Agents of Socialization Essay 5

Studies prove that the media can have a negative impact on self-image. TV, movies, magazines and the internet all pressures what their bodies should look like. In the article, Too sexy too soon: A mother’s battle against the sexualization of girls by Tina Wolridge quoted, “One of the hardest responsibilities of being a parent to a 13-year-old girl is explaining the sexualized images of young women that are seen on TV and in skimpy clothing, magazines and sexy videos…I want my daughter to be valued for her mind, for what's on the inside and for being a good person. I want her to understand that you don't need to get your value from your looks alone (Wolridge, 2013).” It is sad that millions of teens believe the lies and resort to unhealthy measures to try to fit themselves into that impossible mold. They feel so much less because in their heads they see that’s what it takes to be noticed or worthy. Images they see are nothing, but air brushed ideas of what is the vision of perfection. The insecurity one holds buries the true beauty and worthiness that person actual holds. It is sad how the media can have a negative impact to make someone feel ugly and insecure about themselves. They all should be able to love their self for who they really are and how they present themselves no matter what anyone else says.

Furthermore, media surrounds teenage girls in today’s culture. It is impossible to escape the sight of media. The media’s constant idealistic beauty is ever present to a vast amount of self-conscious girls. This image of beauty causes girls to have low self-esteem (Clay, Vignoles, and Dittmar). Media defining this perfect body image causes many adolescent girls to feel dissatisfied with their bodies and become depressed. “Viewing ultra-thin or average-size models led to decreases in both body satisfaction and self-esteem in adolescent girls aged eleven to sixteen, with changes in self-esteem fully mediated by changes in body satisfaction” (Clay, Vignoles, and Dittmar).

Andrew Vachss--an American crime author, child protection consultant, and minority youth lawyer--once said, “All children are born pure egoists. They perceive their needs to the exclusion of all others. Only through socialization do they learn that some forms of gratification must be deferred and others denied” (Vachss). Vachss’ view that inequalities and prejudice are in fact learned behaviors is supported by analysis of the agents of socialization--the groups that “transmit their values, behavior patterns, and understandings of their social world to a person” (Farley 31). The socialization of an individual is a continuing process where one must learn the norms, behaviors, values, and social skills according to his or her given social position (31). The agents of socialization--specifically family, school, and media--are responsible for the perpetuation of discrimination in society; not only do they highlight the differences between people, but they also create normative-mainstream ideals and exclude those who are inherently different.

Media affects people in many ways. In terms of its effect on body image, young people are having trouble with images of people from popular media such as movies, TV, web and magazines, who are all considered ‘sexy’, ‘successful’, or ‘desirable’. This popular media lead people to wish that they could look like the people in the pictures. People get influenced by images from people from popular media such as movies, TV, web and magazines. Something that people don’t know is that most of the pictures have been edited through lighting effects, which makes the picture look better than before. Magazines often show images of heroes, sport, fashion models, and pop stars, this makes the youth get tempted to look like their idols and role models. (Dept.

Although with that said, the media does not only affect a girl’s perception of her own body but it can also impact on the wellbeing of an individual. The factors which are impacted on through poor body image are self-esteem and their self-confidence. The media portrays the ‘perfect body’ with the associations of being thin, having flawless skin, and being an overall beautiful and strong female. But in reality, this does not depict the average woman or teenage girl and a lot of us know that, however to some this persuades their minds to think that this image is reachable and idealistic. Most people live believing that they need to change something in order to be beautiful, accepted, desirable and meaningful. The primary research collected and collated has shown that the media is one of many different influences, but most definitely one of the biggest. Other influences include family and friends, peer pressure, themselves, partners and how others see them. Overall, the media has promoted a limited idealization of beauty, but we all have created the media (NEEDA Feeding hope. PROUD2BME) . Our reality is a projection of our consciousness, of our beliefs, our attitudes, and our behaviors. Since most people accept a dualistic standard of beauty that is based on a limited and scarcity-based mindset, this is the

Socialization takes place every day as we interact with each other. It is “the process by which people learn the characteristics of their group” (Henslin p.71). This sociological concept is easily identifiably in the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Congregation because they use religion as an agent of socialization. In this paper, I am going to cover how our textbook describes the use of religion as an agent of socialization, then I will apply this concept to meditation, and the function this ritual provides, and conclude with the pros and cons of using this sociological concept.

