Media Influence On Body Image
America certainly has many problems in its own society, racism, poverty, ignorance, teen pregnancy, and drug addiction. But another major problem lies within the work of the media, for example broadcasting, publishing, and the internet. Because we compare ourselves, and we are compared, to the celebrities and other people we see in the media. Most times, these celebrities are quite perfect-looking individuals, and so everyday people can have a low self-esteem because of new low body image - and this definitely applies to many adults and most teens, male and female alike. However, in this case, an argument will be made that illustrates how media influence the female perception of the body image.
Together, Americans spend 250 billion hours watching
television every year. According to the California State University at Northridge, advertising accounts for about 30 percent of all television air time. The average child watches 20,000 television commercials every year. Of course, television is not the only place we see advertisements. Popular magazines, particularly women’s magazines and many teen’s magazines, are brimming with ads. We even see pop-up ads online.
Anything we look at for so many hours has to affect us. The media and body image are closely related due to the number of images we see in the media and the excessive amount of exposure we have to those images.
Society tells us what kind of body image we should strive for. We see images of perfect bodies all around us, on television, in movies, in newspaper and magazine ads and online. Reporters and gossip columnists even comment on the appearance of people in the news and political figures. How often have you seen articles discussing Hillary Clinton’s hairstyle or Michelle Obama’s dress? They are not fashion models and their appearance is not relevant to any of the work they do, yet it is a popular topic of discussion. No wonder so many people are worried about projecting the ideal body image!
The truth is that people come in all shapes and sizes and people of all shapes and sizes can be attractive. In fact, in past years curvy women were considered more attractive than very thin women. That is no longer the case today, though.
The correlation between media image and body image has been proven; in one study, among European American and African American girls ages 7 - 12, greater overall television exposure predicted both a thinner ideal adult body shape and a higher level of disordered eating one year later.
Together, Americans spend 250 billion hours watching
television every year. According to the California State University at Northridge, advertising accounts for about 30 percent of all television air time. The average child watches 20,000 television commercials every year. Of course, television is not the only place we see advertisements. Popular magazines, particularly women’s magazines and many teen’s magazines, are brimming with ads. We even see pop-up ads online.
Anything we look at for so many hours has to affect us. The media and body image are closely related due to the number of images we see in the media and the excessive amount of exposure we have to those images.
Society tells us what kind of body image we should strive for. We see images of perfect bodies all around us, on television, in movies, in newspaper and magazine ads and online. Reporters and gossip columnists even comment on the appearance of people in the news and political figures. How often have you seen articles discussing Hillary Clinton’s hairstyle or Michelle Obama’s dress? They are not fashion models and their appearance is not relevant to any of the work they do, yet it is a popular topic of discussion. No wonder so many people are worried about projecting the ideal body image!
The truth is that people come in all shapes and sizes and people of all shapes and sizes can be attractive. In fact, in past years curvy women were considered more attractive than very thin women. That is no longer the case today, though.
The correlation between media image and body image has been proven; in one study, among European American and African American girls ages 7 - 12, greater overall television exposure predicted both a thinner ideal adult body shape and a higher level of disordered eating one year later.