The flush of the toilet and the running of the taps being turned on and off filled the air, as girls amble into the bathroom stalls. Girls gather around the mirror fixing their hair, clothes and makeup. As more and more girls walk in, some of them exchange glances. Some will even cast their eyes up and down over the girls next to them, giving them the once over, judging them. For some girls, in trying to fix their hair, you could tell by the frown upon their faces that they are unhappy by what they see. “Do I look fat?” “Why am I so ugly?” “If only I was skinnier/taller/darker!” I wish I had clear skin!” Sound familiar? Well, these are things that many teenagers say to themselves. For some girls how they look and how they feel about themselves can impact them greatly. Many will lose confidence if they are not happy about their appearances especially for those that really see having the perfect body is of great importance. Their self-esteem suddenly becomes tied to how they look.
Indeed, as teenagers grow they tend to care about more on how they look, which all too often become their main focus.
Girl’s self-esteem begins to decline as early as at 5th grade. In one survey it was found that 59% of 5-12th grade girls were dissatisfied with their body shape and 47% of the same girls, said they wanted to lose weight because of photos they saw in magazines. There have been many studies on the effects of pop culture and social media exposure on body image and self esteem. Many of these studies suggest that they set unrealistic expectations about how they should look through the use of perfect looking models.
Most average teenagers get more than two hours of media exposure daily. Being exposed to so much media makes a huge impact on girls nowadays. Glamorised advertising of the perfect girl/women undermines a teenager’s confidence in and comfort with her own body, leading to anxiety, shame, and difficulty in developing a healthy body image and can impact on their self-esteem. Akanksha Shukla, a grade 8 student, makes a comment about the effects of social media, she says, “It makes girls feel like they aren’t enough and makes them feel like they have to aspire towards being like the female icons in films and magazines, which discourages us and gives us a false idea about what we should look like”. Images of tall, skinny beautiful girls and women are everywhere giving us a mental image of what an “ideal” girl/women should look like. When young teenagers look at these so called ‘role models’ they question why they don’t always look perfect and that leads to low self-esteem.
Teenagers with good self-esteem are often confident about themselves and are positive towards life. Teenagers with low self-esteem may not always feel confidant and like what they look like. They may have a poor sense of self worth and would find it hard to see that they are an important and a capable person. Body image is a major factor in self-esteem. Body image is how you see and feel about your body. Poor body image comes from negative thoughts and feelings about your appearance. Where as a healthy body image is made up of thoughts and feelings that are positive. Body image and self-esteem reflect each other. If you don’t like your body, it’s not easy to feel good about yourself.
It is hard for parents to know how to guide their children in the right direction so that they grow to be confident and secure of who they are and what they look like. Glamorised media exposure has been linked to eating disorders, low self-esteem and major depression or depressed mood, which is the most common mental health problem in girls and women. So what can parents do to ensure that this does not happen?
Parents can help their teenagers develop a positive attitude in a number of ways.
They should limit the amount of social media exposure and time spent looking at the TV and online. They should discuss body image issues and ensure that their children are aware that the images on TV and social media sites are glamorised and not realistic and encourage their child to be healthy by being positive in things that they do well in. Although the media, peers, and pop culture have a big influence on teens, parents are still more important when it comes to having an impact on their child’s developing self-esteem.
Other ways that they can help is not to talk about themselves and complain about their own appearance in front of the children, as they can pick up on these negative comments and subconsciously see them as being important, that having the perfect figure is something to strive towards because parents without knowing, are over emphasising the importance of looking good. Another thing is that parents should not be judgmental on their own children’s appearance as again it sends the wrong message. Instead of focusing on appearances, parents could focus on their efforts and what they have done either in school or in a sporting activity etc.
Although pop culture does glamorise people, teenagers need to be aware that it is very unrealistic and that they should work on developing a healthy attitude in their own life through their hobbies and things they enjoy doing in school and out. Girls need to realise that they are all unique individuals, and don’t have to be like everyone else. What matters is on the inside and not on the outside.'
Written by Elizabeth
Indeed, as teenagers grow they tend to care about more on how they look, which all too often become their main focus.
Girl’s self-esteem begins to decline as early as at 5th grade. In one survey it was found that 59% of 5-12th grade girls were dissatisfied with their body shape and 47% of the same girls, said they wanted to lose weight because of photos they saw in magazines. There have been many studies on the effects of pop culture and social media exposure on body image and self esteem. Many of these studies suggest that they set unrealistic expectations about how they should look through the use of perfect looking models.
Most average teenagers get more than two hours of media exposure daily. Being exposed to so much media makes a huge impact on girls nowadays. Glamorised advertising of the perfect girl/women undermines a teenager’s confidence in and comfort with her own body, leading to anxiety, shame, and difficulty in developing a healthy body image and can impact on their self-esteem. Akanksha Shukla, a grade 8 student, makes a comment about the effects of social media, she says, “It makes girls feel like they aren’t enough and makes them feel like they have to aspire towards being like the female icons in films and magazines, which discourages us and gives us a false idea about what we should look like”. Images of tall, skinny beautiful girls and women are everywhere giving us a mental image of what an “ideal” girl/women should look like. When young teenagers look at these so called ‘role models’ they question why they don’t always look perfect and that leads to low self-esteem.
Teenagers with good self-esteem are often confident about themselves and are positive towards life. Teenagers with low self-esteem may not always feel confidant and like what they look like. They may have a poor sense of self worth and would find it hard to see that they are an important and a capable person. Body image is a major factor in self-esteem. Body image is how you see and feel about your body. Poor body image comes from negative thoughts and feelings about your appearance. Where as a healthy body image is made up of thoughts and feelings that are positive. Body image and self-esteem reflect each other. If you don’t like your body, it’s not easy to feel good about yourself.
It is hard for parents to know how to guide their children in the right direction so that they grow to be confident and secure of who they are and what they look like. Glamorised media exposure has been linked to eating disorders, low self-esteem and major depression or depressed mood, which is the most common mental health problem in girls and women. So what can parents do to ensure that this does not happen?
Parents can help their teenagers develop a positive attitude in a number of ways.
They should limit the amount of social media exposure and time spent looking at the TV and online. They should discuss body image issues and ensure that their children are aware that the images on TV and social media sites are glamorised and not realistic and encourage their child to be healthy by being positive in things that they do well in. Although the media, peers, and pop culture have a big influence on teens, parents are still more important when it comes to having an impact on their child’s developing self-esteem.
Other ways that they can help is not to talk about themselves and complain about their own appearance in front of the children, as they can pick up on these negative comments and subconsciously see them as being important, that having the perfect figure is something to strive towards because parents without knowing, are over emphasising the importance of looking good. Another thing is that parents should not be judgmental on their own children’s appearance as again it sends the wrong message. Instead of focusing on appearances, parents could focus on their efforts and what they have done either in school or in a sporting activity etc.
Although pop culture does glamorise people, teenagers need to be aware that it is very unrealistic and that they should work on developing a healthy attitude in their own life through their hobbies and things they enjoy doing in school and out. Girls need to realise that they are all unique individuals, and don’t have to be like everyone else. What matters is on the inside and not on the outside.'
Written by Elizabeth
