The Influence Of Social Media On Teens

Waxed Generation by Michael Koenigs suggests that modern day media propels teenagers towards achieving utterly unrealistic standards of beauty in unnatural ways. Michael states, “Unfortunately the times have given my generation a perverted perception of beauty.” (Koenigs) He strongly believes that the digitally enhanced images magazines put forth to show teenagers, cause the people of this generation to strive for unnatural beauty. The “bombshells” and “hunks” featured in these magazines drive teenagers into insanity as they try to achieve these impossible standards.

However, when abused, the power of the media can harm everybody and anybody. Images portrayed by the media tend to make people attempt to accomplish trying to be someone else's idea of perfect while also ignoring what they want and what makes them happy. The majority of the media today often portray the perfect body to the public, hoping that people will strive to achieve fitness using a certain product or idea. Many people suffer from self infliction as a result of failure to achieve the perfect body. It makes it harder to accept someone for who they truly are: The effect of media on women’s body dissatisfaction, thin ideal internalization, and disordered eating appears to be stronger among young adults than children and adolescence lays the foundation for the negative effects of media during early adulthood”.

In Cindy Pierce’s article, “How Objectifying Social Media Affects Girl’s Body Image More Than You Think,” she argues that society controls how girls and women see themselves, and this will not be solved until they stop caring what other people think. Things celebrities and people we know post online make girls feel inadequate to the standards of others and in effect makes them unhappy with what they look like. Pressure is starting to build on girls at an early age and into adult hood to reach this standard of beauty set by social media. The only way to escape this feeling of being unworthy or less than the ladies in magazines is to become numb to the idea that women are not good enough. Women in magazines are photoshopped to sell products to help women reach the standard the internet has set.

Be prettier! Be skinnier! Be more fashionable! Media has an impact on how teens perceive their body image. Some teens seek opinions from friends, while others take cues from media, social environments, or music to define them.

Every day, there are girls who look in the mirror and all they see is fat and ugly. Every day, boys look at themselves and say, “too scrawny”, “to fat”, “not enough muscles”. Every day people starve themselves just to fit into society’s mold of what the perfect person looks like. Every day we see stick thin models and buff male celebrities on television, in advertisements, and in other forms of media. The media influences people all the time to have a negative body image and nobody is doing anything to stop it.

It is specifically teenage girls which become aware of their body and begin to say,” I hate my thighs, I hate my nose, and my boobs are too small” and they also become aware of how others view them. Social media celebrities on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, have all been creating an unrealistic image of the ideal body. “Dysmorphia, a condition in which there is dissatisfaction with body appearance, is on the rise as teen[s] struggle to reach perfection. In fact, in a study by the Keep It Real Campaign, 80 percent of all 10-year-old, American girls have been on a diet” (Gross). Many teenagers that seek cosmetic surgery do it for aesthetic and superficial reasons, and are only really concerned about their appearance.

According to research done around the world, there are over seven billion people on the planet and over three billion are active Internet users. That indicates over forty-five percent of the population is comprised by internet users and the numbers are growing as we speak. In the allegory of “The Cave” Socrates describes the light and shadows which hurt our eyes and this is relevant because in society today we are constantly buried in the shadows of the internet of social media, advertisement, and T.V. that we forget the reality and truth around us. Individuals around the world revolve their lives around the internet each day that they end up losing themselves and the truth. With losing oneself we start to believe everything shown to us on these websites.

The people most susceptible to low self-esteem are American teenagers. Several different factors contribute to a person’s self-esteem. Often teens face pressure to be skinny and or pretty from friends, family, and social media. Comments made by anyone, but especially an individual’s close friends, can be negatively impactful. New studies have allowed advances in the understanding of eating disorders, “Recent research also suggests that low self-esteem in adolescence may be a harbinger for poor longer-term outcomes, such as fewer years of post-secondary education, greater likelihood of joblessness and financial difficulties, as well as poorer mental/physical health and higher rates of criminal behavior” (Pediatr).

America is known to be described as the “melting pot” because of the many different cultures from all over the world. Some see it as this perfect place when it really isn’t that perfect. Social media plays a big part in this world because it influence and shape people’s behavior. Social media has put this idea in girl’s mind that they need to wear makeup and have the right body image to be pretty. This has made people self-conscious about their self.

Ever felt like your body wasn 't thin or lean enough? Teens everywhere feel the same way you do, you 're not alone. The social media glamorizes images of unrealistic bodies causing you to feel that way, even though there isn 't anything wrong with your body. Hence why it 's unhealthy to glamorize and to strive for unhealthy body images no matter how much you want it. The media 's glamorization of unhealthy bodies and lifestyles is causing unhealthy body images in teens.

Have you ever felt forced by someone or something to modify your appearance? The media?s modern modus of advertising is harming people?s self image. There are contemplative issues that have been caused by the media, consequently to their inefficient methods of advertising. Teens will place their bodies in harmful situations in order to live up to expectations. Teens feel insecure as a cause of not having the bodies that the media expects.

How is the rise of social media impacting on the social life & self-perception/body image of young women? This essay will explore in depth the influences social media has on our day to day lives and How it has become the norm that social media networks are the primary source for young people to communicate & their main channel to the outside world. The idea that social media has the impact to inspire young women to chase the illusive dream of becoming somewhat famous, but also the very thing they aspire to could also harm them in the process of doing so. The debate about body image has never been more prevalent.

Media is looked at by most people in society as a way to receive news, albeit sometimes biased. Although many news channels and companies often sway a story in favor of their beliefs, media in general is just another tool for entertainment or education. Teens, however, are subconsciously affected by unrealistic standards set by media. Most magazines use photoshop in almost every that they include in their final draft, and have articles that tell how best to live your life or talk to people. Teenage years are a critical part of life, and these standards make many teens feel as though they aren’t good enough for others.

The media uses radically underweight and often photoshopped models that are impossible or unhealthy for any human being to accomplish. People such as celebrities and models are the ones youth look up too and often achieve to have the same body as theirs. You may think only teen girls are going through this, but adults and children as young as 5 also have these thoughts. Teens

The media has been responsible in promoting a false body image of youths and adolescents who often compare