The Media's Effect on Teenagers

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In today’s society, the media is one of the most crucial aspects of life for most people - especially for teenagers. An average teenager interacts with their parents for only ten minutes, but gets one hundred eighty minutes of media exposure daily (Heubeck). Besides just teenagers, all people use the media in their everyday lives - whether it is from watching TV, reading a newspaper, talking on the phone, going on social media sites, or listening to the radio. A person’s body image depends greatly on what the media exemplifies as what the “perfect body” is. By being surrounded by the media all day, every day anyone could fall victim to the effects which the media provides. Although accepting more normal body types has become a recent trend, the media creates a negative effect on a person’s body image by increasing dissatisfaction with appearance, obsession over appearance, and unhealthy actions taken to follow along with the crazy ideals which are set. The media idealizes bodies that are not conventional when compared to average, normal, and healthy women. A common standard of female beauty is thinness thanks to advertisements and magazines constantly putting that certain attribute of the female body in the spotlight. Teen People magazine held a survey which showed that twenty-seven percent of the girls felt the media pressures them to have what the media deems a ‘perfect body’ (Eating Disorders: Body Image and Advertising). Every woman at some point in their lives feel some sort of insecurity about the way that look, whether it is their body, face, hair, or even their nails.To women, being considered beautiful or perfect is something many would like or even strive to be. A common standard for the female body to have, according to... ... middle of paper ... ...Huffington Post. Web. 21 May 2014. valeria-lukyanova_n_1444169.html>. Schiffman, Lizzie. "'Human Ken Doll' Justin Jedlica's Dreamhouse is Now Trump Tower." DNA info Chicago. DNAinfo.com, n.d. Web. 27 May 2014. human-ken-doll-justin-jedlicas-dreamhouse-is-now-trump-tower>. Tran, Miribel. "The Effect of Social Media in Young Girls." Huffington Post 21 Apr. 2014: n. pag. Huffington Post. Web. 6 May 2014. the-effect-of-social-medi_b_5161886.html>. Whiteman, Honor. "Social media: how does it really affect our mental health and well-being?" Medical News Today. MediLexicon International, 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 6 May 2014. 275361.php>.

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