Where a person examines at the images of young women in the magazines decades down the line, one would observe women of all diverse shapes as well as sizes. Currently, if one was to examine the magazine cover or the TV commercial, odds remain that women depicted remains taller as well as extremely thin. The preset media as well as the society have already started casting out such who is not fitting such epitome beauty image. In this case, the challenges primarily lie in the adolescents as well as how these group remain impacted by the social burdens to remain manifested as the thinner perfect size, shape as well as weight. It is able to afffect the women in several ways. Anorexia and Associated Disorders (ANAD, 2012) showed that 95 percent of the people that suffer eating disorders remain amid the ages of 12 and 25. Such a bracket isn’t solely effects of the pressures to remain an ideal shape that further entail binger eating, depression as well as body dysmorphic disorder.
In surveying 185 female students on a campus, 58% felt compression to be a given weight while of the 83% that starved for weight loss, 44% remained of usual weight (ANAD, 2012). Provided the alterations occurring in the society, the current study seeks to attempt to probe into whether there exists a correlation between how women’s perception of their bodies as adults due to media exposure as adolescents.
The current research will focus on the females between ages 16 and 24 years in determining whether the media, especially TV besides magazines, has the influence on women alongside their respective body images as the adolescents. It would further examine whether women presently have challenges with respective body-images besides studying the degree of to which it impacts from the period such women were still adolescents to adulthood, and whether women remain more/less probably to become affected at adulthood. Further, the research pursues to reach determination of the particular methods females remain mindful of their body-image alongside the respective struggles women make to stay healthier, besides women’s present sentiments of the average female representation by media.
The appraisal of the literature will help in the development of the research hypothesis TV shows alongside magazines which adolescents are exposed to shall trigger a negative influence on the women alongside their respective body-images as the adults. The study might determine that female with an undesirable body-image as a result of media influence as adolescents shall further have adverse body-image as the adults. The investigation into five articles alongside previous thesis availed both background alongside the theoretical-framework for this current research.
The data would be gathered from the females in student center at the University of Malaysia though the week of July 6th to 11th 2017. This sampling would be a purposeful of the female scholars, amid ages of 16 and 24, who would be approached as well as consented to undertake five to ten minutes from respective work as well as lunch-time to participate in this examination.
Research Problem Statement
There has been undesirable body-image matters linked to the influence of the messages as well as images that media transmit. This research might conclude that female with a negative body image as a result of the media influence as the adolescents shall further have undesirable body-image as the adults. Despite same conclusion having been made in the previous studies, no clear recommendations have been suggested to help reduce impacts attached to the female adolescents’ dissatisfaction.
Research Questions
Research Objectives
Research Hypothesis
TV shows alongside magazines which teenagers are exposed to shall trigger a adverse influence on females alongside respective body-images as the adults.
Significance
This probe is significance primarily due to that fact that over three decades ago, there has remained an increase in the incidence of eating disorders as well as additional physical health matters initiated by adolescents’ body dissatisfaction. Such an impact is triggered by the ‘reduction in ideal female body’s weight the media presents. As a result of the elaborate research, media contact to the adolescents of the thinner-ideal media-images have already validated to associate with adolescent girls’ wish for the thrilling weight loss alongside obstructive fasting (Harrison, 2006). The completion of this study will ensure effective recommendations that will help counteract the negative influences of media by reduced body dissatisfaction.
Adolescent- Describes as individuals, in this case females between ages 13 and 18 who are starting their development into adulthood
Advertising- operationally described here as anything that the public view like a print/ commercial ad, with intention to sell a commodity to the viewers.
Body dissatisfaction-Describes as having a meagre oneself body-image.
Body Image- Describes the inner perception of physical self by the individual
Media- Describes as the tool utilized for the transmission of ideas, messages, images, or info to public
Self-esteem-Describes the much innermost self-worth a person has, alongside nearsighted oneself in the optimistic light instead of a deleterious one.
