Research Question: Social Media vs. Social Pressures

Hello all! So after my last couple posts addressing a) proper research skills and b) the process of performing archival research (and my very personal findings), I am now writing to tell you all how I plan to apply this knowledge into a topic I feel deeply about (yes you guessed it, feminism).

For my next English assignment, I will be picking a research question to evaluate, through both library resources, a peer survey, and, for my topic in-particularly, social media.

After writing my archival research paper, which covered the evolution of women at Santa Clara, I knew that wanted to continue my study of the patriarchal atmosphere that exists on college campuses even today. As a female college student, I am personally touched by this subject matter and think that it is often overlooked in modern day society. However, the fact of the matter is, that many girls, myself included, still feel pressured to act a certain way to please our male counterparts – and perhaps more so than ever.

The idea that men will eventually make more money than women, and that women, even today, will ultimately become housewives, is enforced in today’s youth through multimedia such as the internet and TV (i.e. Real Housewives). It’s this notion, along with the false perception of female “perfection” we often see on social media (i.e.”couple goals”, “perfect body”), that influence college girls to spend more time worrying about their impression on boys than their actual studies.

“We have to be a good role model for these little girls because who do they have? All they have, literally, is the Kardashians. She doesn’t have a Malala poster in her room — trust me.” -Amy Schumer

Building off this, I believe that media has amplified the social pressures we often see on college campuses, by creating unrealistic expectations of what females are really like.  We see these girls on instagram and twitter who seem like they have it all (great body, great style, and in effect great boyfriend) and think if we could just be a little more like them everything would fall into place. No longer are we comparing ourselves to the prettiest girls on campus, but the prettiest girls, well, in the world. Aditionally, these so called “perfect” women aren’t exactly the epitome of modesty. We see celebrities or social media stars, such a Kim Kardashian who became famous for things like PORN. Is this really the type of woman we want serving as a role model for my generation?

At the end of the day, I believe that multi and social media work together to foster a culture which encourages girls to overvalue their exterior beauty and feel the need to engage in meaningless hookups solely to “impress” guys. For my research question, I want to explore if the social pressures I adhere to as a 19 year girl attending college, have been amplified by my generation’s exposure to media outlets that promote unrealistic female aspirations.