Josh Odishoo

Adam Padgett
ENGL 1102
April 2
nd
, 2014
Beauty s !"e#ed
$mm, so%ial media& 'hen #e hear the #ords social media #e usually thin" o( things
li"e the internet and the hand(ul o( sites asso%iated #ith it su%h as )a%e*oo", +#itter, nstagram,
,ine, -ou+u*e, et%. But, #hat most people (orget a*out are ad/ertisements. Ad/ertisements are a
persuasi/e tool used e/ery#here, not 0ust on the internet, *ut in tele/ision, maga1ines, and on
*ill*oards all o/er the #orld. Ad/ertisers use a /ariety o( te%hni2ues to persuade their target
audien%e espe%ially through the use o( *eauty 3Ba1ant4. +he idea o( using good5loo"ing, thin,
se6y models is #hat ad/ertisers ha/e no# sho#n so%iety as the standard (or *eauty. +eenagers
and adoles%ents are e6tremely /ulnera*le to *eing taught the idea that the #orld is rarely ugly or
o/er#eight *e%ause o( #hat they see in posted ads all o/er so%ial media. +he %onstant
appearan%e o( 7ideal8 images throughout ad/ertisements %ause many inse%urities #ith the
teenage population today. 9aily %onsumption o( ad/ertisements through so%ial media %auses
*ody dissatis(a%tion (or many teenage girls, leading to se/eral emotional health %onse2uen%es
that result in eating disorders and *odily harm.
On a/erage, teenagers spend 10 hours and 4: minutes o( media %onsumption per day 3Pe#4.
'hen #e tal" a*out media, that;s anything as (ar as tele/ision, internet, and espe%ially so%ial
media sites #hi%h are all "inds o( atta%hed to smart5phones. ( you do the math, that;s o/er <=00
hours per year. 7>edia and te%hnology is deli/ering %ontent that is shaping our so%iety, *ut most
importantly they are shaping our young generation;s *rains, li/es, and emotions *e%ause o( the
amount o( %onsumption8 3'ester#i%"4. +his is a pro*lem *e%ause "ids are *eing e6posed to all
sorts o( un(iltered media, mean#hile their *rains are not (ully de/eloped. ?estri%tions that
happened *a%" in the late 1@00;s simply don;t happen today and that;s a pro*lem *e%ause media
simply has no (ilter. Ba%" then, tele/ision and the media *lo%"ed out inappropriate material, *ut
today, anything goes. !ho#ing midri((, #earing %lothes that *arely %o/er your parts, and
espe%ially se6. t;s #rong *e%ause the young generation is getting the #rong ideas (rom things
that they see in the media.
!o%ial media simply #re%"s (emales emotionally. At su%h an early age, girls are gi/en the
message that the most important thing is ho# they loo", and that their /alue and #orth depends
on that. +his message is sho#n (rom ad/ertisements, (rom (ilms, tele/ision sho#s, e/ery#here
#e loo". +hat;s tough *e%ause girls (eel the pressure to respond *y attaining the *eauty that
media portrays. +oday is all a*out the *ody, not a*out the *rain and that is #rong. >odern
%ulture un(ortunately sho#s that *eing strong, smart and a%%omplished isnAt enough, *ut to stri/e
(or an unattaina*le deal o( *eauty and appro/al in the eyes o( men is the main a%%omplishment
3Bram*litt4. n order to a%%omplish this unattaina*le deal o( *eauty, many teenage girls go
through periods o( depression and lo# sel(5%on(iden%e resulting in eating disorders or e/en
o/ere6er%ise. C:D o( #oman and girls ha/e an eating disorder a%%ording to a 2012 sur/ey. 'ith
these statisti%s listed, %an #e %on%lude that the main reason to #hy this is happening is *e%ause
o( the portrayal that the media puts on #omen as either se6 dolls or *ody props&
+he media simply #ants you to *e something that your not. +he media #ants people to
(eel an6ious and inse%ure. )or men, its all a*out status and po#er, at least loo"ing li"e you ha/e
po#er. )or #oman, your 0ust ne/er *eauti(ul enough. Girls are spending more on *eauty
produ%ts and salon ser/i%es in order to (it to the needs o( so%iety. E.! #oman spend *et#een
F12,0005F1:000 on *eauty produ%ts and salon ser/i%es per year. +his num*er is outrageous and
%ould *e used to#ards paying o(( t#o years o( tuition (or %ollege. +he Ameri%an Psy%hologi%al
Asso%iation has (ound that sel(5o*0e%ti(i%ation has *e%ome a national epidemi% o( #hi%h
%onse2uen%es %onsist o( shame, an6iety, and sel(5disgust 3Golan4. +his is %ommon all o/er so%ial
media today. Girls (eel the need to e6pose themsel/es as i( they ha/e to pro/e something. -ou
get on nstagram and girls are sho#n all o/er dro#sed in ma"eup, #earing the shortest s"irt
possi*le, #ith shirts that don;t e/en rea%h their *elly *utton. +he more girls sel(5o*0e%ti(y
themsel/es, the more li"ely they are to ha/e eating disorders, *e depressed, and e/en su((er
lo#er GPA;s *e%ause their %on%entration on the #rong things.
