Beauty is subjective it seems, but everyone spends a lot of time wanting to... sublimate. This is according to a study published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, which indicates that if women spend nearly four hours a day taking care of their physical appearance, men would work for 3.6 hours. To reach this conclusion, a group of international scientists analyzed data from 93,158 people aged 18 to over 90, from 93 countries, based on specific behaviors such as makeup, personal hygiene, hair care, clothing style, use of cosmetics, sports activity and diets.

Thus, these habits are not specific to a part of the population, but a universal reflex. However, they note disparities according to age, especially among women. Middle-aged women, including in their forties and fifties, are those who spend the least time on their beauty. In detail, 18-year-old women spend sixty-three minutes more per day on their physique than 44-year-olds, while 60-year-old women spend thirty minutes more than 44-year-olds.

The impact of social networks on self-image

But age is far from the only predictive factor to consider when adopting these behaviors. Not being engaged in a serious relationship, having self-confidence - or on the contrary not having any self-confidence at all, or having a higher socio-economic status, would be associated with a longer duration spent improving one's physical appearance.

According to the researchers, however, the two most convincing criteria remain the time spent in front of the television, and even more the time spent on social networks. "Most experts agree that the media often conveys unrealistic physical ideals, which are also often unattainable to ordinary mortals. Confronting one's body with the photo-retouched silhouettes of models can trigger many negative feelings and behaviors, including anxiety, depressive symptoms, body dissatisfaction and eating disorders," the study authors explain.

Our well-being section

A finding that corroborates the results of a previous study, published in February 2023 in the journal Psychology of Popular Media, revealing that young people are much better in their skin when they move away from social networks. Conducted by scientists at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, this work taught us that limiting the use of social networks to 60 minutes a day among 17-25 year olds improved the perception of their weight and overall appearance compared to unrestricted use.

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