The influence media has on today’s youth is astonishing. It has become a popular platform that has a major influence on the perception and decision making of Americans. In addition to its influence, it also portrays the message that outer beauty is more important than being healthy. Advertisement companies overrun our everyday lives with unattainable images of the ideal body that everyone should strive to have. Being molded by society’s perception of attractiveness through mass media can have negative effects on the young people who consume it and can lead to a life of depression if they can not meet the standard. This feeling of defeat will become a gateway for more drastic behaviors until the goal of near perfection is achieved. Because of
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People initially do not have a perception of their body, instead it is developed over time and influenced by cultural messages in their everyday lives. With so much attention given to the media by children and teens, it Is only likely that their lives would be influenced by what they see. During these early years of self perception development, image and fitting in with peers is everything. The media has a lot to do with the unhealthy body images developed by these young people because it relays the message that being thin and attractive is all that matters. For example, when a celebrity gains weight they are put on display and criticized for all to see because they are no longer that cookie cutter image of perfection. Advertisement companies correlate images of thinner, unattainable body types and unrealistic, digitized models with being desired by everyone and successful. These kinds of ads specifically affect young women and alter their views on what they should become in adulthood. On average about 70% of teens are pressured by the media to look and act a certain way in order to fit in. With media’s influence, many girls think that the women shown are the norm and they should aspire to look like them. These images depicted cause teenagers to look at their bodies as abnormal, unattractive and they should try to change. When they discover that exercise and healthy eating will not bring them result …show more content…
It is altering their self perception and making them compare their bodies to those on television or in their favorite magazine. A large population of young people are unhappy with their bodies due to society’s unrealistic definition of beauty. These same individuals are also exposed to more mind altering media outlets which are the reasons they believe they are inadequate. The mental effects that the mass media 's portrayal of the perfect body in magazines and on television can cause people to resort to unhealthy methods of losing weight. People want to look like these actors and models that are linked to being successful because of their looks. As a result of these body images projected, both men and women have encountered physical problems, including the development of eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia. Eating disorders are serious medical problems that expand to impacting the person’s mental health. These mental insecurities lead individuals to cause harm to themselves and have an obsession with losing weight. When someone has an eating disorder, they will do anything possible to lose the weight as quickly as possible. In the media, they make individuals believe shedding pounds will solve all issues in their life, however this not the case. If anything, the media’s poor portrayal of the average person causes mental stress and influences individuals to
People initially do not have a perception of their body, instead it is developed over time and influenced by cultural messages in their everyday lives. With so much attention given to the media by children and teens, it Is only likely that their lives would be influenced by what they see. During these early years of self perception development, image and fitting in with peers is everything. The media has a lot to do with the unhealthy body images developed by these young people because it relays the message that being thin and attractive is all that matters. For example, when a celebrity gains weight they are put on display and criticized for all to see because they are no longer that cookie cutter image of perfection. Advertisement companies correlate images of thinner, unattainable body types and unrealistic, digitized models with being desired by everyone and successful. These kinds of ads specifically affect young women and alter their views on what they should become in adulthood. On average about 70% of teens are pressured by the media to look and act a certain way in order to fit in. With media’s influence, many girls think that the women shown are the norm and they should aspire to look like them. These images depicted cause teenagers to look at their bodies as abnormal, unattractive and they should try to change. When they discover that exercise and healthy eating will not bring them result …show more content…
It is altering their self perception and making them compare their bodies to those on television or in their favorite magazine. A large population of young people are unhappy with their bodies due to society’s unrealistic definition of beauty. These same individuals are also exposed to more mind altering media outlets which are the reasons they believe they are inadequate. The mental effects that the mass media 's portrayal of the perfect body in magazines and on television can cause people to resort to unhealthy methods of losing weight. People want to look like these actors and models that are linked to being successful because of their looks. As a result of these body images projected, both men and women have encountered physical problems, including the development of eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia. Eating disorders are serious medical problems that expand to impacting the person’s mental health. These mental insecurities lead individuals to cause harm to themselves and have an obsession with losing weight. When someone has an eating disorder, they will do anything possible to lose the weight as quickly as possible. In the media, they make individuals believe shedding pounds will solve all issues in their life, however this not the case. If anything, the media’s poor portrayal of the average person causes mental stress and influences individuals to