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Media influence on body image
Effects of media on perceptions of body image
Medias negative impact on body image
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Recommended: Media influence on body image
Chapter 1: Introduction
Years of research has been put forwards into societal perceptions of adolescent girls. A survey of 14 461 girls aged 15-19 found that 42.1% of the females were concerned about body image which was the third major issue of personal concern (Craike. et al., 2016, p.2). It has been concluded that majority of adolescent girl’s perceptions of themselves are negative in the sense of their body image, which resolves in girls going on dieting fads to reduce their weight. Some fitness training interventions aim to improve body image by encouraging individuals to focus more on the functionality of their body and less on their appearance (Groth et al., 2011, p). Furthermore, individual’s dissatisfaction with their body leads to negative attitudes about eating, becoming obese and mental problems relating to eating habits (Craike, M. et al., 2016, p.2).
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These cultural ideals and beliefs are also reinforced by significant others in adolescent’s immediate environments, including family, peers, and romantic partners (Voelker, Dana K., et al., 2015, p. 150). Many influences exist during the teen years, including transitions like puberty that naturally affect one’s body shape, weight status and appearance. Salient influences on body image include the media, which can target adolescents, and peers who help shape beliefs about the perceived body
The Effects of Media on the Body-Image of Preadolescent Girls. Media is infamous for having a tremendous effect on teenage girls. The mass media have long been criticized for presenting unrealistic appearance ideals that contribute to the development of negative body image for many women and girls (Harrison & Hefner, 2006). Whether it’s the influence on their choice of friends, school, or their self-image, media has played an important role in affecting those decisions. A growing number of experimental studies have demonstrated a causal link between acute exposure to "thin-ideal" images (i.e., images of impossibly thin and attractive female beauty) and increased body dissatisfaction (Hargreaves & Tiggemann, 2003).
In recent years, sociologists, psychologists, and medical experts have gone to great lengths about the growing problem of body image. This literature review examines the sociological impact of media-induced body image on women, specifically women under the age of 18. Although most individuals make light of the ideal body image most will agree that today’s pop-culture is inherently hurting the youth by representing false images and unhealthy habits. The paper compares the media-induced ideal body image with significant role models of today’s youth and the surrounding historical icons of pop-culture while exploring various sociological perspectives surrounding this issue.
Research shows “that regular readers of fashion and beauty magazines in early adolescence are more likely to suffer from a distorted body image during their teenage years” (“Children, Adolescents and the Media”), when they read beauty magazines they read articles and tips of how to look better and they try to them all to look and feel better about themselves. Research shows that “more than three-quarters of girls repot that television influenced their body image” (Mascarelli). Social media influences how we act and what we do Amanda Swartz once stated “Social media and mass media influence the way we react and interact with our world and potentially influence the perception of our own body image” (Mulliniks). In today’s worlds there are more ways to access websites to promote body image as a positive thing, “On the internet, there are now more than 100 pro anorexia websites that not only encourage disordered eating but offer specific advice on purging, severely restricting calories intake, and exercising excessively” (“Children, Adolescents and the Media”). It’s not a bad thing to eat healthy and work out to be fit and healthy but it’s another thing to eat less and work out excessively. Teens always compare themselves to others, either their peers, models and celebrities, “People are on Facebook or Instagram and they’re constantly comparing themselves to other people” (Mulliniks). Also reality television shows, show only the glamorous about what is happening, like “when teen moms become celebrities, the message to avoid teen pregnancy is lost” (Kroll). When teens watch shows like Teen Mom they don’t see the entire negative about becoming pregnant as a teen they see that the teen mom got famous and is on the show. Social media, media, magazines, and TV give teen’s unrealistical facts about body image, pregnancy and
Cusumano, D. L., & Thompson, J. (2001). Media influence and body image in 8–11-year-old boys and girls: A preliminary report on Multidimensional Media Influence Scale. International Journal Of Eating Disorders, 29(1), 37-44. doi:10.1002/1098-108X(200101)29:1<37::AID-EAT6>3.0.CO;2-G
If one does not fit this ideal, then they are considered unappealing. Unfortunately, there is nothing one can do to truly change their body image other than think happier thoughts, obtain plastic surgery, or go to the gym to make themselves feel and potentially look better. Popular media is making it extremely difficult for one to maintain a positive body image. They have created the perfect human image that is almost unattainable to reach. The idea of a teenager’s body image is being destroyed by the standards of magazines, television shows, and society as a whole, making it to where it will never recover again. To better understand the effect popular media has on one’s body image, viewing psychology, medicine and health sciences, and cultural and ethnic studies will give a better understanding on the
Body image and body change methods in adolescent boys and Role of parents, friends, and the media contributed a number of statistics to this facet. Of the participants from this study, 20% contributed a negative effect to the media with statements such as “I think I have a lot of work to do,” with 12.5% stating that it [media] promoted less eating in order to lose weight and slim down. It also showed that 37.5% of participants felt they were being pushed to go to the gym (Ricciardelli, et al.) The individuals in this study were ages 12-15, showing that the media has a strong effect on adolescent males as well as
Numerous studies have identified a desire for thinness in young girls, in ages as young as 6. Young adolescent females are surrounded in an environment (particularly in western culture) where dieting, desire for thinness and so called “fat talk” is often brought up in everyday conversation. Not only are these popular topics of discussion between a young girl and her peers, but family and the media also have a somewhat greater influence. For example, a mother’s behavior regarding weight loss diets and fat talk could influence her daughter, and provoke her to follow in her footsteps. A mother’s input in her daughter’s body image is shown to be more effective than her fathers input. The dieting behavior by the mother and/or peers is what is also known as “modeling”. Modeling is something that occurs when the adolescent copies actions of those around her, for instance dieting and binge/purge behavior. Female adolescents may also experience what is known as physique anxiety. Physique anxiety is related to compa...
