Ideal Image of Media James, a senior in high school, had said, “On social media, you have to look like this, your body has to be shaped this way, you have to have this skin color, you have to have this smile to be acceptable to society… And I don’t fit in” (Shalby 1). The media has a huge impact on our everyday lives and how we view the world. It surrounds us and gets inside our mind. Media affects our opinion of ourselves and others mentally and physically. Modern day media has altered the way people view their appearance and this can lead to mental and physical issues. Everyone seems to compare each other to the media or to each other. Friends ask their friends opinions, sisters compare themselves to each other, and every person is compared …show more content…
“Students, especially women, who consume more mainstream media, place a greater importance on sexiness and overall appearance than those who do no consume as much” (“11 Facts About Body Image” 1). Under pressure, it may seem easy for someone to turn to substances to get that body they have always wanted. It can also be very overwhelming for some, they may feel pressured into thinking that they have to be a certain weight or look a certain way. These thoughts are put there by the images and messages media sends to the viewers and readers. The viewers see these gorgeous, overly done up models with their perfect bodies, makeup, and thin waists and they start to think how much they want to look like that. Most of these models are displayed in sexual ways and this is why young teens are likely to engage in early sexual activity. Works Cited Edut, Ophira, eds. Adios, Barbie. England: Publishers Group West, 1998. Print. Grogan, Sarah. Body Image. London: Routledge, 1999. Print. Hesse-Biber, Sharlene. Am I Thin Enough Yet? New York: Oxford University, 1996. Print. Parks, Peggy J. “Current Issues: Online Social Networking.” Current Issues: Online Social Networking. 2011: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 30 March 2014. Presnell, Katherine, and others. “Body Dissatisfaction in Adolescent Females and Males: Risk and Resillence” Prevention Researcher Integrated Research Services, Inc., Vol. 14, No. 3. September 2007: 3-6. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 30 March
Research shows “that regular readers of fashion and beauty magazines in early adolescence are more likely to suffer from a distorted body image during their teenage years” (“Children, Adolescents and the Media”), when they read beauty magazines they read articles and tips of how to look better and they try to them all to look and feel better about themselves. Research shows that “more than three-quarters of girls repot that television influenced their body image” (Mascarelli). Social media influences how we act and what we do Amanda Swartz once stated “Social media and mass media influence the way we react and interact with our world and potentially influence the perception of our own body image” (Mulliniks). In today’s worlds there are more ways to access websites to promote body image as a positive thing, “On the internet, there are now more than 100 pro anorexia websites that not only encourage disordered eating but offer specific advice on purging, severely restricting calories intake, and exercising excessively” (“Children, Adolescents and the Media”). It’s not a bad thing to eat healthy and work out to be fit and healthy but it’s another thing to eat less and work out excessively. Teens always compare themselves to others, either their peers, models and celebrities, “People are on Facebook or Instagram and they’re constantly comparing themselves to other people” (Mulliniks). Also reality television shows, show only the glamorous about what is happening, like “when teen moms become celebrities, the message to avoid teen pregnancy is lost” (Kroll). When teens watch shows like Teen Mom they don’t see the entire negative about becoming pregnant as a teen they see that the teen mom got famous and is on the show. Social media, media, magazines, and TV give teen’s unrealistical facts about body image, pregnancy and
Times have changed throughout the generations and the portrayal of women in the media has definitely changed over the years. Unfortunately, there is still a stereotypical appearance and social role in the media that women need to achieve in order to be socially desired. Even though it has improved, there is such a stigma towards being too fat, too skinny, too tall, or too short and the list of imperfections go on and on. Aside from body image, social roles are a big issue in the media today. When you look at any advertisement in the media, you can notice the appearance, gender, and race of the model. The media’s idea of the “perfect” body is having the unflawed and women are typically skewed for this by society.
Parks, Peggy J. “Current Issues: Online Social Networking.” Current Issues: Online Social Networking. 2011: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
McCabeLina, M.A., & Ridge, A.R. (2006). "Who thinks I need a perfect body?" Perceptions and internal dialogue among adolescents about their bodies. Sex Roles, 55(5-6), 409-419.
The most fashionable, sought after magazines in any local store are saturated with beautiful, thin women acting as a sexy ornament on the cover. Commercials on TV feature lean, tall women promoting unlimited things from new clothes to as simple as a toothbrush. The media presents an unrealistic body type for girls to look up to, not images we can relate to in everyday life. When walking around in the city, very few people look like the women in commercials, some thin, but nothing similar to the cat walk model. As often as we see these flawless images float across the TV screen or in magazines, it ...
