The media s portrayal of men and women causes adolescents to be more critical of themselves. The way the media portrays all these thin beautiful models “sends a message that women have to be a certain weight” (Kathy), and that everybody needs to look like the people they see on television, or in magazines. The media “makes a major impression on these girls who are striving to be perfect” (Maji).
The media has such a powerful influence with it s fashion magazines and stick thin celebrities flaunting all over the television which has given the younger generation of teens and adults to believe that they should look like the models and celebrities portrayed throughout the media, which causes many Americans to turn to drastic measures to be able to feel socially accepted by their peers. Low self-confidence is not just specific to females though. The media is full of unrealistic images of men as well.
Movies have protagonists who are seemingly perfect. They have the perfect hair, their muscular, and even perfectly symmetrical. Images such as these infatuate adolescent girls, and in some cases even boys because when attractive men are used in personal hygiene commercials, boys are more likely to get that product because of the fact that they want to look like the men in the advertisement. In turn driving adolescent men to look like the people in movies, in an attempt to please the girls their age.