Effect of the Media on Body Image

The media has distorted people’s views on the way they look at their own body image. The media has shown what their ideal body type is, while leaving people to feel as if the average weight is not good enough. (Cardosi, 2006) We live in a world where people feel as if having zero body fat is the idea body type to have. Pictures of models for clothing stores, bathing suits, lingerie etc. all exhibit to this to be true. Body image is perceived to be negatively influenced by the media and the way that the media displays their models. Parents, teachers, adolescence and even children all find themselves to be comparing themselves based on what the media exposes. (Levine & Murnen, 2009)

The dissatisfaction of one’s body type may emerge from the environment in which they live. Magazines, music videos, television shows and movies are all examples of how the media can negatively affect one’s body image of themselves (Bell & Dittmar, 2011 ). Research conducted by Holmstrom, 2004 looked at subjects discretion on how much the media affected the way they perceived body image. This study had participants categorized according to appearance, body dissatisfaction, and the ideal thin body image. There were several different groups in which these different categories were tested. The manipulation of the study was the different type of media that was being used. One group was exposed to magazine pictures, one was exposed to television, one exposed to general media, one exposed to just movies, and one was expose to media on the internet. All of these were conducted by the participants filling out surveys based upon which category they were placed. After whatever category they were tested on, each participant in all studies had to c...

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Harper, B., & Tiggemann, M. (2008). The effect of thin ideal media images on women's self-objectification, mood, and body image. Sex Roles, 58(9-10), 649-657. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9379-x

Holmstrom, A. J. (2004). The effects of the media on body image: A meta-analysis. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media,48(2), 196-217. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/227276789?accountid=11920

Levine, M. P., & Murnen, S. K. (2009). "EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT MASS MEDIA ARE/ARE NOT pick one] A CAUSE OF EATING DISORDERS": A CRITICAL REVIEW OF EVIDENCE FOR A CAUSAL LINK BETWEEN MEDIA, NEGATIVE BODY IMAGE, AND DISORDERED EATING IN FEMALES. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 28(1), 9-42. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/224873052?accountid=11920