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The Effect of Peer Pressure and Media Influences on Body Image in Adolescents



EssayChat / Dec 27, 2016

Adolescence is a transition stage in life when an individual is confronted with substantive social, psychological and cognitive change. Some are able to go through this stage with aplomb while others have to struggle. As a result, it is not uncommon for adolescents to become keenly aware of their bodies and weights. Evidently, todays teenagers have their own conceptions of how their looks are acceptable or not based on what they perceive are ideal to their peers and to society. Indeed, body image satisfaction among adolescents has been proven by numerous studies as an important risk factor for low self-esteem, eating disorders, depression and other psychological dilemmas. In a study conducted by the Youth Risk Behavior Survey in 2006, it was discovered that at least 45.6% of students strive to lose weight, with 61.7% of this population consisting of females. This is unsurprising considering the proliferation of advertisements that glorify slimness. The socio-cultural approach is advantageous in exploring this phenomenon. According to this perspective, societal elements powerfully impact the development and maintenance of body image through the creation of an appearance culture that values, reinforces, and models cultural ideals of beauty and body shape. This means to say that young people are striving to lose weight because of a pervading culture among them that compels them to be thin as this is the ideal body shape dictated by that culture. This paper asserts that societal elements that drive adolescents to lose weight in order to achieve the ideal body image, are peer pressure and media influences.

Body Image Issues



Student Body ImageTimes have definitely changed with regards to what adolescents think are important to them. Among some of the most noticeable changes that affect adolescents lives is the seeming obsession to be thin since they relate low-body weight to attractiveness. Many researchers have noted that the attempt to conform to societal norms of attractiveness is not uncommon and is quite normal for adolescents because they are still trying to find their places in society. However, this desire tends to become intensely magnified due to social pressures such as peer acceptance and peer approval that compel these young people to go to extreme means just for the purpose of losing weight. For instance, the cheerleading squad in a high school may be full of slim girls who give disparaging remarks to anyone who wants to join the team but does not fit the usual desirable physical appearance. A teenager who has a big body build will strive to achieve a thinner look even if this is not possible in order to get accepted as a cheer leader. This can lead to unhealthy eating habits that may become an eating disorder. It is not unusual for some teenagers to suffer from bulimia or anorexia nervosa just because of their desire to become thin.

Researchers assert that the quest for thinness has been starting at a younger age, and lasts beyond the adolescence stage contrary to earlier times when weight was not exactly a dominant theme among youths. Therefore, girls as young as six or seven years old are becoming conscious about being overweight and desire a thinner ideal (Dohnt & Tigermann). This is mostly the result of being exposed to different media where thinness is being touted as the ideal state for women. Hence, the normative discontent for body dissatisfaction now encompasses very young girls. This has been observed among increasing numbers of teenage boys as well, which does not seem to bode well for the future generations. Being thin should not be mistaken for being healthy. There are people who have heavy weights but do not suffer from any medical problems; similarly, there are many thin individuals who are not physically fit and suffer from many low weight-related problems.

Why do young people and adolescents feel and act this way? During the teenage years, friends create a social world that is governed by norms and expectations that, in turn, represent and form behaviors and attitudes toward concerns such as academic performance, anti-social activities, experimentation with drugs and alcohol, among others (Jones). Aside from this, adolescents also frequently consult one another about their looks, what they should wear and what attractiveness really means. Every day, they construct and interpret information associated with appearance ideals. Ultimately, young people are motivated by the things that will ensure peer acceptance. Teenagers fear that they will no longer be accepted in their adolescent world composed of fears if their looks do not conform to the aforementioned norms and expectations. This appearance-based peer acceptance exists in almost every social clique formed by young people. Usually, those who become popular in schools are people who embody the ideal appearance of the age group; in turn, these individuals dictate how others should also look. It does not matter whether or not they are doing right because for them, the opinions of their peers matter more than what their elders think.

Peer and Media Influence



It is established in literature that the ideal appearance among adolescents is thinness, particularly among females. This thin ideal is transmitted to and among young people through two major channels: peer pressure and media influence.

Peer Pressure



Peers play a prominent role in young peoples lives. Adolescent attitudes about weight concerns are linked to perceived peer pressure from peers to be thin. To note, peer criticism about appearance has been studied numerous times and have been found to be a reality among teenagers. Peers exert influence over one another through socialization and selection processes. From the perspective of socialization theory, peers talk about thinness and dieting thereby enhancing pre-existing similarities in weight and shape attitudes. Specifically, socialization processes such as reinforcement (including rewards for conformity and punishments for deviating from norms) and peer modeling (emulating peer behaviors) have been negatively associated with unhealthy body attitudes and imaging. When a young person belongs to a peer group composed of ultra-thin friends, then the expected response upon such an individual is to diet, exercise or do certain activities in order to feel belongingness and acceptance.