According to Cherry 2010, adolescents undergo various stages to transition to adulthood. The most critical stage is phase five in which they start to explore their self-reliance and development of a sense of self. The idea of personal identify was developed by Erickson in the course of 1940s. Irving (2008) made an argument that in the course of adolescents the primarily appreciated development remains pursuit for the identity of having a stronger intellect of self as the adult. The positive encouragement together with reinforcement remain increasingly essential during stage five to allow adolescents gain a strong identity thereby becoming strong as well as self-reliant persons in the coming years. In case a child fails to gain such a strong sense of self, such a child would become insecure. Accordingly, the child would remain confused regarding who she is as she endure to grow into the grown-up.
It remains conjoint for several youngsters to feel misplaced as well as to brawl to find themselves in the world in which people remain continuously being voiced to fit into a given category/mold. It subsequently become significant tremendously from the developmental viewpoint for a young-female to start having an optimistic identity sense since it shall eventually affect her development as the adult. Accordingly, this research puts emphasis on the females as adults from viewpoints of the media as the adolescents. In the contemporary Malaysian society, it has been progressively challenging to advance a sense of the identities as a result of the ever-altering socio-cultural surrounding. The exposure of an adolescent to the media is further an essential socio-cultural variable which has augmented significantly over a decade. The youngsters are always communicated who to become, what to become as well as where to be on each day by advertisements as well as TV shows that are able to make it increasingly challenging for the fledgling females to remain their own individual.
According to Steinberg and Morris (2001), in the course of this period adolescents start to perceive themselves as people with distinct qualities as well as beliefs. The appearance remains the most valuable variable for the entire positive self-esteem, particularly among the females. According Irving (2008, p. 6), the teenagers never solely hunt for the self-acceptance yet further in pursuit for the connotation as well as a drive. To this end, youngsters are making several attempts to study the types of an individual they would become, and how teenagers are able to achieve being such a person. Nevertheless, due to adolescents being so young as well as impressionable, they become susceptible extremely to the external influences.
The female youngsters remain the greatest vulnerable to external effects for various motives. As the society for example, people have mastered to compare and contrast themselves to other persons, particularly in course of the adolescents since the body is starting to physically develop. Where females compare and contrast individually with additional females, and corresponding body-shapes remain the unideal ones, they start to agonize about their respective bodies (Groesz, Levine & Murem, 2002, p. 1). Such teen-age girls alongside campus women become extremely influenced by poor body-image. Young women remained highly exposed to all kinds of effects including products and brands to establish the perfect image which the society portray as the satisfactory ones (Irving, 2008).
Purchasing commodities to build the image is able to additionally complicate the sagacity of self of the adolescent. The notion that one can ‘purchase’ a self-image is one in which psychological injury to self-insight is able to commence. As a result of this reason, the physical characteristics can matter more compared to individuals themselves. Accordingly, convert to by-products of such products alongside brands they are consuming. In case a fledgling female adolescent turns to being “things,” it remains increasingly difficult for this group to feel even a slight self-worth/have desired self-respect. As indicated by Steinberg and Morris (2001), the teenagers feeling the essential to find the role-model as well as somebody that they are looking up to such as mentors.
Media
Media frequently utilizes magazines and television for the promotion of a commodity. In the contemporary society, it has become the most significant as well as influential variable of the societal culture. Media is able to shape trends together with ideas and remains a tool of the advertisers, politicians as well as activists. According to Irving (2008, p. 82), individual typically ‘trust media for the construction of a kind of organized organization in the ecosphere which requires balance. The individuals trust televisions as well as magazines to provide the required information as well as for setting the guidelines for the society. As early outlined, media is able to be extremely influential variable in the lifestyle of female adolescent thereby making them the most targets by the advertisers. Various sociocultural variables exist which are able to play key roles in triggering the body-dissatisfaction including the family teachers, friends as well as coaches’ pressure, however, media endures to gain the most attention from the perspective of researchers.