"Introduction to Body Image: Teen Decisions." Body Image. Ed. Auriana Ojeda. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Teen Decisions. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 20 May 2014.
The overwhelming idea of thinness is probably the most predominant and pressuring standard. Tiggeman, Marika writes, “This is not surprising when current societal standards for beauty inordinately emphasize the desirability of thinness, an ideal accepted by most women but impossible for many to achieve.” (1) In another study it is noted that unhealthy attitudes are the norm in term of female body image, “Widespread body dissatisfaction among women and girls, particularly with body shape and weight has been well documented in many studies, so much so that weight has been aptly described as ‘a normative discontent’”. (79) Particularly in adolescent and prepubescent girls are the effects of poor self-image jarring, as the increased level of dis...
Scholars have argued that an unsatisfying body image can be caused by a mix of different social and personal factors, yet media and peer pressure stand out as the two factors with the most impact on body image. Muoz and Ferguson, (2012) considers both of these influences in exploring body image based on a "Catalyst Model" for body dissatisfaction, which prioritizes the influence of peers over those of the media. In this study, 218 university students, all females between the ages of 14 and 34, participated for college credit.... ... middle of paper ...
In Women’s Studies, we covered about body politics in the 1970s. During that time, exercise becomes so popular for women for the reason that they were encouraged to become more toned and muscular. She described a perfect body by saying that a perfect body is a slender body with toned muscles, long legs, small waist, big bust, and wider hips. Even though she thinks that she is fat, she did not go to the gym to exercise or to lose weight because even if she wanted to, she still does not have the freedom to do so because of her busy schedule. She was also asked if girls of today have a good body image and she responded, “I am thirty-five right now and if I don’t even feel good about my body, I think that girls younger than me are struggling with feeling insecure about their body as well.” With those words, she added that younger girls tend to compare themselves to other girls more and therefore they try to achieve the body that those girls have and that is where they start feeling more insecure about their body when they could not reach that
Research in psychology today seems to be drawn towards particular fields of interest especially when it comes to understanding human behavior. One of the most common research topics for social psychology is body image and the perceptions that are related to age groups, genders, and ethnicities. Young people today are pressured by society to make physical appearance a dominant factor in their everyday lives, and the pressure is found not only through media influence but friends and family as well (Pavica, 2010). These pressures can affect many different aspects of a person’s life and significantly influence their actions. The aspects affected by body image can include popularity among peers, social comfort, and the attitudes an individual comes to commit to behavior (Lewis & Rosenblum, 1999).
Clearly, there is a necessity to curtail the cases of teenagers suffering from body image pressures immediately (Kennedy, 2010). If there are no pressures, there will be surely no obsession with their appearance and there will be certainly no more risks of young women’s health and rise in serious eating disorders.
However, it is evident that the media usually presents and sexualizes women who are “young, fit and beautiful” hence probably creating self esteem issues more than confidence especially in younger women who are religious towards the media’s expectations. This stereotype of being a desired body shape only forces women to meet unattainable perfect physical standards (Gill 2015). The media bombards the youth with gender representations and the types of bodies that are deemed to be attractive. Many teenagers all around the world are desperate to lose weight to be “beautiful”.
Teenagers constantly worry about their body image. Magazines, newspapers, and television don’t exactly help to boost their confidence. The portrayal of stick thin woman and body building men forces teens to believe they need to achieve that “perfect” body and look. The biggest issue of these images being broadcasted to teens is the effects that the images have on them. Teenagers who obsess over their body image can experience stress due to trying to impress others, develop an eating disorder, and neglect, and even jeopardize, important aspects of their lives when they focus too much on their body image.