Meanwhile, selection theory states that a teenager may choose friends with whom they share similar pre-existing attitudes and behaviors related to the importance of body weight and shape. Therefore, fat girls are usually excluded from in peer groups. Young people do not like feeling left out of peer groups and activities. As a result, even if they have to go to extremes such as substance use or extreme and crash dieting, an adolescent would continue seeking peer acceptance and approval. This means to say that peer pressures drive the body image of a teenager.

There are those individuals who could resist peer pressures because they have strong support groups among their own friends who look at them beyond their physical appearances. They also find affirmation and affection among their family such that conforming to what is considered ideal in their schools or among popular teenager is not a problem for them because they know who they are and they are more concerned about what their families and friends would think of them. Of course, majority of young people though are more concerned about how they can be like others especially the popular ones since it is normal for their age to want attention and recognition from others when they cannot get it from home. This is also the result of the pervading culture in society where young people take more notice about what others of their age would say about them rather than be happy with how their families regard them. But this is also not their fault considering how family bonding time is non-existent in many families. If youths receive as much affirmation and support from their homes as they are supposed to, then, they would not be as affected as they are now of what their peers think of them. But societal values have already changed to such a degree that changing it at this point is not likely possible.

Media Influence



Media usage among teenagers is considerably heavy because of the newer forms of entertainment available to them. Extant literature attests that mass media is the most powerful conveyor of socio-cultural needs (Palmqvist & Santavirta). Not only does the media consistently portray images of an unrealistically thin ideal, they are also sources of information as to how to accomplish ultra-thinness. It has also become common among media outlets to edit their models figures and shapes using modern editing tools to make them appear thin and fit when, in fact, they are slightly overweight or do not look as good as they appear on the magazines covers.

Alternatively, the media can also convey undesirability of being overweight as suggested by the use of editing tools to alter models figures and shapes. Even celebrities are subjected to these editing tools because their fame and their appearances are not good enough for magazine covers. Girls and boys who look to magazines and advertisements have the propensity to experience body dissatisfaction because of the evident discrepancy between their own body weights and body shapes with that of models or celebrities. In fact, in a study conducted n 2009, it was reported that 69% of adolescent girls have body images that are influenced by what they see in magazines and 47% disclosed that images of very thin models motivated them to diet and lose weight. Losing weight, per se, is not a negative thing when done for the right reasons. Some teenagers will really need to watch their weight because this can also be problematic for their health. But those who diet and lose weight for the sake of looking good to others may end up with serious eating disorders.

Academic discourse point to media influence as one of the most important contributors to eating disorders among adolescents. At risk here are very young children who are also exposed to the same media message of thin being the in thing. Thus, it is very important for young children to be guided when they are watching shows or advertisements that seek to promote thinness.

Gender Differences



The near-obsession about being thin is definitely more prevalent among girls. However, it has been noted in several studies that boys and girls experience the same internalization of appearance ideals. Whereas girls tend to be heavily influenced by peer pressure and media messages to be thin, boys feel the same societal cues towards gaining muscularity. Because of this, while girls are more focused about losing weight, boys have the propensity to adopt strategies so that they will achieve the muscular, V-shaped sociocultural ideal body (Ata, et al.). In the same way that girls near obsession to thinness could lead to eating disorders, adolescent boys can also go to extreme means to achieve a muscular body such as by taking steroids. The general point here is that both boys and girls can experience the same body image dissatisfaction as a result of peer pressure and media influence. Nevertheless, body dissatisfaction is stronger among girls compared to boys.

Impacts of Body Dissatisfaction



As mentioned earlier, dissatisfaction with body image is a risk factor for eating disorders, depression and substance abuse, among other things. The following is an overview of the impacts of a negative self body image:

Eating Disorders



Adolescence is a vulnerable time for girls to develop disordered eating as a result of the intense desire to be thin. The desire to be thin is further exacerbated by physical changes associated with puberty, the onset of dating as well as peer pressure and media influences. Nevertheless, although most teenagers are exposed to the same societal factors that promote thinness, only a handful go through extreme experiences such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia. The reason for this is because these few young people have very low self-esteems that complicate their negative perception of their body images. At the other end of the spectrum, girls who have eating disorders (this is rare among boys) strive for perfectionism. As a result of cultural norms among adolescent cliques, this image of perfection revolves around an unrealistically thin bodily figure.

