Media's Influence On Adolescent Boys Body Image

According to many research adolescence boys are striving to become lean muscular like the male unrealistic models advertised in the media. For the last four decades media such as movies, men’s magazines, TVs, and recent the Internet has increasingly displayed images of a manufactured ideal male bodies. As portrayed in the media perfect male body includes narrow waist with large shoulders that give the body a V-shaped torso, lots of muscles and lean body to represent masculinity. Since boys at adolescence stage undergo tremendous physical changes in the process of full self development, the perceptions and attitudes toward their body appearance turns into major concern. Thus passion of boys having muscular male body type becomes common (Blashill and Sabine 445). Though peers and family have considerable pressure on boys’ body image, media is clearly the most influential drive for muscularity in teenage boys.
First body image is multidimensional construct from individual or societal factors about perceptions, altitudes, and behaviors of a person toward his or her appearance (Blashill and Sabine 445). According to the definition,

Adolescence boys should be given tools such as critical thinking to understand how media depicts the ideal male body. Parents should lead the effort by not only encouraging their young boys becoming emotionally strong but also explaining to them the social and economic purpose behind the media push of unachievable lean muscularity. Thus enlightening boys that media maintain the drive to serve its business affiliates like fitness or beauty industries (John and Jeong 39). In addition, schools should teach adolescent boys to be actively engaged in conservation about their body image and how media portrays it. The discussion will allow boys to become more media-literate and will enhance their thoughtful recognition of the feigned male image presented in the