Jennifer Strickland, a motivational speaker who speaks about media’s influence on self-image, explains that “Studies prove that media can have a negative impact on self image. TV, movies, magazines, and the internet all bombard teens with images and pressures about what their bodies should look like. The problem is, their version isn’t realistic... Nevertheless, millions of teens believe the lies and resort to unhealthy measures to try to fit themselves into that impossible mold.” Media tries to persuade people, especially teens, that beauty is only skin deep and that the only standard a person cannot accomplish is their standard, secular perfection. While the pretty face covered images stake their claim on people’s insecurity, the inability to have a relaxed conversation with peoplehas reached an all time high. Honor Whiteman, a writer for Medical News Today and a student in a variety of different science aspects, explains how during many experiments, research

Society has a lot of influence on individuals, especially when they themselves do not even know who they are. As time has progressed, society has shifted and become heavier in terms of its personal persuasion. A majority of media has become an epicenter of lies when speaking in regards to the presence of the human body. Waistlines have become slimmer and muscles have become larger with the aid of digital enhancement and clever angles, as the race for the perfect body rages on. Television shows, movies and magazines have sculpted the ideas of flawless

People are bombarded by media on a daily basis. Media, whether on the internet, on street signs, in magazines, or on TV screens, has a lot to do with how girls see themselves because it is always so present. Women all over the internet, on billboards, and in videos have become increasingly sexualized and unrealistic. Media shows them in only underwear, retouched and edited to make them “perfect,” and blown up on posters and signs for everyone to see. Models are becoming thinner. Music videos of popular songs are becoming more about sex and what a woman’s body should look like, raising expectations for adolescent girls. Even television and movies show girls involved in sexual activity at a very young age. Media can in some ways positively influence and teach young women, showing them how to avoid sexual predators, teaching them about their bodies, and setting powerful women as role models, but the amount of ways in which media negatively impacts adolescent women is far higher than its positive impact. Young girls look to the media to tell them what beauty looks like and develop themselves around this image, attempting to fit an unrealistic and objectified standard of beauty and fulfill the expectations of men and society that, in effect, harms their body image.

The media has taken a majority of time in the modern world, while morphing the ability to influence thought processes and how the brain perceives things around it. Television, for example, and even more so relevant—the Internet are the most powerful forms of media as they are able to produce advertisements that reflect and are more relatable to the targeted audience. Since the beginning of the Internet, researchers have been trying to figure out the effects of the media on our everyday lives such as the targeted effects of the effects of media violence on aggression, pornography and political issues. However the media’s, and the internet’s influences do not end there; they are able to affect our views and beliefs on several portions in our lives. A significant element to the media is the influence of advertising, with its goal to ultimately persuade the audience about products or lifestyle choices of interest. One of the stereotype ideas that media seems to promote relates to body image for both males and females. Media today has set standards about who is considered attractive and fashionable, and size 0, or even 00, seems to be the appropriate figure for a women in order to be considered attractive. Messages promote the idea that in order to be successful and attractive you have to be thin, or extremely muscular. These distorted messages have caused

Agents of socialization in short are the people, groups, and social institutions, as well as the interactions within these groups that influence a person’s social and self-development. Agents of socialization are believed to provide the critical information needed for children to function successfully as a member of society. Some examples of such agents are family, neighborhood, schools, peers, religion, sports, the workplace, and especially the mass media. Each agent of socialization is linked to another. For example, in the media, symbolic images affect both the individual and the society, making the mass media the most controversial socialization agent. One of the most obvious places agents of socialization lay is in the malls of

In my opinion, one of the worst parts of being a teenager is dealing with this constant challenge of dealing with society trying to change who you, and the people around you, are. At elementary school, friendship is a simple thing that comes honestly and naturally. As children grow and become older, the idea of how other people perceive them runs through his or her head far more often than it ever did before. For some reason, this happened to all my friends before it happened to me. In the 6th grade all my friends were concerned with the “cool” clothes, new friends, and whatever everyone else seemed to be doing to be popular. I really didn’t care about any of that, so all my closest pals distanced themselves and I was left behind, lonely and dismal. Six years later, I have realized that my friends weren’t doing this to be malicious, they just wanted the validation from

Socialization is the process by which culture is learned; also called enculturation. During socialization individuals internalize a culture's social controls, along with values and norms about right and wrong. Socialization is a complex process that involves many individuals, groups, and social institutions.

The issues that emerge due to unrealistic standards are perceived as being true, unedited, and even normal. Many health concerns arise due to mass medias unethical beauty standards and there is substantial amount of harmful effects being caused to these young generations whose minds are still developing. The problem of eating disorders, poor body image, and a lack of self-esteem are partially caused by mass media; although it can be hard to overcome these issues, it is essential for them to be solved because they are life

Media such as the internet, broadcasting, and publishing is a way to express opinions and keep up to date with the latest fashion trends. While these trends continue to go on, new trends are thought of, the trends may be a little tricky to keep up with even for celebrities. While the thought of being perfect for society, cause many adolescents to breakdown for following the false beliefs of society. Some people may use the media to be updated on important news. On the other hand, others believe the media is a horrible setting, resulting in adolescent to do whatever it takes to become just like them, poisoning their minds to become something they are not. The media produces bad influences for body image and messes with adolescents’ minds.