Dancers, Follow Your Dreams, Not Your Feed
By: Ella Hoogewerf
Tags: Instagram, Dance

In addition to the physical concerns of using Instagram, there are also risks to a dancer’s mental health.

In their study “Exploring the Relationships Between Frequency of Instagram Use, Exposure to Idealized Images, and Psychological Well-Being in Women”, Mary Sherlock and Danielle L. Wagstaff, researchers from the Department of School of Health Science and Psychology at Fredericton University, found a correlation between social media use, in particular, Instagram, and increased symptoms of depression, anxiety and body image disturbances in women 18–35 years old.

The study exposed participants to images that showed idealized versions of travel, fitness and beauty. After participants were exposed to beauty and fitness images the participants gave themselves decreased ratings on their physical attractiveness. The study then concluded that time spent on Instagram led to a negative effect on one’s well-being, and even being briefly exposed to idealized versions of beauty causes one to believe they are less attractive. They believe long term exposure could be harmful.

Most professional dancers are within the age group the study focused on and many use Instagram. Dancers often compare their physical attributes to their peers, and online they do this even more. Online, there is nothing to stop a dancer from analyzing another dancer’s technique and body type and comparing themselves to them. It makes them powerless to the dancers they see online.

Photo by Aditya Ali on Unsplash

Dance photos are both athletic and beautiful since dance is about creating appealing lines using your body. Dancers tend to be perfectionists and hard on themselves. Photos of dance posted online depict an idealized version of a dancer and the steps they are performing.

Sherlock and Wagstaff’s study showed that images of idealized versions of fitness and beauty online decrease how attractive a person perceives themselves to be and increases symptoms of anxiety and body image dysphoria.

One can imagine that symptoms would be worse for dancers, as they are in a competitive industry that overemphasizes their body, fitness and beauty.

An example of this can be seen in the article “Social Media Stress” for Dance Spirit. Kathryn Holmes, a writer and dancer, interviews 14-year-old dance student, Rose, who says on Instagram she is constantly comparing herself to other dancers. If a fellow student posts something, she worries that she is not improving enough and feels threatened by the competition. She says that social media makes it easy for her to view herself unfavourably.

Photo by Hamid hamido on Unsplash

Additionally in their study, “Longitudinal Associations Between Cyberbullying Involvement and Adolescent Mental Health” by Amanda E. Fahy, Stephen A. Stansfeld, Melanie Smuk, Neil R. Smith, Steven Cummins and Charlotte Clark, all of whom are researchers with PhDs, attempted to find a relationship between cyberbullying and mental health in youth.

They surveyed 3,088 students aged 12–13 from 25 randomly selected schools in East London in 2012. They then followed up with the students in 2013 and 2014. Students who did not complete the follow-up survey were removed from the study, students who were absent for the first survey but completed the following ones were included in the results.

The survey measured the mental well-being, depression and social anxiety symptoms of students over time. It also asked students to identify their involvement in cyberbullying, as either cyber-victims (students who had received nasty or threatening comments and/or had rumours spread about them online) cyberbullies or uninvolved students (reported no bullying).

She explains that on Instagram she has experienced cyber bullying and it has upset her.

The results showed that cyber-victims were 95% more likely to report depressive and social anxiety symptoms than those who were uninvolved or cyberbullies. The article concludes that cyberbullying negatively impacts mental well-being and increases depression and social anxiety symptoms in youth.

Photo by James Sutton on Unsplash

To summarize, Fahy et als’ research, youth who experience cyberbullying are almost two times more likely to suffer from mental illness. Young dancers are particularly vulnerable to this because they often use social media and post about their dancing and training.

There is a definite presence of cyberbullying in the online dance community. Dancers judge other dancers’ technique and comment that they should not be allowed to go on pointe, or they may comment that a fellow dancer is either too thin or large to be healthy.

Alena Lebedeva is one such dancer, a seventeen-year old aspiring ballerina with 37.1k followers on Instagram, alionas_kate, posted a photo with a comment saying that it is hard to watch people humiliate others online. She explains that on Instagram she has experienced cyber bullying and it has upset her.

it’s hard to stay positive when she is on Instagram because of all the negativity

Elisabeth Beyer is another young dancer who has experienced cyberbullying. The 16-year-old who won the Senior Women’s Category at the Youth America Grand Prix’s New York City Finals (one of the largest dance competitions in the world). She often receives cruel comments on her Instagram posts directed at her weight.

In an interview, #InstagramOverload, with Kathleen McGuire, a writer with Dance Magazine, Beyer explains that it’s hard to stay positive when she is on Instagram because of all the negativity she receives about her weight and appearance.

These stories further reflect the results of Fahy et al whose research shows how cyberbullying can affect a person’s mental health. Dancers are potentially more vulnerable to cyberbullying as, for many dancers, professional or otherwise, dance is the focus of their lives.

From experience, I can say that posting a picture of myself dancing is stressful. Knowing one’s technique is not perfect or that one does not have an ideal body makes one feel vulnerable because one knows they will be judged, perhaps harshly. Cyberbullying directed at a dancer can be devastating.