The media has an immense impact on body image for individuals of all races, genders, and ages, but seems to have the biggest effect on young girls. People are constantly flooded by media images via television, movies, social media, and/or magazines, the list is exhaustive and ever growing. All of these outlets tend to present an unrealistic representation of the average female, creating unreasonably high beauty standards for young girls to try to live up to.
Unrealistically high beauty standards can create an unhealthy self-image. Finding the perfection in others can highlight the imperfections that we see in ourselves. This is especially true for impressionable youth who are dealing with a multitude of changes and information that they are trying to sort through as they develop. These negative self-images and attempts to live up to the perfect embodiment can lead to the development of physical and psychological health issues. Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia have been associated with the attempt to try to achieve the perfect body (Berk, 2013). Other issues include depression, anxiety, and body dysmorphia (Berk, 2013).
Researchers have found an association between the media and body image in adults as well as adolescents. The fact that younger and younger children are being exposed to more and more media should be a huge concern. What effects will this have? Will we begin to see these issues related to body image in children even younger than adolescence? If so, what will be the long-term effects?
References
Berk, L. E. (2013). Exploring Lifespan Development. Hoboken: Pearson.
I completely agree. The message being portrayed to women and girls in the media is very unhealthy. It seems like most advertisers are more worried about selling a product than selling low self-esteem. Just last night I was watching tv with a little 7 year old girl that I babysit and there was a commercial on about adult acne and how embarrassing it is for women to face the world looking like that. Luckily the little girl was distracted and didn’t see the commercial. But it’s negative messages like that that really disgust me, playing off of people who probably already feel insecure after hearing messages like that their entire lives. It’s not a kind message that this company is putting out and, personally, would make me boycott their brand altogether. Had the girl been paying attention, I would have felt compelled and obligated to have a chat with her about she sees on tv. Children at such vulnerable ages need to know that they do not have live up to society’s standards of “normal.”