The Media 's Influence On Body Image

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.

In this written piece I will discover the topics of how the beauty media promotion has an impact and result on the appearance of women today and how this can effect someone’s confidence and self-esteem and showing what beautiful is now classed as in today’s beauty world. How this can result in how someone perceives themselves to be and how the media has a big influence on our young adults today how it has influenced people to change their face & body by range of different cosmetic surgery, The effects it can have on the human mind & body According to The Effects of the Media on Body Image: A Meta-Analysis Amanda J. Holmstrom Pages 196-217 | Published online: 07 Jun 2010.

Mental health is a big part of obesity many children are suffering from disorders like depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and even suicide attempts. With the way media portrays body image today it is hard for a child to not get discouraged. Women in magizes are photo shopped and air brushed to look as skinny as possible, men are photo shopped and air brushed to look toned and fit. Young men, women and children look at these photos and see an unrealistic person. With that they set unrealistic goals and end up harming themselves in the end. By forming eating disorders and mental disorders, eating disorders by trying to archive a body type that is not real and mental disorders by looking at the results of not having that body type. Children

The media group that retouches images skews the “normal” body image of people through many of its outlets, including models in advertising and magazines, and actors in TV and movie productions. “The average model portrayed in the media is approximately 5’11” and 120 pounds. By contrast, the average American woman is 5’4” and 140 pounds” (Holmstrom, 2004). This statistic shows how the media manipulates consumers into believing that because they are not what the average model looks like, they are not living up to a certain standard which implies that they need to look like that to be beautiful. Another research fact that shows a similar concept is that, “In the United States, 94% of female characters in television programs are thinner than the average American woman, with whom the media frequently associate happiness, desirability, and success in life” (Yamamiya et al., 2005). This association of female thinness and happiness, desirability and success makes consumers believe they must achieve this unrealistic thinness to achieve more ultimate goals and fulfillment in life. “The media also explicitly instruct how to attain thin bodies by dieting, exercising, and body-contouring surgery, encouraging female consumers to believe that they can and should be thin” (Yamamiya et al., 2005). This idealization of thinness in the media is seen so much, and is extremely harmful to women’s self confidence and is often associated with body image dissatisfaction, which can be a precursor to social anxiety, depression, eating disturbances, and poor self-esteem (Yamamiya et al.,

Female body image and the Media's influence Media has become a main influence in Western society, as well as all over the world. Beauty has been defined by the media, and it has impacted how females are viewed by themselves and others. The ideal body has changed significantly over recent years from curvy to thin. Women all over the world thrive to be like the models and celebrities in the media and ads who are much thinner than the average woman.

Ever since we were little, humans were defined by numbers and sizes, and judged by the silent eyes of humanity, and trying to fit ourselves into the undefined definition of perfect. Though there is no correct or incorrect way to look, no two human bodies will look alike (Godsey, “Male Body Stereotypes”). Thus, defining a certain ideal body type to define males or females would not allow the population of girls or boys to achieve those views. Although the media’s intentions are not primarily to degrade any human’s current body state, the media and the people utilizing social media exploit people within a society’s views on an ideal body image that is both unrealistic and nearly impossible to attain. Through negative perceptions of the body, the media influences ideal body structures for each gender, body modifications, and mental and eating disorders.

We live in a world where women want the ‘perfect’ body, but what really is the perfect body? Many individuals look to media to define the perfect body. This perception then directly influences the individual’s body image. Body image involves how a person sees him/herself, how they feel about the way they look and how they think others perceive them. In reality, men and women come in different shapes and sizes, therefore it is unrealistic to represent one body as perfect. Comparing oneself to images seen in social or other forms of media can produce negative results, up to and including loss of life.

“You will never look like the girl in the magazine. The girl in the magazine does not even look like the girl in the magazine.”-Unknown. “According to the National Eating Disorders Association, eighty percent of women are unhappy with their appearance and approximately forty five percent are dieting on any given day.” (Chittom & Finley, 2017). Men and women everywhere are extremely influenced by the media on what their bodies should resemble in order to be considered thin or appealing. The people seen in the media influence these expectations. Although a few parents may be at fault for neglecting body issues at a young age, the media affects people’s body image negatively in several ways because it can cause several deaths, severe health problems,

Negative body image has become a pandemic which has spread to nearly every country. This affliction knows no boundaries, limitations, or prejudices. Cases of this issue can be found in all age groups, socioeconomic levels, races, ethnicities, and genders. The causes of this affliction can be pinpointed to the mass media, familial pressures, and the ever changing standards of beauty.

The media is an ever-present part of our daily lives. Magazines line checkout lanes in grocery stores, televisions are in stores and gyms and every home, cell phones carried in pockets allow instant access to social media as well as digital versions of magazines and web-based platforms for watching television shows and movies. This unlimited exposure is not always a good thing. The benefits of having access at anytime to the latest news and entertainment is tempered by the damage of the body ideals demonstrated in commercials, in magazines, in television shows and movies. Everywhere women look they are told to be smaller, that smaller is beautiful and smaller is better, and men are told that they should be bigger, stronger and more muscular

Recently, there has a been a controversial issue about the media portraying body image and how it influences society. From my point of view, I believe the media promotes a body image that gives society the idea as to feel they need to live up to the standards that’s shown in magazines, T.V. shows, movies, etc. which results to the media providing a negative influence on body image. Since the media’s influence is very high towards adolescents and children, education should be provided to help adolescents understand the many risk factors it comes with and how to avoid getting easily-influenced.

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.

Society and the media play a big influence on body image and self esteem, which are two big reasons why people look to cosmetic surgery. Women make up for a really big majority of all cosmetic procedures. Of the 7.2 million cosmetic procedures in 2008, women make up 87 percent of those procedures. (Driscoll and Griswold). Why is this statistic so high? The reason is that the media and society pressure women to look a certain way, and if they do not look that way, the women look to cosmetic procedures to conform to society's expectations. Doctors and surgeons will even use societal influences to rack up patients. Doctors use advertising that connected cosmetic surgery to improving self-image, and that attracted people who had aesthetic insecurities.

Magazines and television are often held responsible for the creation of unhealthy body image due to the portrayal of unrealistic images that cause people to feel uncomfortable toward their bodies and lose confidence in themselves. The introduction of laws regarding conventional media have been put in place in various countries around the world to minimise the effects media has on people and there perception of their bodies. However, such laws may not be able to eradicate body image issues due to the fact that the twenty-first century revolves around all forms of conventional and unconventional media. The media is held accountable for the creation of health concerns such as eating disorders and mental illnesses because of the unrealistic images

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.