self-image and media influence
...s old, they have received over 250,000 commercial messages through the media. Only 9% of commercials have a direct statement. -studies have found 50% of advertisements in teen girl magazines and 56% of television commercials aimed at female viewers used beauty as a product appeal. This constant exposure to female-oriented advertisements may influence girls to become self-conscious about their bodies and to obsess over their physical appearance as a measure of their worth. - Advertisements emphasize thinness as a standard for female beauty, and the bodies idealized in the media are frequently a typical of normal, healthy women. - 70% of girls in one study said that magazine models influence their idea of the perfect body shape, and the persuasive acceptance of this unrealistic body type creates a problem that will not work effectively for the majority of women. -Just like girls, boys are impacted due to advertisements. Many males are becoming insecure about their physical appearance as advertising and other media images raise the standard and idealize well-built men. -Researchers are concerned about how this impacts men and boys, and have seen an alarming increase in obsessive weight training and the use of anabolic steroids and dietary supplements that promise bigger muscles or more stamina for lifting. -Children who have poor self-images are more vulnerable to developing prejudices. They may try to support and encourage their own worth by finding a group of people who the...