你最好的朋友或许就是你最大的敌人，尤其当年轻女孩在社交媒体网站上翻看好友照片时。
This is according to a recent study carried out by researchers at the Center for Emotional Health at Macquarie University, Australia. The study found that young women are much more likely to be affected by images of their friends on social media than those of celebrities in traditional media.
以上观点源于澳大利亚麦考瑞大学心理健康中心的研究者们近期的一项研究。该研究发现，和传统媒体上的明星照片相比，年轻女孩更容易被她们朋友在社交媒体上的照片所影响。
A hundred and fifty female undergraduate students were questioned in five daily surveys over a five-day period. Participants were asked questions such as whether they had compared their appearance with someone else’s, and whether they made that comparison after looking at social media, traditional media or in person.
150位女大学生在五天的时间中，每天都接受了一次问卷调查。受访者们被问及了诸如她们是否会将自己的外貌与他人进行比较、是否会在浏览社交媒体、传统媒体或者和他人见面后进行这些比较等问题。
Results showed that young women are more likely to compare their appearance with that of their peers’ images on social media than those of models’ or movie stars’ in traditional media. Most participants thought others looked better than them on social media. This led some to diet and exercise, although the majority of those who did were not overweight and didn’t need to do so.
调查结果显示，年轻女性更有可能将自己的容貌和社交媒体上同龄人的照片进行比较，而非传统媒体上的模特或者电影明星的照片。大部分受访者认为别人在社交媒体上比自己要好看。这会让一些人开始节食或者运动，尽管这些人中大部分都没有超重，并不需要这么做。
The negative impact images of skinny models in mass media has on young women is a well-known source of concern throughout the world, but the emergence of social media is appearing to make things worse.
大众媒体上的骨感模特对年轻女性造成的负面影响众所周知，引发了全世界的担忧，但社交媒体的出现，让情况变得更糟。
Jasmine Fardouly, lead researcher in the study, explained why social media might be more damaging than traditional media.
该研究的首席研究员Jasmine Fardouly 解释了为何社交媒体比传统媒体产生的不良影响更大。
“Celebrities may seem more distanced and their appearance may seem less attainable than people you work with or see regularly,” she told The Guardian.
“和共事或者经常见面的人相比，名人看起来或许更有距离，更难以达到他们那样的外貌，”她在接受《卫报》采访时表示。
Around 70 percent of women aged 18 to 35 regularly edit their images before posting them – as do 50 percent of men in the same age group – according to research by the Renfrew Center Foundation in the US.
据美国伦弗鲁中心基金会的调查显示，在18-35岁的女性中，约70的人经常在晒照前美化自己的照片 —— 而在相同年龄段的男性中，只有50的人会这样做。
Researchers believe the study may contain useful lessons on how schools should teach young people
研究者们认为，该研究或许包含了一些有用信息，告诉学校应当如何引导年轻人理解并尊重自己的形象。
In Fardouly’s opinion, people could unfollow or avoid those who post highly edited images of themselves. This may reduce how often people think others look more attractive than them on social media.
Fardouly 认为，人们可以取关或避开那些晒自己“照骗”的人。这或许会减少人们认为别人在社交媒体上比自己更好看的频率。
But more critical thinking may also do the trick. “When browsing social media, it may be helpful for people to stop and think
但更加批判性的思维或许也能解决这个问题。“在浏览社交媒体时，停下来思考每个帖子背后的动机，并质疑每张照片的真实性，这么做或许对人们来说很有帮助，”Fardouly 在新闻网站The Conversation 上写道。
