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A Study on Cyborgized Body Presentation in Social Media and the Identity Anxiety of Young Women

Lu Zhang

2025 · DOI: 10.30560/hssr.v8n4p223
Humanities and Social Science Research · 0 Citations

TLDR

This study critically examines how this mode of presentation of young women on social media exacerbates identity anxiety by fostering a severe online-offline identity schism, perpetuating relentless social comparison under a pervasive algorithmic gaze, and framing the body as a perpetually unfinished project that demands constant optimization.

Abstract

In the contemporary digital milieu, the bodily presentation of young women on social media is undergoing a profound process of cyborgization. Through the pervasive use of beautification filters, AI-generated avatars, and cosmetic surgery discourses, the human body is perpetually edited, enhanced, and reconstructed, creating a cyborgized entity that transcends physical limitations and blurs the boundary between the real and the virtual. This paper aims to investigate the construction mechanisms of this phenomenon and its consequential impact on the identity anxiety of young women. Drawing upon key theoretical frameworks from post-humanism, surveillance studies, and social theory, this study analyzes the primary construction pathways of the cyborgized body. It critically examines how this mode of presentation exacerbates identity anxiety by fostering a severe online-offline identity schism, perpetuating relentless social comparison under a pervasive algorithmic gaze, and framing the body as a perpetually unfinished project that demands constant optimization. Finally, this study moves beyond a narrative of victimization to discuss the complex agency and potential for resistance among young women, acknowledging that the cyborgized body is simultaneously a site of intense discipline and a potential nexus for empowerment, creative self-expression, and ambivalent negotiation.