Six out of ten girls have tried extreme or dangerous diets to gain or lose weight. This is because of the pressure they feel due to images promoted in the media, including social media, which are far from the reality of most women.

Another reason is criticism from boys and men. At the same time, half of girls are only relatively or not at all satisfied with their bodies, and a similar percentage avoids participating in public events due to insecurity about their appearance, according to the latest survey conducted by World Vision Romania on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

• More than 66% of girls feel that others judge them for the way they dress.

• 50% of teenage girls are relatively or not at all satisfied with their bodies.

• One in two teenage girls (47%) say they face pressure to look perfect through social media.

• 64% of respondents felt that boys or men judge them based on their appearance.

• Six out of ten teenage girls have tried extreme or unhealthy diets to lose or gain weight at least once in their lives.

• More than half of them (53%) did not participate in certain social events because they felt insecure about their appearance.

• Almost half always or often think that their lives would be better if they looked different.

• 92% of girls want discussions in schools about body image and social media pressure on young people to look a certain way.

World Vision Romania conducted a survey among approximately 400 teenage girls, most of them from rural areas and high school students. The aim of the approach was to measure how young women feel about their body image and appearance standards in the media space, including social media.

More than 66% of respondents believe that others judge them for the way they dress.

Of these, 41% completely or mostly agree with the following statement:

“When I choose to wear clothes that I like, but that some people think are provocative or inappropriate, I am often judged by those around me.”

Almost half (43.5%) of girls feel relatively or completely uncomfortable with their bodies, the same survey also shows. The percentage of teenage girls who are asked if they are satisfied with the way their bodies look increases by 50%. The fact that almost every tenth teenage girl is not at all satisfied with her body is a cause for concern.

Much of this pressure is caused by social media images of women and teenage girls who look up to unrealistic standards for the vast majority of women. One in two teenage girls (47%) say they face pressure to look perfect on social media, and this is because they compare themselves to images posted by other women. “I struggle to find media coverage (films, commercials, social media, etc.) of girls or women who look like me,” they say.

Another disturbing reality concerns the large number of girls who are criticized by the opposite sex, including adults, because of their appearance. In particular, 64% of female respondents felt that they were judged by their boyfriends or husbands in this regard.

“Every girl’s body is beautiful. Seriously, it doesn’t matter what people say! If you choose to wear what you like and feel good in your own skin, it shouldn’t matter if others label you as provocative or inappropriate. We live in an age where, unfortunately, most people believe that the victim or the person being criticized is to blame just because they wore provocative clothing. It’s absurd and super unfair,” said one of the teenage respondents.

“I always wanted to look different, but I could never achieve the body of my dreams. I remember how that summer, two years ago, I trained at altitude. I added all kinds of extra exercise to look good and feel even better. And it really worked, you know? But winter comes, and every time I wake up with extra pounds that bother me a lot. And I never seem to be able to escape,” said another young woman.

Consequences of pressure on appearance and criticism on girls

Because of complexes about their bodies, six out of ten teenage girls have tried extreme or unhealthy diets to lose or gain weight at least once in their lives. And for almost a quarter of girls (23.4%), these dangerous diets are a habit.

At the same time, four in ten young women feel guilty all the time or often if they eat something considered unhealthy, while another two in ten (22%) also feel guilty to a small degree.

Another consequence of this wave of pressure on girls’ body image is isolation. More than half of them refused to participate in certain social events because they felt “insecure about their appearance”, more than 52% of teenage respondents testify.

For the same reason, young women are also under extreme stress. More than half (56%) of girls constantly or often think about how they look. A similar percentage (47.5%) of teenage girls constantly or often think that their lives would be better if they looked different.

One of the solutions to this traumatic and oppressive phenomenon, proposed by the girls themselves, is the involvement of the school. This should speak to the diversity associated with appearance, as well as the pressure on teenagers to look a certain way. 92% of girls want such discussions in class, according to the results of a study conducted by the World Vision Romania Foundation.