According to Irving (2008, p. 7) media further remains a prevalent theme with the investigators since adolescents remain exposed to as several as 8-10 hours of numerous media a day. Such an extreme exposure to any particular kind of effect remains inevitable to have certain kinds of consequence on the female adolescents who are exposed to the media. A single most question that characteristically argued in such studies remains: out of each and every external influence facing adolescents, is media actually the initiator of dissatisfaction? An extensive study has been undertaken to validate that exposure to magazines along with televisions which are depicting females with thinner “ideal” body-physique “is able to establish stronger displeasure, meager self-esteem as well as body-image” (Irving, 2008, p. 7.) It (media) establishes images, however, it fails to derive the connotation behind the created images?
An advertising can only be fruitful in the presence of a cultural fathoming of the “shared meaning” which are put on things like individuals or places. Put simply, advertisers don’t direct the meaning towards the audiences; nevertheless, the meaning has been established already by the audience. A person might hold that challenge is never media itself, but rather messages audiences decode. Nonetheless, since most of the cultural standards are set by media, it remains rational to axiom that the connotation connected with images were displayed by the message from media initially. Over decades, women have become the key target as well as the focus of several advertising campaigns. Accordingly, the media has remained inspected for corresponding women representation. Womenfolk within media remain frequently subjected to objectification-the experience of women under the treatment as the body/a cluster of parts of the body, valued prominently for its utilization/consumption by others.
Where the female teenagers remain exposed to women under objectification in respective everyday media dosages like in their favorite television shows and/or magazines, they are able to start to developing low self-esteem. Exposure to media among the adolescents can make it extremely hard for them to understand the perfected bodies displayed in the media remain impractical. Young females in the course of adolescence start to liken their bodies to additional females thereby commencing the emulation of the perfect body kinds of womenfolk that media expose them to and associate (identify) with the role deemed acceptable by society to fit in the society. Several investigations have showcased impacts of media on teenagers as they continue to liken themselves to models alongside celebs contained in commercials, magazines as well as TV shows while commencing feeling body displeasure as well as unfortunate self-confidence.
According to Groesz, Levine and Murnen (2002, p. 1), adolescent girls cited ideal girl as five feet seven inch, 100Ib, size five, with long blond hair as well as blue eyes. Such an evidence remains quite alarming primarily due to the fact that one-hundred pounds remains nearly anorexic for the feminine of such a height. Contrasting and comparing adolescent’s bodies which are on the developmental course, to the ultra-slender models alongside celebrities is able to trigger additional challenges like self-consciousness regarding the perceived body image of a person. As a result of such a self-conscious behavior, some psychological matters might develop including Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), bulimia, anorexia, obesity alongside additional mental as well as health risks.
Television
Researchers have stressed on how TV influences teenagers since ‘kids spend greatest time with television channel besides further spreads to the freshest age. Accordingly, it becomes difficult to negate the female faces/bodies which grace their television daily. As indicated by Groesz, Levine and Murnen (2002, p. 2), the enormous mainstream of such womenfolk have perfected body-size, faultlessly faultless skim besides ‘well-built breast. The studies carried out on impacts of television shows have showcased how female adolescent might be dissatisfied with their bodies following the television viewing. The examination of amusements on TV confirmed that weighty feminine comedians got less optimistic body alongside weight-associated commentaries from the corresponding masculine characters than in the case of thinner female characters (Harrison, 2006, p. 119). This evidence implies that weighty characters remain displayed in a fewer pleasing light unlike reedy characters.
The womenfolk being displayed in the media have increasingly full-grown thinner over the past ten decades while in the year 1990 over fifty percent of media characters on TV met the criterion (Harrison, 2006). When the quantity of thin, slim TV characters, thespians alongside superstars that feature on TV in addition to the number of time adolescent female are spending viewing images of such women, it is rational to assume that they already congregated that such remains the perfect body-kind. Nevertheless, such a slender body-type is in contradiction of the love or hate relationship television and media have with food. TV thus presents audiences with 2 sets of opposing messages as it has been suggested that people eat in manners nearly certain to make them fatter; while the other respondent suggest that people endeavor to stay slim.
