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In conclusion for media influence on body image
The media portrayal of body image
In conclusion for media influence on body image
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As Grogan (1999) explains, one’s estimation of his or her appearance referred to as body image. Body dissatisfaction develops when negative judgments about one’s physical body contradict the ideal perception of the perfect body (Szymanski & Cash, 1995; Grogan, 1999). Having issues with body image and dissatisfaction during the most critical developmental period may place adolescents at a high risk of developing eating disorders. The effect of social media on body image and eating behaviors can be explained by a number of theories. The sociocultural theory, which is described by Thompson, Heinberg, & Tantleff-dunn (1999), can provide a structure to better understand the phenomenon of body dissatisfaction along with eating disorders. This theory …show more content…
Therefore, when a female takes the perspective of others about her body image into consideration, the self-objectification process starts to develop. The self-objectification process is a form of self-consciousness, and it is hypothesized that feeling distressed about body image results from excessive body observation, and leads to the development of eating disorders (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Furthermore, the social comparison theory as explained by Festinger’s (1954), states that individuals show a tendency toward comparing and evaluating themselves in relation to others regarding particular attributes of body …show more content…
Tiggemann & Miller (2010) studied the relationship between body image and media exposure, particularly, Internet appearance-exposure. They found that thin-ideal internalization and appearance-comparison were significant mediators between Internet appearance exposure and weight dissatisfaction among teenage girls. Not only female adolescents are susceptible to experience this phenomenon, but also male adolescents. One study aimed to fill the gap to improve the understanding of whether adolescent boys experience decreased body dissatisfaction from higher social media exposure to the same degree as girls. This study found that social media sites have detrimental consequences on the appearance-related concerns for boys to the same extent as girls (De Vries, Peter, de Graaf, & Nikken, 2016). In parallel, two experimental studies intended to examine the potential impacts of exposure to attractive or unattractive Facebook profiles pictures on body satisfaction level on male and females. Findings showed no significant differences between both genders after observing the same Facebook pictures. Participants from both genders reported poor body satisfaction after being exposed to more attractive users than less attractive ones (Haferkamp & Kramer,
Self-objectification leads to body dissatisfaction which is recognized through the constant evaluation and criticizing of one’s and others size, shape, and weight and diminishes woman’s sexual health through the hypersexualization and sexual objectification of the female body. I argue that self-objectification is a social problem that instills in body dissatisfaction from the perpetuation of the thin white female image in the media.
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).
Social media has become one of the most popular sources of communication for the upcoming generation. For young people growing up in today’s society, social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have provided pictures and news that have become the first thing that their eyes see in the morning and the last thing that they see before bed. These pictures have provided unrealistic standards as to what is considered beautiful in today’s society. As young people refer to these images as a form of comparison, it has created harmful circumstances. These influences on the lives of young people have forced them to take extreme measures and in some cases, has been the cause of death. Social media in today’s society has proven to have a negative impact on the way young people, specifically females, view their bodies. Unrealistic beauty standards, dangerous comparisons and disorders have all been a result to the increase in social media and the impact that it has on the lives of young people.
The complications that accompany body image have long been an issue in society. Body image is the sense of how an individual views his or her own body as compared to others in society, or what is considered to be the ideal body image. There are many different factors that effect ones body image, but a major influence is the media. The media has long been associated with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder where an individual participates in self-starvation, and bulimia is an eating disorder where an individual will eat as much as he or she wishes and then purges the previously eaten food. These are two destructive eating disorders that are associated with a negative body image. This comes to question, does media have an influence on creating a negative body image, which may inherently lead to eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia? Anorexia nervosa and bulimia affect various age groups but is extremely common in adolescence and emerging adulthood. During this stage in an individual’s lifespan there is a lot going on with ones psychological development as well as body. How an adolescent views his or her body image be highly impacted by how the media portrays what the ideal body image is. According to Berger (2015), “as might be expected from a developmental perspective, healthy eating begins with childhood habits and family routines” (p.415). If proper eating habits are not implemented negative body image and eating disorders that are associated with media becomes further predominant in adolescence and emerging adulthood.
