Introduction
In this modern era, most teens are exposed to a variety of media outlets. Different researches indicate that mass media such as movies, TV, the internet, and magazines pervade the daily lives of individuals, especially that of the teens across the world.
Tiggemann and Slater (2013) argue that one of the effects of this media saturation is the continuous transmission of beauty ideals and images. The purpose of this paper is to explore how body image affects teens in different media platforms such as magazines and social media.
How body image affects teens in the media
Media marketing affects teens in a variety of ways. This is evident from the research conducted by Levine and Murnen (2009).
The study revealed that teenage girls who watched commercials depicting women in the unrealistic thin stereotypes of beauty, made the adolescent girls feel less confident, and more dissatisfied with their beauty and appearance (Levine and Murnen, 2009). This demonstrates that watching these images on media affects the adolescents’ psychologically, which makes them not to appreciate their bodies.
Additionally, adolescence is a stage at which teenagers acquire values, norms, and develop their concepts. Therefore, the images that they are exposed to in the media affect the norms and values they acquire. The adolescents are susceptible to all forms of messages which are freely accessed on different media platforms (Levine and Murnen, 2009).
The study also observed that an estimated seventy percent of college girls felt bad about their looks. They also did not appreciate themselves after reading feminine magazines. They were influenced by the content they saw in magazines, and they learn from these images what is expected out of them. This indicates that the information that adolescents come across in the media has an impact on their personal lives.
Another study conducted by Brown and Witherspoon (2002) also found out that the youths were interested in accessing sexual content on various media platforms. The study revealed that teens were influenced to adopt various relationship norms.
They also acquired various tips on how to be sexually attractive and strategies for establishing relationships (Brown and Witherspoon, 2002). This also demonstrates that different media platforms provide content which is attractive to the viewers, and offer information and characteristics that influence behavior.
Brown and Witherspoon (2002) argue that the advertisements of cosmetics and fashion done in different forms of media have a significant influence on how the youths perceive and think about themselves. They have an enormous effect on the perceptions of the body image, which researchers argue that teenage girls largely rely on for information on fashion and beauty.
A study by Tiggemann & Slater (2013) also revealed that exposure to mass media such as television and social media is correlated to negative body image and obesity. The teens adopt the behaviors of the characters they encounter in the media (Tiggemann and Slater, 2013). Additionally, during puberty, teenagers develop unique physical transformations in their bodies.
This experience has an impact on their dynamic perceptions about their body image. This is influenced by various stereotypes that they come across in the media. Eventually, they may end up evaluating themselves positively or negatively. Levine and Murnen (2009) argued that they develop negative perceptions about themselves and attempt to emulate the lifestyles of celebrities.
Tiggemann and Slater (2013) also affirm that after viewing these images, the youth desire to redefine themselves based on the standards obtained from the information they access on mass media platforms. As a consequence, they decide to use artificial methods of controlling their body weight, such as taking pills. This has mostly affected the youth who frequently use social media and other mass communication platforms.
Conclusion
This essay has explored how mass media influences the perceptions of the youth about their body image. It is evident that advertising images on various mass media platforms influence the way adolescents behave and develop certain attitudes.
References
Brown, J. D., & Witherspoon, E. M. (2002). The mass media and American adolescents’ health. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31(6), 153-170.
Levine, M. P., & Murnen, S. K. (2009). “Everybody knows that mass media are/are not [pick one] a cause of eating disorders”: A critical review of evidence for a causal link between media, negative body image, and disordered eating in females. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 28(1), 9-42.
Tiggemann, M., & Slater, A. (2013). Net Girls: The Internet, Facebook, and body image concern in adolescent girls. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 46(6), 630–633.