Human society over the years has been portraying an idealized image of beauty, which has now started harming the psychology of young teenagers. The race to attain a perfect thin figure has begun and the feeling of personal dissatisfaction is sinking deep within the teenagers. They have started perceiving themselves as others do and the thought of what they think about themselves is lost over time. The unrealistic images of beauty being presented today are developing negativity in the minds of adolescents and driving them in the never ending circle of body dissatisfaction.
Teen girls and body image
A woman’s body has been an object of show since the ancient time and this is now proving a hindrance to the booming self confidence of the teenage girls. Ever since the ancient age, girls are portrayed as some work in progress and are forced to perfect themselves. This vicious circle never ends and body dissatisfaction keeps bringing negativity to the life of a teenager. A perfect body shape has almost become a mandatory survival clause to be a famous identity among the peers. It is very common to witness teens with heavy body or thriving flesh on their body being neglected in social groups and this adds to their decremented self confidence.
For all the teenage girls, the photographs of various super models are the idealistic parameters of beauty and from here the race to attain it begins. For those who achieve it to the maximum possible level, end up pressurizing others leading not only to body but emotional dissatisfaction in the teenage girls. Teenage girls influenced by a number of factors have exaggerated the concept of thinness and this is creating tremendous peer pressure. This increasing pressure ends up leaving a teenage girl without emotions and confidence as she is so much focused on her outer appearance rather than her inner thoughts.
Body image and eating disorder
In order to attain the idealized perfect body shape, teenagers resort to unhealthy eating habits which end up leaving them thin but medically unfit. Teenage girls start smoking in order to achieve a thin body contour. Surveys have proved that large fraction of teenage girls suffers from anorexia and bulimia as high as booming 90 percent. Though being hungry, they deny their hunger owing to the fear of gaining weight. The reported cases of obesity in teens have increased over the years. Teenagers resort to dieting plans which neglects the vital nutrients required for them in the adolescent years. The over consciousness and dissatisfaction with the body shape has ended up leaving the teenagers both mentally and physically unhealthy. The necessary nutrients, vitamins and minerals have became absent from their eating plans, being replaced by unhealthy ones leaving them unnourished and weak.
Media and body image
Media has proven a catalyst in hastening this race for the attainment of a perfect body contour. The idealized images of beauty have been circulated and popularized through media and have increased the pressure on teenagers. The idealized teen characters portrayed in media and the airbrushed photographs increase the body dissatisfaction in the teens lowering their self confidence. Media through various advertisements and products, constantly gives messages to the teenage girls that they lack a perfect body shape and must raise consciousness regarding their body contour.
Surveys have proven that a larger fraction of normal weight teenage girls find themselves overweight after witnessing thin idealized images in media. This reduces the level of satisfaction they have and make them strive for a goal which is never ending. This invalid comparison of images leads to over consciousness regarding the body contours and drops down the morale of the teenagers. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that media strives in rendering teens physically so unhappy that they end up buying the products or cosmetics being advertised by them. Indeed today media is playing a vital role in defining “thinness” as the parameter for an attractive personality and capturing the minds of the teenage girls to achieve it.
Wrap up
The vicious circle of over consciousness and body dissatisfaction is never ending. Once a teenage girl gets into it, it becomes very difficult to overcome the fear of an imperfect body shape. An attractive personality is desired by every teenage girl and this desire is driving them on the path of unnourished and unhealthy body regime. The idealized images of beauty are misleading them and increasing the undue pressure on their minds.