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...
Scholars have argued that an unsatisfying body image can be caused by a mix of different social and personal factors, yet media and peer pressure stand out as the two factors with the most impact on body image. Muoz and Ferguson, (2012) considers both of these influences in exploring body image based on a "Catalyst Model" for body dissatisfaction, which prioritizes the influence of peers over those of the media. In this study, 218 university students, all females between the ages of 14 and 34, participated for college credit.... ... middle of paper ...
Social media has become one of the most popular sources of communication for the upcoming generation. For young people growing up in today’s society, social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have provided pictures and news that have become the first thing that their eyes see in the morning and the last thing that they see before bed. These pictures have provided unrealistic standards as to what is considered beautiful in today’s society. As young people refer to these images as a form of comparison, it has created harmful circumstances. These influences on the lives of young people have forced them to take extreme measures and in some cases, has been the cause of death. Social media in today’s society has proven to have a negative impact on the way young people, specifically females, view their bodies. Unrealistic beauty standards, dangerous comparisons and disorders have all been a result to the increase in social media and the impact that it has on the lives of young people.
Paxton, S. (2002). An overview of body image dissatisfaction prevention interventions. Body Image and Health Inc and Psychology Department, 1-45.
In this age, media is more pervasive than ever, with people constantly processing some form of entertainment, advertisement or information. In each of these outlets there exists an idealized standard of beauty, statistically shown to effect the consumer’s reflection of themselves. The common portrayal of women’s bodies in the media has shown to have a negative impact on women and girls. As the audience sees these images, an expectation is made of what is normal. This norm does not correspond to the realistic average of the audience. Failing to achieve this isolates the individual, and is particularly psychologically harmful to women. Though men are also shown to also be effected negatively by low self-esteem from the media, there remains a gap as the value of appearance is seen of greater significance to women, with a booming cosmetic industry, majority of the fashion world, and the marketing of diet products and programs specifically targeting women.
The mass media plays a large role in shaping a teenage and adolescent girl’s body image. By pushing an ideal body type that is uncommon and untrue to life, girls strive, and struggle to obtain this image. When the mass media only shows one type of body as desirable, they are alienating every girl who does not fit into that category. Pushing these ideal bodies onto teenage girls at an important developmental time in their lives can be detrimental to their bodies and their self worth. By showing what a girl should look like, the mass media is damaging the body images of young girls, and unless awareness is raised, could become more and more adverse on young women today and tomorrow.
Vargas, L E. (2013) The Negative Effects of The Media on Body Image. Personal.psu.edu. Retrieved 30 Nov. 17 from:
The media is everywhere and takes up a great deal of people’s everyday lives. People depend on the media to provide them with information that would otherwise be hard to get. The people of society also use the media to communicate with friends, family, and people from all around the world. Also, the media serves as a means for entertainment. Businesses use the media as a way to advertise their products. The media affects society in many different ways; such as, businesses use the media to promote their products, the media effects communication, and the media affects body image and behavior of people in society.
America, but women and girls more specifically, is so consumed with having a perfect, skinny body. It is believed that mass media aids in encouraging these thoughts, thoughts of unrealistically thin body ideals, ideals generally unattainable for many females. Standards of thinness are seen in almost every image in the media; these images represent the sociocultural model of attractiveness. When females are constantly exposed to images like this, they are sent a message about how they must appear in order to be judged as attractive. In today’s society, the Kardashian’s serve as an example of this. The media is continually displaying these girls in bathing suits or posing in magazines, women and girls who see these gorgeous, successful women are immediately going to wish to look like them. Recently, interestingly enough, all over the TV is the Kardashian’s new Quick Trim commercial. The commercial promotes Quick Trim, a new fast, weight loss supplement. These girls are ultimately promoting a skinny body image and obviously society is going to buy into ...
Thus, the mass media promotes an ideal image of what a beautiful and desirable woman should look like, influencing women around the world to model after. An example is the Glamour magazine survey: 75% of women aged 18-35 were reported to feel that they were too fat; 45% of underweight women felt they were too fat; almost 50% o... ... middle of paper ... ... ay’s context is pursuing the best of everything. Desperate times that make image no longer important do not prevail in the modern day.