Teen Body Image

Words: 1042
Pages: 5

Have you ever looked in the mirror and hated the reflection staring back at you, or maybe thoughts of not being good enough? The way you see yourself is called body image. Teens all around the world are struggling with having a negative body image towards themselves. The media is influencing this self hate, and this is indirectly causing more eating disorders and depression. This is is such a big affect that many teens are more worried about their appearance than real world problems. These problems can easily be directed back to the media.
Teens are constantly exposed to popular social media sites like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and Tumblr. According to Todd Hasleton’s research, 78% of teens in the U.S alone have access to cell
…show more content…
Jenifer Goodwin, a HealthDay Reporter wrote, “...an analysis by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that hospitalizations for eating disorders jumped by 119 percent between 1999 and 2006 for kids younger than 12.” Around this time frame is when social media really started picking up speed. Websites like Myspace really started to pick up speed, and became very popular with teenagers. The media doesn’t cause all cases of eating disorders, but since the internet has been around, there has been a rise in teens with eating disorders. The National Eating Disorder Association writes, “research is increasingly clear that media does indeed contribute and that exposure to and pressure exerted by media increase body dissatisfaction and disordered eating.” (“What is body image?” NEDA) The media is indirectly impacting people with this, and it’s starting to show in statistics as more research is done on the matter. 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies, and only 5% of those have the body type that the media portrayals as perfect. 80% of ten year olds surveyed are afraid of becoming fat. (“11 Facts About Body