The qualities of mass media are involvement, connectedness, and user-generated content. In recent times, using mass media has become a compulsory portion of daily life. Mass media is commonly used for human connection, exposure to current affairs, and judgment. It is a fantastic opportunity to connect with individuals locally and internationally and exchange, generate, and distribute information. Customers’ purchasing decisions can be influenced by the media through evaluations, selling approaches, and marketing. In brief, mass media has a chief influence on our skills to engage, form contacts, learn and share expertise, and make judgments. However, from various roles played by the mass media, such as instructing people and pushing them to make decisions, it is therefore depicted that mass media has more significant impacts on social life. Therefore, since many people embrace mass media, addressing the various effects of mass media on individuals is an essential sociological factor because it helps shape individual attitudes.
Nonetheless, the media impacts how we think and feel about our bodies and how we believe others see us; it also executed that the mass media has more significant impacts on our body image. Therefore, since most people embrace the use of mass media in many societies worldwide, addressing some of the negative and positive effects of mass media on body image is essential and sociological since education aims at helping many people. Notably, from various social research conducted, it has been realized that mass media presents unrealistic information that changes people’s views on their body images. Therefore, many individuals are prompted to focus on mass media on issues about their body image, thus developing a mental health problem associated with being dissatisfied with the way your body looks to the point where it interferes with your capacity to function normally. Furthermore, individuals are also likely to develop eating disorders as a result. In the paper, scrutiny has been done on mass media and body image, thus presenting the negative and positive effects.
It is simpler to connect and interact with others in a world that is heavily reliant on social media and the internet. However, the increased use of mass media leads to widespread opposition to the reality and belief in the mass media, which executes unreality factors which in return makes it non-sociological. Therefore, from various articles focusing on social science, a clear depiction is executed, reflecting the negative impacts of mass media on body image and providing some possible solutions to prevent the effects. Doing these becomes sociological when addressing the issue, and various limitations are also emphasized, which aim to change the famous viewpoint. Still, the request is whether the mass media always wants to send a great vibe to individuals worldwide.
When it comes to body image, this is especially true; advertisements, such as TV advertising, emphasize that a body naturally should be slender and that they are less than if they appear otherwise. It is distant from the truth because everyone’s body form and structure are different, and being skinny does not guarantee they are well. These types of media-driven prospects can harm a person’s psychological and bodily health, resulting in low self-esteem and physical discontent, as well as more severe cases like eating disorders.
Sometimes it is assumed that women are the only ones used to suffer from body image problems and disordered consumption due to what the media depicts, but still, men are also affected (Marshall, 2017); pressure from the press to be well-built seems to be linked to men’s physical image concerns. Although the effect is smaller than in women, it is still significant. It is becoming more of a concern since people nowadays spend most of their time on mass media tools, leading to more negative effects. People develop a negative attitude towards eating and concentrate more on mass media, thus resulting in eating disorders (Kim & Lennon, 2007). I believe people must realize that what is depicted in the media is not always accurate. Nevertheless, it is also essential for people to develop self-acceptance and self-love, not constantly measuring their self-worth concerning the media.
Wide eyes, a flabby waistline, and so on are all things that people despise about themselves. The majority of people accept their flaws and continue their regular lives. Those who suffer from body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) are still preoccupied with their defects and spend hours each day meditating on them. These obsessive and controlling ideas cause to make one waste a lot of time attempting to conceal or cover up the flaw. BDD individuals cannot control their harmful feelings and do not understand that people when they claim to be in excellent health. Notably, body dysmorphia is brought about due to the elevated use of mass media (López-Guimerà et al., 2019). Social media’s increasing influence on our lives. Various sources depict that mass media platforms are to blame for introducing insecurities, mainly among young people.
When we go through our mass media feeds, we are subjected to a good collection of photos, images, and snaps that do not come from our everyday lives. Therefore, this continued introduction to inaccurate pictures creates an undesirable need to attain false body types, resulting in bodily dysmorphia disorder (Perrotta, 2020). Youngsters, who are highly prone to ambiguity and unhappiness, are especially vulnerable to the impacts of mass media.
Despite various adverse effects of mass media on body image, there are also some positive effects, including mass media body image elevation. It has a significant impact on persons who are dealing with eating problems. Additionally, with various support services present across several media, social media can help certain users navigate the highly criticized subject of body image. In conclusion, since reliance on social media has negative and positive effects on body image, individuals should not be obsessed with social media. Instead, they should believe in themselves and appreciate what others tell about their body images instead of relying on mass media.
References
Kim, J. H., & Lennon, S. J. (2007). Mass media and self-esteem, body image, and eating disorder tendencies. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 25(1), 3-23. Web.
López-Guimerà, G., Levine, M. P., Sánchez-Carracedo, D., & Fauquet, J. (2010). Influence of mass media on body image and eating disordered attitudes and behaviors in females: A review of effects and processes. Media Psychology, 13(4), 387-416. Web.
Marshall, A. K. (2017). Mass Media and Body Satisfaction in Young Women: An Exploration of Impacts (Doctoral dissertation, City University of Seattle). Web.
Perrotta, G. (2020). The concept of altered perception in “body dysmorphic disorder”: The subtle border between the abuse of selfies in social networks and cosmetic surgery, between socially accepted dysfunctionality and the pathological condition. Journal of Neurology, Neurological Science and Disorders, 6(1), 001-007. Web.