Body image is one of the most often recurring themes in the media today. Everywhere you look, there are billboards, magazine covers, TV shows, commercials, internet banner ads, and many other forms of advertising that focus on body image. These ads can be directed towards people of all age groups, different nationalities, and both male and female genders. It is not limited to one specific demographic. However, in all these different types of ads, no matter who they are directed toward, the message is almost always the same; skinnier is better.
Unfortunately, the standards set by the media have warped society’s expectations of body image. People feel pressured to set unrealistic goals for themselves because they feel like they will not get noticed if their bodies are not “perfect”. This causes many problems for people of all ages. However, in society today, the saturation of body image in the media has had a large effect on teens. The above image is a screenshot from a web page. On this particular page, there is an article titled, “How does the media effect body image in teens?” The article goes on to talk about specific examples of ads targeted towards teens and the potential effects that these have on young people. It also suggests strategies of what parents can do to make sure their kids are not unnecessarily pressured to conform to the body image that the media has glorified.
Having an article like this is all well and good. However, there is some irony on this web page. There are two banner ads on the page, and both of them are ads about cutting down the size of your belly! On the very website that is talking about the potentially negative effects of body image in the media, there are ads about weight loss and the “Trick of a tiny belly”. This is a great example of how the media has flooded society with pressure to look a certain way. Even places where someone would look for information about these problems, there is an example of the problem staring them in the face.
The article mentions a few statistics about body image in the media which are very interesting. One key fact is that today’s female models generally weigh about 23 percent less than the average woman. Also, the average female model is 5’10” tall and weighs 110 pounds while the average woman is 5’4” tall and weighs 145 pounds. This huge discrepancy between the media’s “ideal” form and the reality of what most humans look like is disturbing. The unrealistic goals that people, especially teens, set for themselves are the cause of a lot of health problems in society today, such as anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders.
So who loses here? Everyone. Parents are put in a tough situation because they want their kids to be healthy, but they do not want to shelter them away from society. Teens are held to a standard to which most cannot live up to, no matter how hard they try or how pressured they feel.
The media can also be a negative influence through images and advertisement. What is projected on television, through movies, magazines, advertisement, and even pop music can influence viewers to make negative lifestyle choices such over eating, lack of exercise and inactivity, along with poor food choices ultimately leading to weight gain and low fitness levels. Television is ultimately conflicting as it encourages sedentary lifestyles but pressures teens and young adults to be in shape and underweight like the actors seen in movies and TV shows. Another area that can be affected is school, too much television affects grades as well as too much computer use.
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