+he media sho#s so mu%h negati/ity to#ards #oman and their #eight and ho# they
loo". +eenage girls (eel tons o( pressure to %on(orm to men;s ideals. +heir is a %on%ept o( the
7per(e%t8 #omen and (or those #ho donAt loo" the #ay that they should are s%rutini1ed today.
Girls are at s%hool to learn, *ut instead ha/e the pressure o( putting on pounds o( ma"eup to loo"
good and appeal to the appearan%e that is represented in so%iety. Girls #ho don;t ha/e that
7per(e%t8 *ody go through (a%es o( depression resulting in %utting and *odily harm. Body
dissatis(a%tion leads to (eelings o( pressure #hi%h leads to eating disorders. n the old days,
*eauty #as a%hie/ed through %osmeti%s and air*rushing, no# a days %omputers digitally alter
ho# a person loo"s and "ids are *eing en%ouraged to relate to that image at a younger and
younger age ea%h time. -et, it;s an impossi*le standard and teens are una#are o( #hat ad/ertisers
do to lure in their audien%e. +eenagers may *e a#are o( photoshop and ho# %omputers digitally
alter images to a near impossi*le *eauty, *ut they still %ontinue to set these images as standards
to rea%h. On a/erage it ta"es a human *rain *et#een 1=524 years to (ully de/elop, so the idea that
these teens at su%h a young age ha/e the maturity and "no#ledge to "no# #hat goes on is nuts
3Gil*ourne4
+eenagers are a mu%h more /ulnera*le %lass in so%iety. +he media displays anore6i%
#omen all o/er the media and %onditions so%iety to thin"ing that 7this is ho# #e should loo"
li"e8. t;s #rong. People #ith healthy, a/erage si1e *odies yet (eel they are o/er#eight and tend
to go into anore6ia thin"ing they need to get thinner and thinner to %ondone to #hat they see
through the media. :<D o( 1< year old girls are unhappy #ith their *odies. +hat num*er
in%reases to H=D *y age 1H 3Go/ar4. +hese per%entages o( teens su((er (rom the pressures o(
so%iety and (eel that they need to either lose more #ight or get more toned. +his leads to the
eating5disorders "no#n as anore6ia and *ulimia. 'ithin these eating disorders, teenager #ill
either go through periods o( not eating at all or eating /ery large amounts (ollo#ed *y an
immediate purge. Both are e6tremely unhealthy and %an result in serious *odily harm. -et, 1HD
o( teens engage in %utting or in0urious *eha/ior *e%ause o( the depression that they go through.
Li/ing in a so%iety o( %on(ormity, it %an *e e6tremely hard on a teenage girl emotionally to hold
together the (eeling that they may not *e as attra%ti/e as those around them. Li/ing under the
%onstant spotlight and pressure that so%iety is #at%hing and 0udging ma"es it e6tremely tough on
(emale teenagers. !in%e 2000, rates o( depression ha/e dou*led, %ausing more and more
teenagers to go through periods o( *odily harm su%h as eating5disorders or e/en %utting.
