Summary:
Examines the influence of mass media images on teenagers. Explores the merits of a study connecting fashion magazine reading to certain eating disorders.
Today's media and promotion of attractive desirable body images places undue pressure on teens. Teens today are under the influence of the media as there guide to surviving growing up. Chaotic eating has become normal for kids today as they diet, fast, binge, skip meals, under eat and overeat. One-fourth of teenage girls are severely undernourished, and many girls as well as increasing numbers of boys suffer eating disorders. Their frequent attempts to lose weight can be extremely dangerous and result in injury, and even death. "A new study shows a relationship between fashion magazine reading and certain eating disorders, and television viewing and body dissatisfaction. Researcher says the drive for thinness is a learned behavior." (www.umich.edu). The average woman sees 400 to 600 advertisements per day, and by the time she is 17 years old she has received over 250,000 messages through the media. These advertisements emphasize thinness as a standard for female beauty; these bodies are not typical of a normal and healthy female body. In fact, today's fashion models weigh 23% less than the average female. Being a female I know that I am always comparing myself to magazine models and movie stars on television, so it is not surprising that most women will do the same.
"IN one study, three out of four women stated that they were overweight although
only one out of the four actually were." (www.raderprograms.com).This dissatisfaction that comes with comparing our bodies to these unattainable bodies causes many to seek out to find the "ideal thinness"; and they do this by dieting.
Eighty percent of 10-year-old girls have dieted, and at any one time, 50% of American women are currently dieting. Dieting at such an age is extremely dangerous and really should not be a concern. I do not know if there is much society can do to help with this problem. Parents and teachers could help by being models and appreciating their own bodies by not expressing their dissatisfaction about it. Parents and teachers can also teach their teens that beauty is not only skin deep. What makes you beautiful is what kind of person they are and will become. Parents can help their teens from choosing eating disorders by discussing the important of healthy meals and correct exercising that will help teach teens that dieting or purging their meals is not their only option. This will most likely help one's children and teens but it might only help so much due to how much your child idolizes models and moviestars. One day it would be nice to be able to have movie stars and models who are beautiful but way over 120 pounds. That would help females today with the pressure and hopefully stop the eating disorders.
This is the complete article, containing 459 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
