Marika Tiggemann and Amy Slater, the authors of “NetGirls: The Internet, Facebook, and Body Image Concern in Adolescent Girls” and authors Beth Teresa Bell and Helga Dittmar of “Does Media Type Matter? The Role of Identification in Adolescent Girls’ Media Consumption and the Impact of Different Thin-Ideal Media on Body Image” discuss the detrimental affects the media has on the body image in adolescent girls. On one hand, Bell and Dittmar studied whether the type of media adolescent girls pay attention to affects their body image while Tiggemann and Slater on the other hand, studied how the media specifically social media and the internet affects the body image of adolescent girls. Due to the fact that one article studied how social network specifically affected negative body image in adolescent girls and the other article studied how the media in general affected how adolescent girls perceived themselves, they complement each other when read together. They prove to me more effective when read together through their strong introduction of their topic, usage of visuals such as graphs and charts, and positive use of tone. The authors of both articles successfully introduce their topics to the audience which was detailed and informative to the audience such that there was no confusion or misunderstanding amongst the readers. Bell and Dittmar provide a more in-depth and detailed introduction due to the broad topic their research study encompasses. For instance, they provide explicit details about the different types of media and how each portrays a message. According to Bell and Dittmar, “magazines typically show still images of thin ideal, embedded articles about celebrities, diet, fitness, beauty and fashion. In contrast, musi... ... middle of paper ... ...ducing their topics in the introduction of the article and their excellent use of tone. The combination of both articles was effective in which the audience was able to get a bigger picture of how media affects the body image of adolescent girls. Each article shows a different aspect of it, hence when read together; the audience has an improved understanding of the topic. Works Cited Bell, Beth, and Helga Dittmar. "Does Media Type Matter? The Role Of Identification In Adolescent Girls' Media Consumption And The Impact Of Different Thin Ideal Media On Body Image." Sex Roles 65.7/8 (2011): 478-490. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Nov. 2013. Tiggemann, Marika, and Amy Slater. "Netgirls: The Internet, Facebook, And Body Image Concern In Adolescent Girls." International Journal Of Eating Disorders 46.6 (2013): 630-633. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Nov. 2013.
We hear sayings everyday such as “Looks don’t matter; beauty is only skin-deep”, yet we live in a decade that contradicts this very notion. If looks don’t matter, then why are so many women harming themselves because they are not satisfied with how they look? If looks don’t matter, then why is the media using airbrushing to hide any flaws that one has? This is because with the media establishing unattainable standards for body perfection, American Women have taken drastic measures to live up to these impractical societal expectations. “The ‘body image’ construct tends to comprise a mixture of self-perceptions, ideas and feelings about one’s physical attributes. It is linked to self-esteem and to the individual’s emotional stability” (Wykes 2). As portrayed throughout all aspects of our media, whether it is through the television, Internet, or social media, we are exploited to a look that we wish we could have; a toned body, long legs, and nicely delineated six-pack abs. Our society promotes a body image that is “beautiful” and a far cry from the average woman’s size 12, not 2. The effects are overwhelming and we need to make more suitable changes as a way to help women not feel the need to live up to these unrealistic standards that have been self-imposed throughout our society.
Media is a wide term that covers many information sources including, television, movies, advertisement, books, magazines, and the internet. It is from this wide variety of information that women receive cues about how they should look. The accepted body shape and has been an issue affecting the population probably since the invention of mirrors but the invention of mass media spread it even further. Advertisements have been a particularly potent media influence on women’s body image, which is the subjective idea of one's own physical appearance established by observation and by noting the reactions of others. In the case of media, it acts as a super peer that reflects the ideals of a whole society. Think of all the corsets, girdles, cosmetics, hair straighteners, hair curlers, weight gain pills, and diet pills that have been marketed over the years. The attack on the female form is a marketing technique for certain industries. According to Sharlene Nag...
Why is this topic of utmost importance? Undeniably, the media now has become an essential tool for everyone in this era, be it for information and social networking (Shakeel). However, it has also become a platform for people to look up to – for both the good and bad reasons. Generally, most females look to the media as an example for an “ideal” body image. If so, what are the impacts? To what extent does mass media contribute to negative perceptions of body image by females? Does the amount of time spent using the mass media contribute to females’ perception of their body image? What factors influence why some females are affected by the images of the media and some aren’t? This literatu...