Ad/ertisers do a great 0o* in %hoosing the most *eauti(ul, thin 7ideal8 (emales to use as
the (a%e o( *ill*oards, on +, %ommer%ials, and e/en all throughout maga1ines. +eenagers are 0ust
not de/eloped enough to "no# that these ad/ertisements are displayed to attra%t their /ie#ers.
People, espe%ially the young generation, 0ust don;t reali1e that these %ele*rities and 7ideals8 that
they see ha/e gone through hours o( e6er%ise, ma"e5up and hair%are, (ollo#ed up #ith ele%troni%
Photoshop in order to hide any (a%ial imper(e%tions or stoma%h %ellulite3Je((ers4. +his leads
teenagers to thin"ing that #hat they see is #hat they should *e, #hi%h ultimately leads to the
se/eral emotional and physi%al %onse2uen%es.
mages o( %ele*rities or 7ideal8 models are posted e/ery#here, #hether on )a%e*oo",
nstagram, or e/en t#itter. +hese images alter the #ay teenagers loo" at themsel/es and %auses a
sense o( *ody dissatis(a%tion *e%ause they (eel that they don;t meet that ideal. ?e(erring to
tele/ision, on a/erage a teenager spends more time in (ront o( the tele/ision than any other
a%ti/ity other than sleeping, %onsuming o/er <:0,000 %ommer%ials *y age 1=3+een )a%ts4. +he
"ey strategy to any appealing ad/ertisement %omes (rom something "no#n as Photoshop.
Although this tool #or"s in %on/in%ing its /ie#ers (rom a mar"eter;s standpoint, this te%hni2ue is
e6tremely detrimental to our young generation today *e%ause it %ompletely alters #hat 7normal8
really is. 7E6posure to unrealisti% media images and messages has *een identi(ied as a ris" (a%tor
(or *ody dissatis(a%tion, eating distur*an%es, and mental health %on%erns8 3Je((ers4. +eenagers
o(ten times struggle determining 7truth (rom reality8 and so%ial media does it;s 0o* in ma"ing this
pro*lem %ontinue. +eenagers %onstantly glan%e o/er hundreds o( ad/ertisements e/eryday to the
point that a %lear /isual o( #hat the 7ideal8 *ody should loo" li"e is stored a#ay in their minds.
+his %an lead to depressi/e symptoms and *ody dissatis(a%tion (or those indi/iduals #ho (eel
that they don;t meet that 7ideal8 physi%al appearan%e that so%iety is loo"ing (or. +hin5ideal (or
#omen and mus%ularity (or men has led teenagers to (eel the pressures (rom the media. Being
e6posed e/eryday to a %ertain appearan%e %auses %on(usion in teenage /ie#ers. +eenagers,
ha/ing to li/e *y the 7norm8, (eel the need to alter themsel/es physi%ally to #hat the so%ial
media (launts as an 7ideal8 *ody. +his 7ideal8 *ody that is *eing (launted is either measura*ly
thinner or toned than an a/erage human *eing should normally *e. +eenagers don;t "no# that.
+hroughout my paper and through my resear%h and personal e6perien%es, ;m a*le to
ma"e the %on%lusion that so%ial media deteriorates (emale teenagers emotionally and physi%ally
through the %onstant pressure o( attra%tion. E/eryday (emale teenagers li/e under a spotlight #ith
the (eeling that they must per(orm up to so%iety. +his is e6tremely heart*rea"ing *e%ause this
leads to a series o( emotional *rea"do#ns resulting in serious depression and poor sel(5
%on(iden%e. )emale teenagers are *arley %om(orta*le in their o#n s"in *y the pressures put on
through so%ial media, #hi%h ultimately leads to a series o( unhealthy a%ti/ities su%h as %utting
and hurting onesel( through eating5disorders. )emale teenagers *arley "no# #hat normal is
anymore due to the se6 portrays put on through so%ial media #hi%h is an ultimate harm to
so%iety.
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