Technology has been developing at a rapid rate over the last 10 years. The introduction of smartphones changed the way that we used our phone. From only really using our phone for calls, texts and games we could use our little hand held device anywhere. This smartphone allows individuals to be able to access anything over the internet from Facebook, News, YouTube, online shopping etc. The creation of such a device has created a larger platform for the media to use.
The media has been able to adapt to all the current technologies that are being used. They have been able to go from the newspaper and magazines to being able to reach anyone from anywhere. They are able to post on social media sites as well as the internet that allows them to reach such a large audience. This has allowed for the media to be so powerful in today’s society.
With this power that the media has over society creates issues involving people and their use of media. The media has such an influence over people (especially young people) and they are able to almost brain wash them.
The influence that the media has been able to gain over young people is becoming an issue to worried parents. The older generation are worried about the younger generations over use and dependence on the media. Trends of younger people being so influenced over the media lead to issues such as depression, anxiety and anorexia. The images that are portrayed online that is usually photo shopped are creating unrealistic expectations of models and individuals.
This YouTube video above shows how easy it is to distort an image to make a women appear ‘perfect’. But this image is just unrealistic but this message is not portrayed to the audience that receives the ad. When young girls and teenagers see these images in the media they are taught that this is beauty that affects their own self esteem and creates mental health issues such as anorexia.
This has always been a problem as models weighed 8% under the average, although this is problem is getting worse as now models way 23% less. The over publication of these models in the media add to the unrealistic standards of what a women should look like to younger girls. This is also a problem within boys but is not noticed as much.
Studies show that approximately 69% of girls concurred that models found in magazines had a major influence on their concept of what a perfect body and appearance would look like. Statistics show that only 5% of women in the US actually fit the current body type popularly portrayed in advertising today.
References;
Joel Miller. 2017. Media and Body Image. (ONLINE) Available at: http://www.admedia.com/media-and-body-image.php. [Accessed 12 March 2017].
Ashleigh Lockton 