Derenne, Jennifer L., and Eugene V. Beresin. "Body Image, Media, and Eating Disorders." Academic Psychiatry 30. June (2006): 257-61. Web. 23 Mar. 2011.
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
The study conducted was conducted to measure the risk adolescents during the development of their body image and eating disturbances. A 3-point Likert scale was used among the one hundred and ninety six participants ranging from ages 8 years and 8 months to 11 years and 10 months. Two pilot studies were conducted in this study, to adjust the scales for the adolescent participants in a clear concise way for them to understand, and to be sure student participants were not fatigued from a plentiful survey. Cronbach’s alpha was used to test the reliability of the three subscales. The results indicated there was a significant difference in body dissatisfaction and media influence between the two genders in the study. The females in the study indicated there was a significant difference between body awareness and body dissatisfaction, while males had no significant difference. Both groups however indicated there was a correlation between the pressure of the media influencing body dissatisfaction. The discussion indicated there should be a larger sample of participants as well as specifically measuring the influence of media on clinical symptoms.
As a teenager, I have witnessed the effects of media on body image almost everyday. Kids these days are so focused on social media and having the perfect body type that they can hardly even function sometimes. The media has had such a negative impact on so many young people, do we really want our generation of young people to grow up with this kind of pressure to look just right? Although there are many positive things about the media, the negative impacts it has outweigh the good.
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
Understanding and examining what others have said about topics that have not normally been talked about has sparked an interesting conversation. I have been able to gain insight on issues from two different perspectives giving me a better understanding on how people are affected by the topics I have chosen as my focus.In this semesters Gender Studies class discussion about virginity, femininity, and body image stood out the most because it influences everyday life. Getting the opportunity to ask to close friends what they felt about these topics was fascinating.
The ongoing battle we face with our bodies can be brutal, but with teenagers growing into their new bodies they are more susceptible to a negative body image. With technology booming, and internet being easily accessible the youth is very much involved in social media such as Facebook to be in interaction with their friends and classmates. “The findings also showed that more time spent on Facebook was associated with more negative feelings and more comparisons to the bodies of friends. They also found that for women who want to lose weight, more time on Facebook led to more attention being paid to physical appearance. This included attention to one's body and clothing.” (Increased time on Facebook…body images). Although it might see...
Body dissatisfaction refers to any "negative self-evaluation of one’s own appearance and the desire to be more physically attractive." The problem of body image has long been shown to be a conern for the American Psychiatric Association or APA, (Muñoz & Ferguson, 2012, p. 383). It raises so much concern because an unsatisfying body image has been know to cause problems such as eating disorders, depression and self-esteem. 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 them most impact on body image. Muñoz 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.
When an individual is sexually objectified, they are treated like an object that exists only for the pleasure of others and objectification theory asserts that women are uniquely subject to these types of experiences, especially in Western culture. Self-objectification (SO) leads the individual to create a third person perspective in their minds that they use to compare their physical selves to and in turn causes them to see themselves as an object instead of a whole person. SO also creates a form of self-consciousness, causing a habitual and vigilant self-monitoring of outward appearance. There are many cognitive and emotional consequences of SO. Among these consequences are increased body shame, increased appearance anxiety, and a decreased ability to reach high states of motivation.
Millions of people around the world dread getting out of bed and leaving their homes; this is sometimes due to self-objectification which is initially brought on by the media. Self-objectification is when a person views themselves more as an object, valuing the looks over the uses, rather than as a well-rounded individual (Mikulak). Characteristics of self-objectification are also characteristics of mental illnesses such as body dysmorphic disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, anxiety, and many more. People who self-objectify tend to have low self-esteem, therefore have lower motivation to socialize (Sexualization of Girls is Linked to Mental Health Problems). These people spend a huge amount of time getting ready to go places, this includes fixing hair, putting on makeup, showering excessively, picking out outfits, and once all of those things are done they proceed to look in the mirror and criticize everything they see. Most people do not even notice the small flaws that people who self-objectify see as major problems with themselves. People have learned the objectification “trend” to no fault of their own, the media forces it on every person it can reach.
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).