Social Media And Its Effects On Society - 1240 Words

Magazines and advertisements are full of beautiful women that do not appear to have a single flaw. These women are constantly portrayed to be popular, happy, and have it all together. Many adolescents viewing these ads or reading these magazines are constantly comparing themselves to these women. It feels almost impossible to be just like these models. This is most likely a result of these women being airbrushed and enhanced to appear to be exceptionally more flawless than they actually are. The standard of body shape that the media presents influences how people view themselves, and can possibly lead to long term health issues. The â€Å"perfect body† is most commonly viewed as a thinner figure with a defined waist. No one ever said that†¦show more content†¦These expectations make women feel insecure about their weight, shape, and social status. The media constantly pushes for the normal image of a woman to be extremely slender and fit. These standards seriously affect an individual’s self-esteem level. Commercials and advertisements do not display this normality through words, but through images. The National Association of Anorexia and Associated Disorders states that, â€Å"69% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported that magazine pictures influenced their idea of a perfect body shape, and 47% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported wanting to lose weight because of magazine pictures†(Levine, Ibid). The public is given a visual over and over again of what they are expected to look like to be happy, healthy, and popular. What people do not realize is that they can do and be all of those things and not meet the accepted body type. Anorexia specifically alters the body image that someone holds about him or herself. It is a psychological disorder that affects the way individuals view their shape, weight, and their value as a whole. This expectation of body type that is being ingrained into the public’s mind is having a psychological impact in addition to a physical impact on the body. Dieting is nowhere near unheard of in the United States. There is a difference between healthy dieting and obsessive dieting. Women and men are more likely to turn to starving themselves rather