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The impact of media on teenagers' lives
Media and girls self image
The impact of media on teenagers' lives
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Our generation today faces a lot of old and new influences that come from several different places. Whether it is social media, TV, or what your peers are in to, the decisions you make every day can change. One decision a lot of teens decide to make is to receive plastic surgery. Why exactly teenagers make this decision is left up to the individual, but with an increase of young people getting it done daily, one should become aware of the causes and effects. The success rate of these surgeries is not always high and lives could be irreversibly changed because some teens are making their decision based on what other people think and ignoring their own sense. Throughout this paper, I will examine the influence that the media and peers have on teenagers in order to discuss their role in motivating teenagers to want plastic surgery and why this life changing decision should not be influenced by the ideas instilled by a third party. The biggest, if not most severe, influence teens pay attention to is the media. Society itself has become almost brainwashed to follow current trends and base their lives off of what they see and watch on television. For example, the pop singer Rihanna can go get a new tattoo anywhere on her body and once the public finds out, there will be many female teenagers who will try to imitate this tattoo or get something similar. This may just seem like human nature but when the person is a celebrity; their actions are magnified and seen on a much bigger scale. According to Pediatric Annals, “Children and teenagers see approximately 25,000 to 40,000 ads per year on television alone. Combine that with billboards, Internet ads, magazine/news-paper ads, and radio ads, and young people are immersed in a commercial culture practically from infancy (Children). Not just one or two people saw it, but millions. The fact that celebrities and famous people
Surgeons discussed their widespread discomfort about how many people were getting plastic surgery because of these programs. When they were asked what they’re greatest fear is they responded, “The reason for getting plastic surgery”. They believe it is encouraging them to altar themselves in a negative manner. This is also one of the issues that Pink, an American singer, song writer, and actress brings to attention in her video “Stupid
Teenagers take extreme measures in order to “fix” themselves (by having Plastic surgery). Plastic Surgery is a surgical process used to repair deformities and glitches in a persons body. Nowadays, teenagers tend to have plastic surgeries to improve physical characteristics they feel are flawed and/or to fit in with peers, to look similar to others. In fact, it is only the pressure that has been put upon these minors that makes them want to look flawless or perfect in order to feel comfortable in their own skin and avoid any unwanted judgments. Most teenagers are not mature enough to clearly understand the problems and consequences that are accompanied with cosmetic surgery. Therefore, cosmetic surgery should not be allowed for minors.
“Individuals are encouraged, even expected to make ‘lifestyle’ choices to maximize their life chance and simultaneously held responsible for managing and minimizing the risk associated with these decisions” (Leve, 2012:124). Media discourse is part of everyone’s day to day life, ideals of bodies are shown in all these media communication’s in order to appeal to the consumer. This could be considered to have made society become obsessed by looks, meaning that individuals feel the pressures to keep up with how people are represented in the media, for example recognized celebrities in magazines. According to The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, or BAAPS, there was a 16.5 percent increase of procedures in 2012. These statistics show that cosmetic surgery is becoming normalized, “This is how we live now. Anything that makes us feel better about our appearance, whether it involves needles, knives or acid, is acceptable’ (Wiseman, 2012)
The media has had an increasingly destructive effect on young people who are becoming worryingly obsessed with their body image. The media is saturated in sexual imagery in which young people have to face every day. The sheer volume of sexual imagery in the media today has resulted in the vast majority of young people to become hooked on looking as near to perfection everyday by using the latest products and buying the latest fashions. This used to be enough but lately the next step to achieving perfection is cosmetic surgery. Everyone wants to look attractive, especially teenagers who are not only put under massive strain to succeed but to look beautiful and climb the ranks of the social ladder, and it seems that the only way to achieve the much desired beauty is to turn to drastic measures.
affecting teens simply because we see parents as our remodels, and we think whatever they doing
According to Discourse and Society “Cosmetic surgery needs to be seen as an important social practice because it merges the attention given to the body by an individual person with the values and priorities of the consumer society.” Younger generations are easily drawn to the hype that is presented by the media, and in turn look at themselves as imperfect, and seek to make changes to their body as a result.
The words plastic surgery ignite certain thoughts into people’s minds. One may think of a celebrity such as Kylie Jenner or the constant rise in breast augmentation. Typically most people do not have the desire to surgically alter their appearance. Some however, feel the need to enhance their look as a result of insecurity, low self-esteem or bullying. Others have certain role models they look up to and would like to resemble their idol in one aspect or another. Adolescents and young adults are the most influenced by the media. Often times, a teen girl will scroll through her Instagram or even look at models in advertisements and want to look like the women pictured. Even if this means mimicking a certain eye look or hairstyle. Some girls won’t settle for a subtle change and will want to take things farther.
