What Is the Impact of the Media On the Body Image of Girls 16-20 - Essay Example

The research has shown that media has a very high impact on the body image of young girls. The influence is so high that they often ending up aspiring to have such bodies and in the process, cause significant damage to their physical and mental well being. Body dissatisfaction can result in a very wide range of unhealthy behaviours. Any factor, such as idealized media images, that proves to be a factor of body dissatisfaction has an influence on the well-being. The notion is deeply imbibed and almost becomes a subconscious conditioning due to the wide exposure to mass media.

Hence, it becomes very difficult to move them towards the direction of body satisfaction. The author says that many young girls are not fully aware of the artificiality of the images projected on the media. This leads to desperate attempts and disappointment at failed attempts, until it becomes a vicious cycle. The level of vulnerability as well as immaturity often becomes key factors in deciding the level of impact that each individual faces due to the body images projected by the media. If these young girls are made to understand the difference between, ‘images’ and ‘reality’, then they would move away from the concept of body dissatisfaction.

To understand the impact of media among the young girls between the ages of 16 to 20, the research methodology that was used was of personal interviews. A personal interview was carried out individual for thirteen girls based in the UK between the said age group. This group was chosen based on the interest that the girls expressed in talking about the issue, and not based on a random criterion. The personal interview