The answer is yes. The media plays a significant role in why most undergraduate college students are dissatisfied with their bodies. In fact a-lot of people are dissatisfied about their bodies. Studies have shown that most findings from other analyses suggest that the media is link to women’s generalized dissatisfaction with their bodies. In an article named “the role of the media in body image concerns among women” by Shelly Grabe and L. Monique Ward, their findings showed that the effects of media exposure on women’s internalization of the thin idea have grown stronger in the 2000’s related to the 1990’s. There has not been a-lot of studies done to prove that the media influences young teenagers and young adults about their body image. However, if researchers did some more research they could probably find that the media have a HUGE influence on teenagers and young adults. In the meta-analysis, Grabe and Ward mentioned how there was a controlled experiment that included average and overweight models. They have concluded that those average and overweight models responded negativity towards their body images. During Grabe and Wards findings they also found that most of the articles that they have reviewed to make the meta-analysis show that 57% of studies provide evidence that body images and media perception of body images has a consistent association between one another. According to the study it has been said that if there was a brief manipulation that can directly affect women’s beliefs bout their diet and eating habits. That could be potentially harmful to some women because that could result in some eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia. This can be extremely harmful to women. The media in my opinion should stop making up these ideal women and stop telling society that we should look like this. There have been some models that have died because of how malnourish they are because in the beauty community being bones is considered to be sexy. We should not be able to determine what women should look like. Recently Taylor Swift talked with Elle Magazine saying how she has struggled with her weight and how she thinks that she is fat. Im pretty sure all of you know who that is and we can all say that she is beautiful and not fat. Another thing about the media portraying that kids should be skinny is that Demi Lovato struggled with anorexia for a pretty big chunk of her life. As she got older she has opened up about her weight gain as she should because she’s doing it to be healthy. Till this day people out there and the media are now portraying her as fat. There is a lot of negative affects with the media and women’s body image. The media judges you so harshly and I feel like there is no way to win with the media. In the meta- analysis they did a study where they looked at the media by television commercials or even at magazines and then they proceeded to provided them with a test that will determine the effects of the media and body imaging. The result show that there was a negative effect about women’s body imagine while the media was involved. There needs to be more research done on how the media impacts women’s body images and see what we can do to change how the media needs us to look.
Reference:
Grabe, S., Ward, L. M., & Hyde, J. S. (2008). The role of the media in body image concerns among women: A meta-analysis of experimental and correlational studies. Psychological Bulletin,134(3), 460-476. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.134.3.460
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