Teenagers and Low Self-esteem

Over fifty percent of all teenagers in the United States struggle with low self esteem. Self-esteem is defined as an irrational and distorted view of self that affects the person’s assumptions, interpretations, perceptions, conclusions & beliefs about himself or herself as well as others. This can result in a person being very critical of self and others and/or using poor judgment in decision-making (Questions and Answers about Low Self-Esteem (LSE)). Ninety percent of teenage females aged between fifteen and seventeen want to change at least one physical appearance on their body. Of all the things that they wanted to be changed, body weight has the highest amount. Low self-esteem is a major issue in the United States that results in many unhappy, and problematic teens. Low self-esteem develops into much worse things and people need to take care of it before it is too late for the ones who have it.
A female’s self esteem peeks at the age of nine.(McGraw) At that age girls tend to have not a care in the world and live an easy life. However that is also about the same time that females start to become more influenced by media and their peers. The young girls get sucked into the need of looking like a cover girl model rather than a human being. In society today being “pretty” is classified by wearing twenty pounds of makeup, having a flat stomach, a thigh gap, and many other ludicrous things that make people look like Barbie dolls. At this point many girls’ self esteems begin to plunder.
Girls are not the only ones with self-esteem issues. Boys just are not the ones to communicate their emotions with others. They hold everything in and do not share it. The ones who do not have abs, or aren't ripped, or whatever it is that everyone a...

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...manent damage. It not only affects the person who does it but it also affects the ones who care about that person. Doctors believe that low self-esteem is merely a symptom of over 30 disorders however, they are said to be taking the wrong approach to it (Questions and Answers about Low Self-Esteem (LSE)). Self-esteem should be viewed as a branch off for many other more severe disorders such as depression or being bi-polar.
Since low-self esteem is a major problem in both teens and adults in society today we should make an attempt as a society to address and solve the problem. If everyone works together we may be able to solve the problem before it becomes worse than it already is. As a final standpoint, NASE and other government organizations should team up with medical professors to find a permanent solution to the problem that is lingering in our society today.