Noovo Info journalist Valérie Gendron took part in a virtual reality session with the Loricorps research center. She experienced having an “ideal” body and having an external (third-person) perception of different silhouettes.
According to Loricorps member Francesca Bourbeau, this tool allows researchers to better understand each person's perceptions of different body shapes and help people who suffer from body dissatisfaction.
“Culture influences our behavior,” explained Marie-Josée St. Pierre, co-chair of the LoriCorps research group. “But we have to make little girls distinguish precisely what they see.”
In addition, there are other possible solutions to counter the influence of social media. For example, digital self-defense workshops and the FitSpirit program are being offered in high schools across the province.
But above all, parents play an important role in educating and supervising their children on digital platforms.
“As parents, we can use the networks to direct our children towards more positive content,” said Melanie Chandonnet, general manager of the regional education table at Mauritius.
Simple actions can make a difference. According to Emmanuel Parent, co-founder of the Center for Emotional Intelligence Online, we can manually remove the words “diet” or “weight loss” in Instagram settings “to prevent revealing content.”
Watch Valerie Gendron's report in the video.