The media has had an increasingly destructive effect on young people who are becoming worryingly obsessed with their body image. The media is saturated in sexual imagery in which young people have to face every day. The sheer volume of sexual imagery in the media today has resulted in the vast majority of young people to become hooked on looking as near to perfection everyday by using the latest products and buying the latest fashions. This used to be enough but lately the next step to achieving perfection is cosmetic surgery. Everyone wants to look attractive, especially teenagers who are not only put under massive strain to succeed but to look beautiful and climb the ranks of the social ladder, and it seems that the only way to achieve the much desired beauty is to turn to drastic measures.
Deanne Jade believes that the media does its part to keep us informed on "valuable information on health and well-being," (Jade 8). I agree however I feel that is done in such a manner that girl feel as if they must exhaust the media’s advice on fitness and health and use these methods in order to obtain the picture perfect body image that they see on TV and in magazines. A cou...
In recent years, sociologists, psychologists, and medical experts have gone to great lengths about the growing problem of body image. This literature review examines the sociological impact of media-induced body image on women, specifically women under the age of 18. Although most individuals make light of the ideal body image most will agree that today’s pop-culture is inherently hurting the youth by representing false images and unhealthy habits. The paper compares the media-induced ideal body image with significant role models of today’s youth and the surrounding historical icons of pop-culture while exploring various sociological perspectives surrounding this issue.
In a research article by E. Mooney, H. Farley, and C. Strugnell (2009) specific questions were addressed in guiding this study. First, do celebrities and have an influence on young girls? Second, does the media also influence adolescent girls view on body image and what is beautiful? The focus of this investigation was on adolescent females through using a group session to discuss their feelings. It is hypothesized that celebrities do play a dominant role in the majority of the participant’s lives (Mooney et al., 2009, pg. 489). The reasoning behind using a group session as their procedure was that talking to their peers rather than the researcher may have different...
The media is a fascinating tool; it can deliver entertainment, self-help, intellectual knowledge, information, and a variety of other positive influences; however, despite its advances for the good of our society is has a particular blemish in its physique that targets young women. This blemish is seen in the unrealistic body images that it presents, and the inconsiderate method of delivery that forces its audience into interest and attendance. Women are bombarded with messages from every media source to change their bodies, buy specific products and redefine their opinion of beauty to the point where it becomes not only a psychological disease, but a physical one as well.
The ongoing battle we face with our bodies can be brutal, but with teenagers growing into their new bodies they are more susceptible to a negative body image. With technology booming, and internet being easily accessible the youth is very much involved in social media such as Facebook to be in interaction with their friends and classmates. “The findings also showed that more time spent on Facebook was associated with more negative feelings and more comparisons to the bodies of friends. They also found that for women who want to lose weight, more time on Facebook led to more attention being paid to physical appearance. This included attention to one's body and clothing.” (Increased time on Facebook…body images). Although it might see...
Brit, Harper, and Marika Tiggemann. "The Effect of Thin Ideal Media Images on Women's Self-Objectification, Mood,and Body Image." Sex Roles 58.9/10 (2008): 649-657. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.
Yamamiya, Y., Cash, T. F., Melnyk, S. E., Posavac, H. D., & Posavac, S. S. (2005). Women's exposure to thin-and-beautiful media images: Body image effects of media-ideal internalization and impact-reduction interventions. Body image, 2(1), 74-80.
Graydon, Shari. “How the Media Keeps us Hung Up on Body Image.” Herizons Summer. 2008:
Studies prove that media can have a negative impact on self/body image. TV, movies, magazines and the internet all bombard teens with images and pressures about what their bodies should look like. If teenagers see unrealistic “skinny” or “slender” body types often enough, it can have a major impact on their body image and dieting behavior. This is also true when there is no one to disagree with sayings like “thin is beautiful” or “you have to be thin to be beautiful.” So the question is: does media influence pressure young girls/teens to have unrealistic ideals on their body image? With this information, media’s influence does pressure young girls/teens with unrealistic body images. Social Media’s strategies influence girls by advertising, creating models who are perfect, and causing girls to buy certain products in an effort to achieve a sense of self satisfaction.
Women and girls seem to be more affected by the mass media than do men and boys. Females frequently compare themselves to others, finding the negative rather than looking at the positive aspects of their own body. The media’s portrayal of the ideal body type impacts the female population far more than males, however, it is not only the mass media that affects women, but also influence of male population has on the female silhouette too.
The emergence of the slender body type as a beauty standard for women is especially salient in the mass media, and several researchers have demonstrated how the female body depicted in the media has become increasingly thin (Garner, Garfinkel, Schwartz, & Thompson, 1980; Ogletree, Williams, Raffeld, Mason, & Fricke, 1990; Silverstein, Perdue, Peterson, & Kelly, 1986; Wiseman, Gray, Mosimann, & Ahrens...