Magazines
Just like TV, magazines remain further a predominant channel to which several feminine adolescent remain exposed to each kind of media content. According to O’Dea, 2004, fifty-nine percent of feminine adolescents devote many minutes’ daily readings from the magazine while seventy-seven percent of female adolescents have subscribed for a magazine. ¾ of female teenagers comprised reading beauty or fashion magazine in their everyday habits thereby making magazine the most probably influential media format for the penetration as well as reinforcement of societal preference for thinness (O’Dea, 2004, p. 12). Various magazines are available for adolescents, but the most prevalently subscribe for adolescent age range remain “teen, females as well as style magazines (O’Dea, 2004, p. 12). Such magazines characteristically entail articles which remain solely about fasting, exercise and beauty. Messages that young female gather from such magazines as well as images of closely anorexic cover lassies as well as models contained in magazines are able to culminate in body displeasure.
Body remains an idiosyncratic phrase alongside is able to be impacted by various variables such as what an individual looks like, family of a person, peers, as well as surrounding, besides further an individual’s location. The adolescents female mental alongside physical health might be affected where she is incapable to achieve a make-believe level of the perfect beauty.
Theoretical/conceptual frameworks
Provided the effect of media on the body-images in above review, the current examination purposes at studying how the body-images established as the adolescents endure to effect women as the adults.
Quantitative Methodology and Rationale
The quantitative study of the purposeful sampling of 150 females aged between 16 and 24 in the University of Malaysia at the Student Center will be conducted in July of 2017. The subjects would be approached as well as requested to participate in the survey. The survey will entail twenty-three questions and would be intended to best present response to questions of research.
Participants
Amongst 150 ladies that would be surveyed, the great proportion of the students were drawn from northern and southern zones. The students would be told that their participation would remain fully voluntary and that subjects would not have to partake in study in case they would not wish to participate. The survey will contain a cover letter explaining who will be giving the survey, purposes of study, the duration it would take, that survey would anonymous as well as private, and in case they would have any questions to contact the specific person. The survey will be reviewed as well as approved by the University of Malaysian Human Subjects Committee and would give corresponding contact info.
Procedure
Once the participants shall have agreed to partake surveys, they will be left alone and surveys would be gathered from them where they complete. The participants would be left alone to feel unpressured into completing survey swiftly, and to be honest as well as open with their respective responses. After survey will have been gathered, the researcher will express the gratitude towards participants for their time to fill questionnaires out.
Media exposure queries will especially on magazine readership and TV viewing will be asked to determine if media consumption would be relevant enough to audience to have influence. The queries on portrayal of women in media will be asked to determine if media correctly displayed average female.
References
Cherry, K. (2010). Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. About.com: Need.Know. Accomplish. Retrieved Jan 2, 2012, from https://www.about.com
Groesz, Lisa M., Levine, M., & Murnen, S. (2002). The effects of experimental presentation of thin media images on body satisfaction: a meta-analytic review. Thesis. Gambier, Ohio / Department of Psychology.
Harrison, K. (2006). The body electric: Thin-ideal media and eating disorders in adolescents. Journal Of Communication, 50(3), 119-143. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02856.x
Irving, Jennifer. (2008). An exploration of the influence of media, advertising, and popular culture on the self Esteem, identity, and body image in adolescent girls.
O’Dea, J. A. (2004). Evidence for a self-esteem approach in the prevention of body image and eating problems among children and adolescents. Eating Disorders, 12(3), 225-239.
Steinberg, L., & Morris, A. (2001). Adolescent development. Annual Review Of Psychology, 52(1), 83.
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