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media and its influence on body image
influence of mass media on the youths
influence of mass media on the youths
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Mass media creates a stereotype promoting an image of how a young man should act, appear, or resemble in today's society. The media has a great influence over what we view and hear as a society and it can have an effect especially on a younger men and the image that they want to portray. Moreover, the media has a lot to do with the image we perceived in our minds and young men are easily perusable by what they see or hear. With the media flooding negative influence, it builds up to having this negative effect on younger men by how they look and feel about themselves and others. Furthermore, a man even a younger one is not to expose their vulnerabilities, weaknesses or to even to display emotions such as love and fear. In addition, mass media is a big contributor to this negative younger male self-image. The media has its own version of what a normal younger male should be; act, think or even look like can be very impressible to younger male generation. According to D'Arcy Lyness, Ph.D., a Behavioral Health Editor with KidsHealth.org describes in the article, A Guy's Guide to Body Image. Lyness writes, "Body image is part of someone's total self-image. So how a guy feels about his body can affect how he feels about himself" (par 7). Even though mass media plays a very important role in creating providing entertainment and awareness, it does however, shape the minds of the younger male generation. In other words, mass media creates a negative image in the younger male's mind.
Although mass media plays a very important role in creating entertainment and public awareness, it also shapes a younger man mind by creating a false representation on how these men should appear, act and behave in society. The media does not wa...
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...ed Site about Children's Health. Ed. D'Arcy Lyness, PhD. The Nemours Foundation, Jan. 2012. Web. 18 Feb. 2012.
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Abernethy, Michael. Male Bashing on TV.” Composition Custom Reader. New York: McGraw Hill: Create, 2011.140-144. Print.
Arrant, Chris. "Parents Television Council Releases Study on Adult Content in Cartoons." Cartoon Brew: Leading the Animation Conversation. The Parents Television Council, 17 Aug. 2011. Web. 18 Feb. 2012.
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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.
Jackson Katz is an author, a lecturer, filmmaker and a well known anti-sexist male activist. He’s made a few documentaries and has written articles and short stories on ending violence against woman and sexual equality. One of Kat’s writings is a non-fiction article called “Men, Masculinities, and the Media”, in it he writes about the challenges of male identity, how the media defines masculinity and how it correlates with sexual equality. In the beginning of the article, Katz makes a comparison about masculinity and The Wizard of Oz. He compares Toto pulling back the curtain and revealing a scared, pathetic man pretending to be someone great, the Oz, to the way media portrays man and influences man. He mentions that the curtain symbolizes a shield to protect men’s vulnerability and humanity (Katz 1). Media image is an important influential source to woman and man; it follows throughout generations and can shape the ideas and behavior of both sexes. In “Men, Masculinities, and the Media”
...the media influenced their opinion on how men or women looked. Also a trend in the majority who were in the younger generation category, they have either recently graduated high school or are attending college. By my survey, I came to the conclusion that the younger aged group do not believe the media influences them, they have lower self-esteem, and spend much time on their appearances.
Holmstrom, A. (2004). The effects of the media on the body image: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 48(2), 196-217.
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 several different aspects and tactics that impact gender roles. It has a way of impacting the emotions of men and women alike, as well as their view on their own gender and the roles they should carry out for the rest of their lives. By aiming toward emotions and personal feelings, the media is able to affect their being in a way that no other source of influence can.
Masculinity has changed and evolved since the beginning of human creation. Males have had to adhere to the social norms of their time to survive without undue persecution. In the beginning of the 19th century, there was a shift in the way men could attain manhood. It was no longer easy for a man to enter into manhood with straightforward expectations and rituals. The state of manhood became difficult to obtain because of its precarious nature. During the same period, the industrial revolution was in full bloom giving birth to mass information outlets like newspapers, magazines, and advertisement: media. This set a prevailing state where boys and men alike could gain material on how to become or be men through media. With the pervasiveness of mass media, there came cultural hegemony that still lasts today. Hegemony is defined as domination of one power or state within a league, confederation, etc, or of one social class over the other. In the case of American culture, a select few were setting the standards for what it took to be a man. Usually these men were in leadership positions and not of the same social class as the common American population. Presently, mass media (specifically television and films) plays a major role in how men and women perceive gender roles, sexuality, and beauty. Media has shaped expectations of masculinity and men's interpretation of family in different ways over decades of television. How does television affect the male perspective on masculinity? There is no doubting that media has a profound effect on people. Several studies have shown this to be true, but it is important to understand how it affects society.
Clark, C, Ghosh, A, Green, E, Shariff,N. (n.d) Media Portrayal of Young People – impact and influences. [Internet], UK, Young Researcher Network. Available from: [Accessed 2nd January 2012]
I find that statement quite true. Normally, people are always talking about how girls are more affected by the media and girls have it harder. Although, they never focus on how boys are affected too even though they can be just as affected as girls or more and they are just as self-conscious about their body as females. Males in the media are shown to be -muscular, fit, and masculine. You’ll almost never find a male in the media, who is not stereotyped in one way or another. There should be more males in the media who actually represent how most males look, instead of the stereotypical male body type or what the media perceives as “perfect” or “ideal”. The majority of boys are misrepresented in the media which is a problem in today’s society.
Today in modern society, we are driven by social forces. The media plays such a pivotal role in what we buy, eat, wear, etc. that we are conditioning ourselves to fit the mold for the “perfect” or “ideal” body type. This social construct has been a pressing issue for many years regarding the negative effects it has had on the female physique, but not as much has been said on behalf of men. What negative effects do the media have on male body image? When confronted with appearance based advertisements, men are more likely to experience both physical insecurities and emotional issues related to body image. This paper will address these facets of the media’s negative
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 media, through its many outlets, has a lasting effect on the values and social structure evident in modern day society. Television, in particular, has the ability to influence the social structure of society with its subjective content. As Dwight E. Brooks and Lisa P. Hébert write in their article, “GENDER, RACE, AND MEDIA REPRESENTATION”, the basis of our accepted social identities is heavily controlled by the media we consume. One of the social identities that is heavily influenced is gender: Brooks and Hébert conclude, “While sex differences are rooted in biology, how we come to understand and perform gender is based on culture” (Brooks, Hébert 297). With gender being shaped so profusely by our culture, it is important to be aware of how social identities, such as gender, are being constructed in the media.
Socialization of people has been occurring through family, public education and peer groups. However in recent years, the mass-media has become the biggest contributor to the socialization process, especially in the ‘gender’ sector. The mass-media culture, as influential as it has become, plays the most significant role in the reproduction process of gender role stereotypes and patriarchal values. It is true that a family model of nowadays is based rather on equality than on patriarchal values and women have more rights and possibilities on the labor market. However, mass-media still reflect, maintain, or even ‘create’ gender stereotypes in order to promote themselves.
According to “Men’s Makeover” by Kelly Rae Chi, males think of their bodies negatively just like women. They feel worse when working out and eating so they go to the extremes to get muscle and loose weight. Males are using supplement, injecting substances and steroids to alter their selves to fit society. Studies will help to stop future disorders because professionals and guardians may not see them. Social media, models, products increase these negative feelings.
Some “admirable” portrayals of males in the media can also be a bit destructive. Most movies and television shows have the big shot business man who is the "epitome of success, embodying the characteristics and acquiring the possessions that society deems valuable” (Children Now, 1999). This portrayal of me...