What Is The Influence Of Media On Body Image

Being a woman of twenty, I know how much this can affect young girls. Body image influences are everywhere, social media, television, magazine and unfortunately for us, the current presidential election. Kim, Kim and Moon describe body image as “a plastic, constantly changing concept, continually modified by bodily growth, trauma, or decline, and significantly influenced by the ever-changing interaction with the social environment” (Kim, Kim, Moon 2011). This is an extremely true statement for young girls in today’s society. With the shows on television today and social media such as Instagram and Facebook, everyone is forced to be at their peak physical fitness and look their best all the time. The only way someone can achieve a realistic body image is when their self perceived body weight is the same as their current body weight. An unrealistic body image is the result of their self perceived body weight being different than their current weight (Kim, Kim, Moon 2011). What some people fail to realize is how deeply body image can affect a persons emotional being. Having an unrealistic body image can cause people to contract eating disorders, emotional issues, anxiety, low self esteem and finally, depression (Kim, Kim, Moon 2011). These feelings can cause suicidal thoughts and behaviors especially in young adults. Multiple studies have presented evidence that adolescents who commit suicide are more likely to have different body attitudes than those who do not, though it is not always the case(Kim, Kim, Moon

A body image is a subjective combination of all the thoughts, emotions, and judgments that an individual may perceive about his or her own body. Each individual has a unique perception of his or her own body. This image is strongly influenced and often times skewed due to the increasing pressure created from outside, societal factors. With a world that is continuously creating new forms of social media and entertainment, individuals are constantly exposed to images that supposedly define bodily perfection and are then expected to resemble these images in order to fit in and/or please society. The expectations that have been put in place by society has created unwanted pressure on individuals who feel as if they need to resemble these images to get society’s approval.

This study was conducted to analyze the impact of media, mainly fashion magazines, on how women perceived the idealized body weight and shape as well as the impact of media on the decision to diet or initiate an exercise program. Twenty working class women were given questionnaires at different times. The exposure to fashion magazines was assessed by determining whether the participant was a high level frequency viewer of fashion magazines, viewing them once per week up to daily, or a low level frequency viewer, from never viewing them to viewing only once per month.

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.

For many years the media has been blasted as the cause of numerous negative events that continue to happen in our society. Anti-media supporters have placed the blame for increased violence in the nation on media’s exposure to violent entertainment shows and movies. Media’s promotion of the thin ideal in female models and actors as well as media’s use of very muscular male models and actors may perpetuate the idea that the average person should either be skinny or muscular. An average person who is not skinny or muscular may feel as though they are not living up to society standards which greatly effects their emotional self-esteem. However not every person encountered indicates they are negatively affected by media’s emphasis on skinny or muscular people.

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.

When looking into the mirror at oneself, what imperfections come to mind? Often times answers are given that a person believes they are overweight, not beautiful enough, or that their clothing is unappealing. Most people have at least one thing they wish they could improve about themselves and some work very hard to change it. It is understandable to work at improving one’s self image and it can help a person learn a lot about themselves. By leaving room for improvement open for oneself, a person becomes more willing to do so in more aspects of their life. The problem arises when an individual allows the media’s perceptions of perfection affect how their life is lived. These media portrayals can be easily found through the internet, newspapers,

Media holds such high standards in today 's society, and media as a whole has gotten so much power throughout the years. There are so many different forms of media in today 's world: newspapers, magazines, televisions, the hundreds of websites on the Internet, social media applications, computers, and novels. Media advertises thousands of different things, but something that has stayed consistent over the years is advertisement on body image. Media advertises a specific body type, pushes different dietary needs to achieve this body type and thus creating the standard of in order to be beautiful, this particular body type must be achieved. However, what advertisers seem to be neglecting is the effect their advertisements are having on its viewers. The constant push to achieve a certain body type has affected the health of thousands of people around the world, and directly affecting the eating disorder epidemic.

It is known today that media and body image are closely related. Particularly, how the body image advertising portrays effects our own body image. It has been documented in adolescents as they are more at risk for developing unhealthy attitudes toward their bodies. They are at a time where they 're focused on developing their individual identities, making them susceptible to social pressure and media images. A major reason many people have a negative body image is because of the impact that media has had on our perception of body image.

The young generation is also getting affected by body views and how they are beginning to be self conscious about their appearances at such an early age. “Over 50% of girls from the ages of 9-10 feel better about their bodies when they are on a diet.” (Eating Disorder Help). Girls at such a young age are already establishing plans for themselves be on diets and wanting to make themselves presentable to society and how they are just simply struggling to be able to fit in with the new body trends. It is not healthy how they are feeling better about themselves when they have created such a change to themselves by changing the way they eat. “The report, a compilation of the existing research on how kids and teens feel about their bodies, noted how more than half of girls and one-third of boys as young as 6 to 8 think their ideal weight is thinner than their current size.” (CNN). These children are already placing labels on themselves that would express how children at such a young age are wanting to change themselves for the “better” which is actually harming their bodies. The need to establish the change to themselves when it is not entirely necessary since their bodies are barely growing and developing as they continue to get older because now they are only at an early age in their lives. “'Ban fat talk' is what we say. Say why you appreciate your own body. Watch what you say about other people's appearances in front of your kids. ... Eat well for your health rather than for

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)

Because of society we have bullying happening, and it has caused people to have eating disorders, and get surgical replacements done to their bodies. People have become anorexic, bulimic, and have or done other things to lose weight because they weren’t “pretty or cute” enough for others to see or like them. “When they begin puberty... the body goes through many changes... These changes, combined with wanting to feel accepted by our friends, means it can be tempting to compare ourselves with others. We might start to compare ourselves with other people or media images ("ideals" that are frequently airbrushed). All of this can affect how we feel about ourselves and our bodies... Family members might struggle with their own body image or criticize their kids' looks ("why do you wear your hair so long?" or "how come you can't wear pants that fit you?"). Although these often come from ignorance, sometimes they can affect body image and self-esteem” (www.kidshealth.org). Many parents seem to think that they know their kids like the palm of their hands, however very few of them see that they’re child struggles with their body image. Body image has influenced all of us, whether it’s in a minor or dramatic way, by making us shower more or brush our hair more, or maybe even by making we go anorexic or getting plastic surgery. Everyone wants to be something close to perfect but everyone is looking out

It’s important as a society to teach our youth about how to maintain a positive body image, and to explain to young adults that the images they see within the media are not realistic or normal. Parents can aide young adults by helping them develop self-resilience and self-acceptance by teaching them to be proud of who they are. The message needs to be made clearer that people come in all shapes and sizes and as a society we have the ability to reshape the cultural “ideal” of body size to one that is healthy.

The Influence of Media on Body Image HEALTH Body image is the way you look, the way others see you and most importantly, the way you see yourself. It affects the way you think and feel about yourself as a person. There are many means that contribute and influence the way people look. These contributions and influences include, size, weight, build, skin, appearance, gender, fashion, religious identity and culture.

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.