{"id":12194,"date":"2025-02-26T14:17:23","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T14:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/?p=12194"},"modified":"2025-03-07T09:13:31","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T09:13:31","slug":"the-growing-impact-of-social-media-on-womens-health-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/womens-healthcare\/the-growing-impact-of-social-media-on-womens-health-today\/","title":{"rendered":"The growing impact of social media on women\u2019s health today"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"background-color:#f2f2f2;color:#32373c\" class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-profile-box round ab-has-avatar ab-font-size-14 ab-block-profile ab-profile-columns\"><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-avatar-wrap\"><div class=\"ab-profile-image-wrap\"><figure class=\"ab-profile-image-square\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" class=\"ab-profile-avatar wp-image-12196\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/02\/26125717\/vicky-1740574636-Laurann-OReilly-Headshot-2.png\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/02\/26125717\/vicky-1740574636-Laurann-OReilly-Headshot-2.png 400w, https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/02\/26125717\/vicky-1740574636-Laurann-OReilly-Headshot-2-125x125.png 125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div><div class=\"ab-profile-column ab-profile-content-wrap\"><h2 class=\"ab-profile-name\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Laurann O\u2019Reilly<\/h2><p class=\"ab-profile-title\" style=\"color:#32373c\">Public Health &amp; Corporate Nutritionist, Nutrition By Laurann<\/p><div class=\"ab-profile-text\"><\/div><ul class=\"ab-social-links\"><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Social media enhances communication and connection but may pose potential risks to women&#8217;s health. Thankfully, strategies exist to promote safer usage and a healthier social media environment.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Constant exposure to curated images of beauty and success can negatively affect self-esteem.&nbsp;Women are often subjected to unrealistic standards, as many images and posts can be photoshopped, edited or enhanced, setting unattainable expectations. This can foster feelings of inadequacy, especially among young women and contribute to body confidence and self-image issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For this reason, it\u2019s important for women of all ages to avoid comparing themselves to images that they see on social media. Instead, focus on your own health goals, which can include incorporating a healthy, balanced diet and exercise into your daily regime.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"healt-2264713665\"><div class=\"healt-adlabel\">Advertisements<\/div><div id=\"healt-1610658135\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.activeiron.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"vicky-1741106608-Active Iron Digital Ad (750 x 250 px) (1)\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/03\/04164329\/vicky-1741106608-Active-Iron-Digital-Ad-750-x-250-px-1.png\" alt=\"\"  width=\"750\" height=\"250\"   \/><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-being-aware-of-misinformation\"><strong>Being aware of misinformation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the most recent CSO Household Consumer Behaviour Report, over two-thirds (68%) of internet users are now going online seeking health-related information. While search engines can be a major source, social media misinformation and unqualified influencers can also have a negative impact on women\u2019s health by promoting unverified or harmful health advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, celebrities and influencers \u2013 often with large followings &#8211; may advertise weight loss products, unregulated supplements or fad diets or provide health advice without scientific backing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Constant exposure to curated <br>images of beauty and success <br>can negatively affect self-esteem.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-safe-social-media-usage\"><strong>Safe social media usage<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To encourage healthier digital habits and foster a more supportive online environment for women, it is important to set boundaries around social media use. This may involve limiting our time spent on these platforms and unfollowing accounts that promote unrealistic beauty standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We can also become more conscious of the curated nature of social media and avoid self-comparison. Most importantly, when it comes to health-related issues and for your safety, it is essential to only seek advice from qualified health professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"healt-2778487594\"><div class=\"healt-adlabel\">Advertisements<\/div><div id=\"healt-2597373954\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.activeiron.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"vicky-1741106608-Active Iron Digital Ad (750 x 250 px) (1)\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/03\/04164329\/vicky-1741106608-Active-Iron-Digital-Ad-750-x-250-px-1.png\" alt=\"\"  width=\"750\" height=\"250\"   \/><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p><a id=\"_msocom_1\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Social media enhances communication and connection but may pose potential risks to women&#8217;s health. Thankfully, strategies exist to promote safer usage and a healthier social media environment. Constant exposure to curated images of beauty and success can negatively affect self-esteem.&nbsp;Women are often subjected to unrealistic standards, as many images and posts can be photoshopped, edited &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/womens-healthcare\/the-growing-impact-of-social-media-on-womens-health-today\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":12197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2085],"tags":[5959],"class_list":["post-12194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-womens-healthcare","tag-womens-health-q1-2025"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/02\/26141553\/vicky-1740579346-AdobeStock_1127417410-600x400.png","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com\/cdn-site.mediaplanet.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/94\/2025\/02\/26141553\/vicky-1740579346-AdobeStock_1127417410-600x600.png","author_info":{"display_name":"henryphillips","author_link":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/author\/henryphillips\/"},"vicky_index_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12194"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12303,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12194\/revisions\/12303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthnews.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}