Effects of Media on Body Image in Teens

830 Words4 Pages
Taylor McConnell Gayle March English 110 10/23/2013 Cause/Effect Essay Negative Effects Media has on Body Image on Teenage Girls In any form of popular media, you can find advertisements about weight loss, pictures of “beautiful” women, and various forms of beauty enhancing products. "The average person in the United States sees approximately 3,000 ads in magazines, billboards, and television every day" (Meadwell). On a daily basis, teenage girls are comparing their selves to the women in the magazines, on the TV, and in movies. What many of them do not realize is that media’s view of the ideal body image is unrealistic. The constant bombarding from media can have a wide variety of negative effects on how teenage girls view themselves. Studies have shown that media is linked with eating disorders and depression among teenage girls. Media’s view of the perfect body is nearly impossible to obtain without unhealthy eating habits or excessive exercise. “The average American woman is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 163 pounds, whereas the average female model is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 109 pounds” (Greenberg 201-02). Growing up with images of air brushed, stick thin, beautiful women causes girls to think that is what they are also supposed to look like. "By showing these images, targeting girls' insecurities about their bodies and knowing that only 2% of American women actually have this skinny body type, the media is, in a sense, promoting "starvation imagery" (Dissatisfaction with Our Bodies and Eating Disorders). Young girls will go to extreme measure to get that perfect body they see in magazines. "The national eating disorder Association (2006) reports that in the past 70 years national rates of incidences of all eating disorders have dramatically increased across the board. Bulimia in women between the ages of 10 to 39 has more than tripled" (Kovar).

More about Effects of Media on Body Image in Teens

Open Document