Influence of Media on Body Image

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There is a prevalent belief that the media in our society plays a role in influencing and developing body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. From an early age, we are taught by society that looks matter. We are constantly being exposed to beautifully thin women and strong toned men that could unconsciously train our minds to think this is the only right way to look. Because of these perceptions of what beauty is supposed to be, the media’s influence has been proposed as one source that contributes to eating disorders and body dissatisfaction in people of all ages.
The influence the media has on our society is promoting the idea that being thin is a sign of beauty and many of us will take extensive measures to meet the media’s standards of beauty. This influence may lead to the development of eating disorders and body dissatisfaction to achieve the ideal standard of beauty. It also suggests that being thin is the only way to achieve attention, social approval, and success. Not only is the media teaching our society beauty is key, it is also promoting the idea that diets and food deprivation is a normal habit to have.
There are many different factors in the media that can influence the way we view ourselves, one example being through various sources of advertising. Since advertising is a multi billion industry, it is notorious for promoting something dissatisfying about our bodies and coming up with a product to help fix this problem as well as using a perfect male or women figure as the center of the ad; all for the sake of profit.
At the end of the day, the influence of the media and our culture is a personal issue and I have interviewed three different people to see if the media has directly influenced their life in th...

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... need to completely end the idea that thinness and beauty go hand in hand and living such an unhealthy lifestyle cannot go on forever without it getting even worse. The media needs to incorporate all the different body figures and body types in the world today and promote the idea that thinness is not so desirable but being healthy and living a healthy lifestyle in general is. Like my interviewees suggested, promoting self confidence and self esteem within ourselves is what will ultimately help overcome the media’s influences. Working towards a goal and being inspired in the right way can give us a reason to change, but not if it will lead you towards a negative path of an unhealthy body. The more we recognize how we feel about ourselves, the easier it is to change our mindset that what the media portrays is not real and everyone is beautiful in their own unique way.

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