Are we exercising to be healthy, or to look a certain way?
In this episode on social media and body image, Peta Titter (WHEN Founder and CEO) talks with Bella, a 16-year-old who has thought more carefully about social media than most adults. Bella shares how social media and body image pressures have shaped the way she sees exercise, both for better and for worse.
She talks about the pressure of comparison, filters so good you can’t tell they’re there, and a fitness culture where the outfit, the drink bottle and the sunrise count for more than the workout itself. She also explains why the influencers she trusts are the ones who show their bodies as they really are, and how she’s learnt to step away from social media when it starts to drain her.
Bella and Peta also talk about how school PE can put girls off exercise for years, from the beep test to being the last one picked for a team.
The episode ends with Bella’s tips for working out who’s credible online, and her hope that influencers will start using their platforms to help young women instead of making them feel worse.
