Positive And Negative Influence On Body Image

Body image is the mental picture of one’s body this is especially important during adolescence. During adolescence is where all focus is on the body’s appearance, teenagers are very susceptible to negative connotations, or negative criticism about their bodies. Not only does body image affect those in the adolescent time period in life, but also adults. Body image affects both sexes as well. Body image is essential in loving who you are, and loving yourself in your natural skin. Though both sexes are affected some of the effects are similar and some are different. It is seen repeatedly in the media you are to appear a certain way if you’re a man or women, the expectations can be negative and unrealistic, for we all have different body types. As it is very repeated our generation can do something to change the media, to alter the connotations, and messages distributed by the media. Mass media is very influential on body image and the likelihood of developing eating
disorders, psychological issues.
The mass media affects body image in many more ways than one, mostly negative. Social media such as Facebook and Instagram cause people to self objectify. “Selfies” have taken the internet by storm over the last couple of years, many people start to define their self worth by how many “likes” or “hearts” on their selfie. It is seen that people are starting to improve their appearance by cultivating certain personas on the camera in comparison to reality. Not only can “selfies” be used to cultivate a different persona, but so can the social media sites. People are starting to rely on social media to get attention. “England’s centre for Appearance Research, says research backs up the link between social media and body image concerns” (Roxby 2014). Advertisements are created to convince you to buy or support a product or service, not having in mind what they are doing to your confidence and how you view yourself. We only see what the media wants us to see. For example, mass media creates false images of what one should look like. Women are being pressured to be skinny (but not too skinny) yet, curvy ( but not too curvy) and there is also a false image created of men as well. Men are seen to be perfectly sculpted, and hairless. The cover of magazines are filled with how to “lose up to ten pounds in two weeks” or “how to get a firmer body” etc. In general, if a person were to see this every week in grocery store shelves this would create the idea that psychically what they aren’t isn’t good enough and needs to be constantly perfected. All women and men on magazines have been enhanced to be visually appealing. Not only does this create a false expectation of what is visually appealing and acceptable for both sexes to look like, but also is starting to make society demanding these expectations to be met. “Women have pressures on them to look thin” (Farrar 04 March 2014). This isn’t just developed during adulthood but also at a very young age. We live in a culture where physical appearance is valued more than inner beauty. Many things contribute to this, Media images of ridiculously perfected people are on television shows, movies, popular magazines. The media glamorizes the perfect body, and links to success, because most people that are seen on magazines of television are celebrities which have wealth and are successful. The effects of poor body image can be extremely detrimental many ways, leading to many eating disorders and psychological disorders.
“The weight loss industry is very profitable and marketing firms know exactly how to sell products to people with the promise that their lives will be better if they lose weight or buy a certain brand of clothing.” (Mirror Mirror 2016) If someone is already genetically susceptible to a eating disorder, dieting caused by negative connotations, and wanting to perfect their body image, can trigger one.
Not only does poor body image contribute to eating disorders but also many psychological issues such as anxiety, depression, problems in relationships, and substance abuse, as well as various health issues. Poor self esteem contributes to issues in relationships, the workplace, or any place requiring any kind of confidence. Generally, an unhealthy body image can cause unhappiness and displeasure with one’s self causing depression. The worst part about all of this is the fact that industries are making profit off of people who are unhappy with themselves and buying a product that promises
perfection.
The body image men have is different than the body image women have. Men develop their body image early on in childhood. This is based on many parental cues. Media, peers, and school also develop the body image further. The media greatly affects the development of the body image a man can have for himself. Ideally, men create a realistic body image for themselves, taking into consideration what a healthy body looks like, and what the number on the scale should be. “Men that regularly read fitness magazines express greater dissatisfaction than those who don’t read fitness magazines” (Godsey 2016) Though discontent with body image can affect both men and women some of the effects of the poor body image is different. “2.4 and 3.6 million men suffer from eating disorders today. Up to 20 percent of people with anorexia die from the condition, so this is a very serious issue.” (Mirror Mirror 2016) The development of eating disorders is a serious concern for men with low self esteem due to body image. Though not all men with body image issues have an eating disorder, however, some do. We must address this issue of poor body image to discontinue the depression, anorexia and bulimia.