic on the platform and be blinded by traffic.At the same time,the community +marketing model of the Xiaohongshu platform will also make it difficult for users to view the content on the platform rationally and dialectically,and blindly follow the content on the platform,which will easily cause physical and mental harm.After investigation and analysis from the perspective of media users,it is found that the use of new media has an impact on the psychology of users.The improvement of living standards and national quality has also made more people aware of the importance of appearance,and the dissemination of videos and pictures not only makes appearance the focus of media users,but also shortens the distance between media users.However,the inclusivity of the new media also allows people from all walks of life to gather in the media space and time,and users are prone to social comparison behaviors and anxiety when compared with higher classes in the media.This research is expected to help people correctly recognize the problem of appearance anxiety,see the essence through the phenomenon of appearance anxiety,and recognize which contents and behaviors in the new media cause the phenomenon of appearance anxiety,so as to avoid appearance anxiety and establish a correct and positive aesthetic View,help people grow.In addition,it is also hoped that in the progress of the country and society,the phenomenon of appearance anxiety can be completely solved.