The Media and Body Image

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The body is a powerful tool - it shows us who we are and who we want to be. Images of the body are just as powerful. The media uses bodies to sell anything from cars to food. While this media tool is very successful, it has a downside in today’s world, and is often very negative toward peoples bodies. Simply stand in a queue at a shopping centre and you will find yourself surrounded by magazines advertising weight loss plans, fashion, and the best diet to take. The media uses this tool to it’s advantage - the promise of a good life lies with those who have a great body. If you are skinny, tall, and have perfect skin, you’re guaranteed to have a good career, a successful marriage, perfect kids, and the best furniture. Often times, people find themselves striving for the perfect body image which is virtually unattainable. The media has found many ways to implement this ‘perfect’ image, most commonly, photoshop. Often times the image we see on the magazine has been trimmed and toned, and the person on the cover doesn’t look like that in real life. Social media has created negative pressure that can affect people’s body image, self esteem, and, physical and mental health.
We all have a perception of ourself - what we are, and what we want to be. These are often guided and influenced by social media. In an article by R. Kay Green, CEO and president of RKG Marketing Solutions states that we have a ‘real self’ (who we are) and an ‘ideal self’ (who we want to be), and what these two selves become when we go onto the internet. “Consider the fact that on social media sites, we consider our profiles to be presentations of who we are. Therefore, through interaction with the social medium, the real and ideal selves intersect; and the ideal ...

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...Body Image." - The Media Lies. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
"Bones so Frail It Would Be Impossible to Walk and Room for Only Half a Liver: Shocking Research Reveals What Life Would Be like If a REAL Woman Had Barbie's Body." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 14 Apr. 2013. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.
"Girls and Body Image: Media's Effect, How Parents Can Help." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.
"Society Causes Low Self-esteem | Bear Facts." Bear Facts. N.p., n.d . Web. 29 Jan. 2014.
Meikle, James. "Growing Number of Girls Suffer Low Self-esteem." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 29 Nov. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.
Green, R. Kay. "The Social Media Effect: Are You Really Who You Portray Online?"The Huffington Post. , 07 Aug. 2013. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
"The Ugly Truth about Body Dysmorphic Disorder." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 26 Feb. 0010. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.

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