The media’s influence on body image and school work
It’s clear. Every waking day we are exposed to what seems to be endless ideas of how the media proposes we should look, dress and act in modern society. As a result these ideas can lead to a reduction in self-esteem linking to many problems which may follow. We absorb these persuasive stereotypical ideas from so many different forms that are all around us and so easily accessible to everyone. But they include hidden dangers as we may not even notice the ways we are being convinced to perform especially happening in the younger more unaware child and teenage years. These ideas are portrayed by TV shows, adverts, radio, films, social networking sites, magazines and many other common sources. Entertainment.com suggests children born after 2005 on average watch 35 hours+ of TV per week, and considering 2014 research suggested 30% of TV time is taken up by adverts this suggests they are exposed to a massive array of these self-confidence destroying ideas from the media all the time. So many of these adverts give off irresponsible impressions that in order to be approved and accepted within society you must look a particular way. As a result of this young people can easily be led to believe in unattainable perceptions of ‘the perfect body’ and become obsessed with the ‘latest diets’ in aim of fitting in with those who are heard of on these adverts.
These viewpoints can also be publicized through social media such as Instagram where every day around 40 million photos are posted each day. Linking to this, a 2013 study from two German universities suggested that passive following- spending a long time scrolling through feeds on social media, tends to trigger low self-esteem and resentment of themselves. In addition, getting caught up in an online word preoccupying yourself with how ‘good’ you consider other people look compared to yourself can lead to spending less time going out and socializing with the people around you. As a result this often causes a deterriation in essential social skills and develops insecurities in young people. To explore these ideas I conducted a questionnaire asking some of my family and friends of different ages if they have ever been effected by the suggestions on body image the media put forward, these were the responses: ‘yes, they show unrealistic images and portray specific views on how people should look however, these are impractical and false forcing the targeted audience to feel self-conscious of their appearance’ — From a female aged 15 ‘yes, during my school years there was a craze for big curley hair and so I felt the need to conform and have my hair permed as I was overwhelmed with the desire to be the same as my peers in aim to avoid being seen as different’ — from a female aged 52 ‘Yes, the media suggests only people who look certain ways get given the best opportunities in society and encourage me to follow their ways’– From a Female aged 14 ‘No, it has not affected me personally as I have felt comfortable with my appearance managing to prioritize other aspects of life above time spent concerned over how I look’ — From a Male aged 17 To conclude this section, my personal questionnaire supports the suggestions that perceptions and unrealistic ways of life often shown in the media can negatively affect some young people’s mind sets.
In relation to the effects that little self-confidence can have on school pupils as a result of these actions from the media it has been found that children and teenagers can get to a stage where they are more concerned about their appearances both physically and how others view them mentally that they prioritize how they appear over schoolwork. Consequently this often concludes with lower grades from a lack of motivation or time spent on their school studies. Furthermore it is recognized many people who endure lower self-assurance may not feel comfortable to make contributions during lessons or ask questions, in fear of what others may think or say of them as insecurities can blow normal situations out of proportion by staying a primary distress in the minds of suffers. Impacts of this include a lack of understanding of certain areas or subjects as the uncertainty of themselves may stop them from asking for help or explanations when needed. These events can easily form a vicious cycle where those who consider themselves to be ‘unworthy’ or feel as though they don’t fit in based on their physical appearance since they don’t appear the same as those ‘ideal’ people from elements of the media grow less confident creating this fear of asking out for help and being judged, subsequently reducing their grades further impressing this idea that they are not good enough and only further destroying any confidence that may remain. This cycle within society and our views constantly repeats its self and in order for people to be truly happy, it needs to change. Overall these studies have highlighted the potential dangers to becoming overly affected by body image and how we appear to others not only for our confidence but for the following effects it can have on our quality of education and school life, the message conveyed is that the media can so easily edit a photo or story making it appear like something it’s not and shouldn’t be admired for its false and manipulative tricks since as individuals we are all equally as important and all have worth which must not be determined by how close we look to those modified and then paraded around by the media.
