Effects of Media on Body Image

1115 Words3 Pages

Marika Tiggemann and Amy Slater, the authors of “NetGirls: The Internet, Facebook, and Body Image Concern in Adolescent Girls” and authors Beth Teresa Bell and Helga Dittmar of “Does Media Type Matter? The Role of Identification in Adolescent Girls’ Media Consumption and the Impact of Different Thin-Ideal Media on Body Image” discuss the detrimental affects the media has on the body image in adolescent girls. On one hand, Bell and Dittmar studied whether the type of media adolescent girls pay attention to affects their body image while Tiggemann and Slater on the other hand, studied how the media specifically social media and the internet affects the body image of adolescent girls. Due to the fact that one article studied how social network specifically affected negative body image in adolescent girls and the other article studied how the media in general affected how adolescent girls perceived themselves, they complement each other when read together. They prove to me more effective when read together through their strong introduction of their topic, usage of visuals such as graphs and charts, and positive use of tone.
The authors of both articles successfully introduce their topics to the audience which was detailed and informative to the audience such that there was no confusion or misunderstanding amongst the readers. Bell and Dittmar provide a more in-depth and detailed introduction due to the broad topic their research study encompasses. For instance, they provide explicit details about the different types of media and how each portrays a message. According to Bell and Dittmar, “magazines typically show still images of thin ideal, embedded articles about celebrities, diet, fitness, beauty and fashion. In contrast, musi...

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...ducing their topics in the introduction of the article and their excellent use of tone. The combination of both articles was effective in which the audience was able to get a bigger picture of how media affects the body image of adolescent girls. Each article shows a different aspect of it, hence when read together; the audience has an improved understanding of the topic.

Works Cited

Bell, Beth, and Helga Dittmar. "Does Media Type Matter? The Role Of
Identification In Adolescent Girls' Media Consumption And The Impact Of
Different Thin Ideal Media On Body Image." Sex Roles 65.7/8 (2011): 478-490. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Nov. 2013.

Tiggemann, Marika, and Amy Slater. "Netgirls: The Internet, Facebook, And
Body Image Concern In Adolescent Girls." International Journal Of Eating
Disorders 46.6 (2013): 630-633. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Nov.
2013.

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