Deanna Spencer - 12

How heavily do opinions from those around you, affect the way you think?

I listen to what everyone says around me, between my family and my friends. I care about what other people have to say, and when it comes to simple things like outfits to even handling problems within friendships, I always listen to other people. I guess im dependent on everyone else’s opinion, because I don’t want to be wrong. 

What group of people are mostly affected by self perception due to social media?

Teenage girls. My friends always compare themselves to models on instagram, I barely go on social media so I don’t really have this problem. But all my friends will come up to me and show me pictures of these instagram models and be like “I’m so fat, why can’t I be skinny like her,” Now that I think about it, I hear it so often from my peers and it’s kind of sad. 

Where does your conception of body image come from?

My older sisters. They always tell me that it’s easy to get wrapped around the wrong idea when it comes to looking at yourself in the mirror, I get reminded by them that it doesn’t matter what size or shape you are. I’m really skinny myself, so sometimes I’ll ask why what I eat goes straight through my body, and why my friends are bigger than I am, and I can always count on them to remind me that as long as I’m healthy, it doesn’t matter.

In what ways did your mother’s self perception affect your own?

My mom is the best, she never puts herself down and everytime she went on diets, she’d explain why. When it came down to her changing her eating habits she’d tell me that it was good for her to keep her body healthy. She never made negative comments about herself, only said ways she could improve. This affects my own because I learn to only say good things about myself, and it really helps when I feel like im different than everyone around me. My mom would never let any of me or my siblings look down on ourselves. 

To what extent does the social media standard affect your own opinion on an ideal body image?

I see skinny bodies everywhere honestly, the only praised bodies in the public eye are skinny ones. It makes me realize that nobody really pays attention unless you are skinny. You open instagram and everybody looks the same, small waist and tall bodies. Like Victoria’s Secret models, they all look the same. It shapes my opinion to be believe those are the only bodies that people will ever like.

At which age did you begin to pay attention to your body changes?

Last year. 7th grade. That’s when mine and my friends bodies started changing, and we all compare ourselves to each other to see who was growing the most. 


In your opinion, do most girls have a negative or positive body image?

Negative. Everyone always wants to change something about themselves. It’s really sad that in this generation everything revolves around comparing yourself to another person. Nobody can be satisfied with themselves.


What can be done to promote positive body image?

Campaigns. Showing exposure to this issue in school. Changing the social media standards, and putting a variety of body types out to change the “skinny” norms. 
How often do you find yourself on social media?

During all my free time. I’m always on TikTok and snapchat.