Media's Effect on Teen Body Image

Media's Effect On Teens and Their Body Images

Through out society many teens and young women have been scrutinized for their bodies and appearance. Media is one of the leading contributor. Media has led to the sexualization and body image issues in teens and women. As the media idealizes women as a miniature size 0 with long blonde hair and blue eyes, it leads to the loss in self esteem. Every girl wants to look like Megan Fox, with her great body and good facial structure. Reality is we can't all look like that and it's what women, call "winning the genetic lottery".

So what about media changes the view of women on themselves and their bodies? Research has shown that as adolescents we tend to watch television and read magazines that have images that portray what we see as the ideal “woman”. Media depicts women as ultra thin actresses and models, with this came an increase in women's concerns with their bodies. As teens grow up watching these images and depictions of women, they idolize them as something that they want to turn into. “The sexualization of girls and women in the media is a growing concern” said Emma Stydahar “It creates a limiting idea of beauty in our society.”(Nackman) We idolize these women that have been continually photo shopped and done up as if they were dolls. Teen girls are being continually subjected to magazine articles telling them that they should not be happy with themselves and to change their appearance. The media has changed the way women are now seen by both women and men alike.

Media is a growing industry of magazines, television, and movies. Actresses portrayed in these pieces are those of beauty and sexuality. “A 1995 survey of more than 400 Indiana high school students found that g...

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...her you look your best at all times is the most important thing. These unhealthy and extremely dangerous actions lead to growing concerns among parents due to the media's involvement. Many hours of teens lives are spent no in a gym or fitness center,rather than with friends out having fun.

Race also plays a role in body image. According to research done at an Indiana high school “ White girls tend to be more negatively influenced by the magazines than black girls, Black girls are less likely to compare themselves negatively because the mainstream magazines lack ethnic diversity and rarely feature black models.” Due to the lack of ethnic models females of ethnic origins tend to have better self esteem than those of white females. Black females are not as targeted in magazines as white females. They then tend not to lean towards that of a white “ideal” image.