Negative Outcomes from Portrayal of Young Women in the Media Essay

When one thinks of media, one tends to relate media to television, news, magazines, newspaper articles, and so on. Many people do not think of media is something that portrays negative effects on young women. However, young women are more susceptible to lower self-esteem resulting in eating disorders or depression more today than ever before. The media projects negative and undermining images of women and one does not have to look very hard to realize this. The media projects images of unrealistic women who only look the way they do because of plastic surgery or airbrushing techniques. The media has much greater effects on young girls than anything else in our culture today. Our society has created an environment so obsessed with image that those who have the power give disapproval for being overweight, and give approval for being thin. This has created a generation of women so self conscious about their body that it starts to affect their health in many different ways. Where Portrayal Starts On average, boys and girls spend anywhere from two to six hours a day being exposed to television, the internet, magazine articles, video games, and so on. (4) This is a massive amount of time spent over the years viewing media. With time, all the advertisements become normal to us and we tend to accept what is being shown on the television. Some of this is perfectly fine. Watching televison, researching the internet, and magazine articles help one receive information. Although much of this information is a learning opportunity, many do not take the time to consider the negative affects media does have. Over time one starts to see repetitive advertisements and start to tune them out, which then we adapt to this, and it b... ...d how they really are in a positive way. Final Thoughts The outcome of how media effects young teenage girls is a grave concern that keeps growing. Campaigns and advertisements that put pressures on these young girls to be thin are continuously growing. These constant pressures to be thin and beautiful are drawing them away from being themselves. Girls are now starting to resort to harmful eating habits and body dissatisfaction at a young age. These unhealthy habits will start to ruin our young women, and will take an ultimate toll on our future. Women are beautiful the way they are. Our society does not need to take away from the happiness that one has by using computer imaging to bring one down. In a perfect world everyone would look the same and have the same beauty, but it is not a perfect world, which then makes everyone beautiful in their own way.