Friendships



It is unfortunate that friendships are impacted by negative body image. This does not mean to say that the desire to lose weight breaks friendships. Instead, friendships among peers tend to promote the same beliefs and behaviors towards being thin that the means of achieving thinness are done together by friends. Because the desire to be thin is influenced by friends opinions, there are times when members of the peer group take drugs in order to reach their desired weight. An unwilling teenager becomes willing to try measures being undertaken by friends to lose weight simply they do not want to risk social acceptance and approval within the peer group.

Recommended Interventions



To a certain extent, the desire to lose weight could be healthy. However, the near obsession that certain young people have to attain an unrealistic body weight has alarmed many because of the fact that this can lead to eating disorders or even mental problems. Crucial here is the question as to why teenagers go to extreme means in order to be ultra thin. According to McVey, Pepler, Davis, Flett and Abdolell, just as there are risk factors to the desire to be very thin (peer influence, mass media), there are also protective factors that young people, their parents and school authorities need to be aware about so that there would be more focus on the positive than the negative. Based on developmental theory, the stage of adolescence is impacted by a teenagers personal characteristics and resources available to him or her. The ability of the teenager to organize experience is predictive of subsequent adaptive or maladaptive behavior. Protective resources can be the source of strength for teenagers, so that they can resist peer pressure or any media message which they know will be harmful for them. Two important protective factors are meaningful relationships with friends and family members; and, a good self-esteem. Teenagers will be better equipped if they have role models such as parent, older sibling, or teacher, from which behavior may be patterned. When a teenager has meaningful relationships with these role models, negative peer remarks will not seem as important. IN addition to these, teenagers must be taught at home and in school, certain skills regarding enhancing self-esteem. After all, a low self-esteem is also a contributor to a negative self body image that makes one vulnerable to peer pressure and media messages.

Conclusion

Among the studies cited in this paper, Carlson Jones (at times cited to as Jones only) has the most consistent perspective regarding the interplay of peer pressure, body image and media influence. Her articles are often-cited within literature, and a closer inspection of her work reveals that she tends to use the quantitative approach even a longitudinal one to obtain better insights about the need of youths to be thin. Most other studies also take the quantitative approach to studying this phenomenon. Although these studies are grounded on relevant socio-cultural, societal and developmental theory, it is somewhat disappointing that none of them takes the phenomenological approach to studying the association between body image, peer pressure and media influence. A phenomenological approach would enable the researcher to study this topic from the lens of the teenagers themselves. This approach may not be able to provide insight regarding statistical or quantitative terms, but an in-depth interview would enable researchers to explore the specific struggles, triumphs and failures that young people encounter as they strive to deal with their body images. It would also be beneficial to conduct more studies on boys, and specifically, why some of them cross the line between desiring muscularity and eating disorders. This is a rare condition but a phenomenological approach to this type of study will provide insight that could be very helpful to teenagers and their guardians.

References

Ata, R. N., Ludden, A., & Lally, M. M. The effects of gender and family, friend, and media influences on eating behaviors and body image during adolescence.

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36(8), 1024-1037.

Jones, D. C. Body image among adolescent girls and boys: A longitudinal study.

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Dohnt, H. K., & Tiggemann, M. Body image concerns in young girls: The role of peers and media prior to adolescence. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 35(2), 135-145.

Gerner, B., & Wilson, P. H. The relationship between friendship factors and adolescent girls' body image concern, body dissatisfaction, and restrained eating.

International Journal of Eating Disorders, 37(4), 313-320.

Hutchinson, D.M., Rapee, R.M. & Taylopr, A. Body dissatisfaction and eating disturbances in early adolescence. A structural modeling investigation examining negative affect and peer factors. The Journal of Early Adolescence 30, 489-517.

Jones, D., & Crawford, J. K. The peer appearance culture during adolescence: Gender and body mass variations. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 35(2), 243-255.

Jones, D.C., Vigfusdottir, T.H. & Lee, Y. Conversations, peer criticism, appearance magazines, and the internalization of appearance ideals body image and the appearance culture among adolescent girls and boys: An examination of friend. Journal of Adolescent Research 19, 323-339.

McVey, G.L., Pepler, D., Davis, R., Flett, G.L. & Abdolell, M. Risk and protective factors associated with disordered eating during early adolescence.

The Journal of Early Adolescence 22, 75-94.

Palmqvist, R., & Santavirta, N. What friends are for: The relationships between body image, substance use, and peer influence among Finnish adolescents. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 35(2), 192-206.

Phares, V., Steinberg, A. R., & Thompson, J. Gender differences in peer and parental influences: Body image disturbance, self-worth, and psychological functioning in preadolescent children. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 33(5), 421-429.

Ricciardelli, L. A., McCabe, M. P., Lillis, J., & Thomas, K. A longitudinal investigation of the development of weight and muscle concerns among preadolescent boys. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 35(2), 168-178.


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