Media's Effects On Today's Society

An argument being made is that media has a massive negative effect on today's society, especially teens, and adolescents. Media creates an image for men and women alike that is pressed upon the viewers that they are the definitions of perfect. For women, you must be tall, skinny, and beautiful. For men, you must be tall muscular, and handsome. The message this sends is that if you are anything else, you are ugly and need to change. 

In the video "How Media Influences Image", the music video to "My Humps" by The Black Eyed Peas is shown and then the music is taken away. You see women acting in a very sexual way. Fergie, who is a role model to many young girls out there, acts in a very provocative way in the music video. These young girls automatically believe that this is what they have to do to grab the attention of the opposite sex. Or what they need to do to become a celebrity. 

The majority of the men and women you see in magazines, on television, or in advertisements, spend most of their day working out to look that good. It is their job to stay fit so they can look good. Unless that is your job too, there is close to no way you would look the same. Also, most all pictures in magazines and advertisements are photo shopped. Telling yourself that you have to look like those people to be accepted is unrealistic and unfair to yourself. 

Media's negative effect on how we see ourselves is detrimental and the only way it will end is if we stop the attitude of "I have to look like this" to "I accept myself for who I am".