Media Negatively Affects Body Image

Body image encompasses how we perceive our bodies, how we feel about our physical experience as well as how we think and talk about our bodies, our sense of how other people view our bodies, our sense of our bodies in physical space, and our level of connectedness to our bodies. Over the past three decades, while America has gotten heavier, the "ideal woman" presented in the media has become thinner. Teenagers are the heaviest users of mass media, and American women are taught at a young age to take desperate measures in the form of extreme dieting to control their

Agliata, D., & Tantleff-Dunn, S., (2004). The Impact of Media Exposure on Males’ Body Image.

Modern people live media-saturated lives, even children as young as 6 years old, have had some type of media exposure. Extensive exposure to media outlets can lead to body image issues. Body image is defined as, the subjective picture or mental image of one's own body (Smolak 2003). Body image is formed as people compare themselves to others. Because, people are exposed to countless media images; these images become the basis for such comparisons. These mental comparisons, have a strong influence on an individual’s personal perception of beauty. Media outlets create images and pressures about what our bodies should look like; however, sometimes these images have been manipulated, creating an unrealistic expectation of beauty. When an individual believes that their body is substandard, they can become depressed, suffer from low self-esteem, or develop eating disorders.

Media has become a significant component within society. While media provides many pros, it supplies various cons as well. One very prominent fault that the significance of media has is its visual depiction of women. There is an abundance of media portraying women to have ideal bodies, and this undoubtedly has a negative effect on adolescent girls. Two of the many effects of media on females are depression and self esteem issues, as well as eating disorders. Unfortunately, body dissatisfaction caused by media is becoming more and more common.

Over time, the perfect body image has changed in many ways. This is very evident in the female sex, especially through media. “Americans spend about 68 hours per week exposed to various forms of media” (US Census Bureau 2009). This media exposure through outlets such as t.v., radio, music videos, movies, and the internet, all influence the way people think about gender. The media influence is very evident in the way people view women and think about women in different cultures. Media influence on women creates negative viewpoints with how women view themselves and even how men view themselves, in turn making it hard to break certain beliefs and stereotypes instilled on society.

There are no questions to whether the media has influenced the self-consciousness people have on their body or not. Whether it is the front of a magazine cover or in a film or television show, the selection of models or actors are primarily thin or fit leading readers and viewers to worry or want to change the way their body looks. Body image is the way one sees oneself and imagine how one looks. Having a positive body image means that most of the time someone sees themselves accurately, and feels comfortable in their body; negative body image, what the media exemplifies for the majority of the time, is just the opposite. The media uses unrealistic standards of beauty and bodily perfection to drive ordinary people to be dissatisfied with their body image which can result in the search to obtain these unreachable goals.

The purpose of this study is to determine if media is the primary factor affecting a person’s body image or if the person’s body image is impacted more by their social relationships in their life or if their body image is affected by the combination both the media and relationship within peer

In the article, “The Negative Effects of the Media on Body Image” by Esther Vargas, there were several issues discussed about the negative effects that media has on body image in society. Many girls

Kover, A. (2009, April 30). Effects of the Media on Body Image. Retrieved March 21, 2017, from

The media has distorted people’s views on the way they look at their own body image. The media has shown what their ideal body type is, while leaving people to feel as if the average weight is not good enough. (Cardosi, 2006) We live in a world where people feel as if having zero body fat is the idea body type to have. Pictures of models for clothing stores, bathing suits, lingerie etc. all exhibit to this to be true. Body image is perceived to be negatively influenced by the media and the way that the media displays their models. Parents, teachers, adolescence and even children all find themselves to be comparing themselves based on what the media exposes. (Levine & Murnen, 2009)

People may say that while media is the root of the problem, the media itself cannot be stopped. But, if we take the spotlight and place it on media, we are allowing the effects to be unlimited. While media does play a part in causing negative body image disorders, Media is the easy blame for body image problems. By putting the blame on media, America fails to understand the body disorders and the complexity behind them because you can't stop the media but you can stop or try to understand the reasons that lead to feeling body

It seems that the media’s portrayal of women has negatively affected the body image of The Wykeham Collegiate senior school girls. The media has a negative effect on the youth of today, primarily amongst the female population when it comes to how young girls and women regard

Body image is a person's perception of the aesthetics or sexual attractiveness of their own body (Wikipedia). The stress in the media and in the fashion industry on a perfect female body can be emotionally damaging to the well-being of many young women which can lead to excessive dieting or plastic surgery (Wikipedia). Media plays an enormous role in promoting products through advertisements in magazines typically by using beautiful skinny women. The media sets unrealistic standards for what body image is considered “normal” especially in magazines. Young girls are being taught at a young age to be obsess over their appearance this can affect the way they think about their ideal body image in the future.

It is seen more in females compared to males, but studies have shown that both genders can be equally hurt by social media. This doesn't mean that social media directly impacts body image, but that there's a strong correlation between the two. Another type of media is the magazine. It is a little bit outdated in these times, but magazines have contributed in shaping body image. Magazine covers usually have these thin-photoshopped women and lean muscular men promoting beauty products or exercise plans. They reel you in with bolded words saying "Get Shredded in a Few Days!", or "5 Must Have Beauty Products". There is a sense of control and power when we can manipulate our bodies. An example is dieting, of course all these athletes and models like to talk about their bodies and diets, but we are different from them. They have specific meal plans to accommodate their body. Wrong dieting can cause eating disorders and can be extremely harmful to our bodies. We fall into the trap of eating less to be skinnier and at the same time, society is praising us for wanting to look skinny. With more differences between us and these ideals, the more we become insecure and critical of our body image. Even though many companies promote the skinny, toned models, there are other growing companies that are starting to promote different body shapes and sizes. An example is a clothing brand called "Dear Kate", they did their own underwear campaign countering Victoria Secret's "the perfect

Over the years a debate over who is to blame over the decline in how girls perceive themselves has arisen. With Photoshop being the societal norm concerning the media, it has become difficult for many to understand where the line between real and near impossible standards lies. Youths see an image edited to “perfection” and strive to reach the standards that they imagine due to the images displayed on magazines, television and social media. From Disney to magazines like Vogue the mass media bombards audiences with fake beauty that they, as normal people, will never be able to achieve. The mass media is responsible for causing the rise in the number of people with a poor body image, eating disorders, and cosmetic surgeries.