In conclusion, the benefits of cosmetic surgery differ between people and situations; any negative thoughts of others may have an effect on a person’s decision to have a procedure done, but it is for the patient to decide if changing their body is the right decision for them. Regardless of the influences on the younger generation, unrealistic ideologies of patients, and moral issues others may have, plastic surgery will continue to be a huge part of society. However, society should be focusing on how to encourage others to seek happiness in whatever they seem fit, rather than choose to destroy the aspirations of others who choose to build a perfect body for
The media, that giant intimidating creation has taken the stereotypes of teens, the way people view teens, and the way we view ourselves, and has turned it into a delusional monster. The media at this point in time portrays teenagers as generally bad. Well to be honest, not generally bad, but mostly horrible. We are seen as the cause for alarm and trouble in society. The media portrays us as manic delinquents with no solid past and no concrete future.
Plastic Surgery is a controversial topic nowadays. Some men and women believe that plastic surgery is a great chance to have finally the body, face, and even romantic life always dreamed about. In the U.S. the plastic surgery television shows have made these ideas more popular and common than ever. Some men and women have other reasons for want plastic surgery Such as people who want plastic surgery have disfigurements to the face or body because of birth defects or genetic problems. The rise in plastic surgery in U.S. is a bad sign for future. Plastic surgery is not always a good thing for everyone. Cosmetic surgery should be prohibited for teenagers and people having psychological problems.
To many, the notion of a teenager undergoing plastic surgery is appalling and unbelievable. For others, such as eleven-year-old Julia, a nose job was able to help her lead a happier and more normal life. To eighteen-year-old Kristen a breast augmentation is a traditional rite of passage of the family. She claims that she “just wanted to look normal,” and that after surgery, she does. (Sweeny, 2009) In these types of cases, cosmetic surgery can be beneficial to the confidence of teenagers in what Ann Kearney-Cooke calls “an epidemic of low self-esteem among girls.” (Sweeney, 2009) Whether it is a physical deformity, such as protruding ears, or simply a lack of something that other peers have, such as large breasts, cosmetic surgery can help teenagers cope with self-worth in a world where beauty is ridiculously selective. However, aside from the confidence-boosting possibilities resulting from teen cosmetic surgery, there are many reasons why it should not be taken lightly for an adolescent. Although cosmetic surgery can potentially be beneficial, there are also many extreme risks for teenagers, including medical complications and in some rare cases death, and thus should be solely a last resort after meticulous analysis for serious cases. Furthermore, neither the adolescent brain nor body is even fully developed.
Is Cosmetic Surgery giving adolescents false hope that it can “cure” deep insecurities or is it giving teenagers the confidence to be comfortable with their newly improved bodies? “In Miami, FL—Melissa Gonzales used the money she had gotten from her eighteenth birthday to have her breasts augmented. Melissa Gonzales is one of the many individuals who have had success with aesthetic surgery though there are still many who regret their aesthetic procedure like Kacy Long. Kacy Long had gotten implants three years ago. A few weeks following the surgery she began to endure shooting pain in her arms, followed by intense joint pain and crushing fatigue.” (Farrell) These two have had cosmetic surgery but have had different experiences. Aesthetic Procedures have been becoming an international trend, among all ages. The younger audience has been having surgery because they believe that it will allow them to fit in. In just a couple of years the number of surgeries skyrocketed. The “American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery recorded that 160,283 children, 18 and under have had cosmetic interventions in the year 2008.” (Marcus)As a result, cosmetic surgery has become a controversial issue. Some individuals believe cosmetic surgery will help boost adolescents’ confidence, especially in those who have deformities, while others claim that teenagers shouldn’t have aesthetic procedures due to the fact that it is a life impacting decision to make, and teenagers often do not think about the consequences of their actions, so they may later on regret their decision in life. Anyone who is under the age of 18 should not have cosmetic surgery due to the fact that there are so many emotional dangers, medical risks, and that a teens mind and body a...
Teenage girls are at an impressionable time in their lives. Mass media is a key part of one of the factors of socialization that become important to teenagers. Teenagers look to the media for entertainment. Whether it is movies, magazines, or even some aspects of social media, teenagers get a lot of influence from the media’s message. The problem with this is the media has a specific way of doing things and can be negative to a susceptible teenage girl.
Many of the choices teenagers make are influenced by peer pressure. Sure, I had an obsession with many trends growing up, but later on in life I heard a quote that really aimed at my thoughts, the quote was "The shoe doesn't make the man, the man makes the shoe. " After hearing the quote, I thought about what I did in my life to fit in, and realized that what a person wears, buys, or listens to, doesn't create who a person is. Peer pressure throws out the thought of being who you want to be; peer pressure is more reminiscent of "be like everybody else.
There are so many good and bad things that can come from getting plastic surgery. This essay will tell you all the effects, good and bad, that come from getting plastic surgery. The main reasons that people get plastic surgery are Medical, Personal, and at times for career enhancement. Though we all should be satisfied with our looks we aren’t so one way of going about fixing it is by plastic surgery. Some people choose this method sometimes as a way of medical recommendation. Another way is for personal use and just to feel better about them. The last effect of plastic surgery is in some ways to advance in the career path you have chosen. There are so many reasons why people choose this but this essay will focus