Literature Review
The Media and Self-Esteem in Adolescent Boys
Valerie Sutter
Self-esteem plays a central role in mental health, yet not enough is known about how youth evaluate themselves as they move across adolescence. While adolescent girls traditionally exhibit lower self-esteem than their male counterparts, research shows that messages adolescent boys receive from the media can damage their feelings of self-worth and negatively affect their behavior. The media portrays young men in an unrealistic manner, thereby causing unrealistic expectations of physical prowess, appearance, intellect and attractiveness to the opposite sex. When these idealistic expectations are not met, many young men are overwhelmed with feelings of inadequacy and may choose to withdraw, become sullen or act out in a violent manner. Additionally, the media glorifies violence, both in real and fiction genres. Most news services excessively cover violence perpetrated by adolescent boys; which combined with other media violence, may inspire some young men to commit copy-cat crimes in order to gain this same attention, perceived vindication and negative recognition.
Self-reported influences on self-esteem involving the media, sexual harassment, body image, family and peer relationships, and emotional expression were evaluated with 93 boys and 116 girls in Grades 5, 8, and 12. Girls reported lower self-esteem than boys in early adolescence, and late adolescent boys reported lower self-esteem than younger boys. The predictors as a set accounted for a significant portion of the variance in self-esteem, while the best predictor of self-esteem varied by age and gender. Large gender differences were present for emotional expression, with boys becoming more restrictive across adolescence. Girls reported more negative body image and media influence scores than did boys in late childhood and early adolescence. Body image appeared to mediate the relationships between certain predictors and self-esteem for girls, while gender and grade appeared to moderate the relationship between media influence and self-esteem for girls and boys. (Polce-Lynch, M., Myers, B J, Kliewer, W., & Kilmartin, C. (April 1998)).
The Essay on Self Esteem Boys Peers Early
... media and social interactions with peers. Early developing girls have less positive body images than boys, which greatly contributes to self-esteem. Boys ... esteem. Both boys and girls that are perceived as less attractive usually have a lower self-esteem. Low self-esteem in adolescence ... to the low self-esteem in adolescent females. Webster! |s dictionary defines self-esteem as "an objective respect ...
Prusank argued that the ability of popular teen magazines to continuously present huge images of traditional young women in the face of social change is enabled by representations of young men who are fusions of the sensitive, emotionally expressive and respectful “new man” with the naturally/inherently socially, emotionally and physically dominant man. The dominant images of men presented as both shapeless and universal contrasts with the images of the more pure version of the new men presented in these same magazines. The strategies used within these magazines contribute to a culture where teen girls are both in awe and in fear of their teen boy counterparts and focused on the personal rather than the social and political. (Prusank, D T (Spring 2007)).
The Polce-Lynch (et-al) 2001 study Adolescent Self-Esteem and Gender: Exploring Relations to Sexual Harassment, Body Image, Media Influence, and Emotional Expression examines from a qualitative standpoint gender and age patterns in body image, emotional expression, and self-esteem for a total of 209 boys and girls in the fifth, eighth, and twelfth grades. Seventy-six percent of the sample was Caucasian, 18% African-American, 5% Asian-American, and .5% Hispanic. A major finding indicates that boys restrict emotional expression from early adolescence through late adolescence, while girls increase emotional expression during the same age period. Another major finding suggests that girls in late childhood and adolescence are both more negatively and more positively influenced than boys by body image. Both boys’ and girls’ feelings about themselves are primarily influenced in gender-stereotyped ways. These gender stereotypes are prevalent in the media images teen boys are bombarded with.
The Essay on Does Media Violence Cause Societal Violence
Does Media Violence Cause Societal Violence? Media violence has been a subject of heated debates. Violence on TV has been widely studied and the vast majority of researchers agree that viewing media violence poses significant risk to society. However, similar to any other issue, there society has divided into two camps, those who claim that media violence is harmful and, therefore, poses a threat ...
Concerns over the relation between media use and adolescent health behaviors have shaped health curricula in high schools. Missing from this area’s literature is how teens characterize their own media use and thoughts on media’s place in their own lives. This gap challenges educators tasked with media and health instruction. The authors of Keeping pace with teen media use: implications and strategies for educators (Fuller, H A, & Damico, A M (July-August 2008)) explored adolescents’ media preferences and insights surrounding media use and its implications. Participants were 21 students from a large (2,200 students) economically and racially diverse high school who participated in semi-structured, 1-on-1 interviews. Results of this study reveal a variety of perspectives on issues such as satisfaction and remorse in media use, parental concerns over media use, and the influence of the media on personal health behaviors as well as violent propensities.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes exposure to violence in media, including television, movies, music, and video games, as a significant risk to the health of children and adolescents. Extensive research evidence indicates that media violence can contribute to aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, nightmares, and fear of being harmed. It is not violence itself but the context in which it is portrayed that can make the difference between learning about violence and learning to be violent. (PEDIATRICS Vol. 108 No. 5 November 2001, pp. 1222-1226) While television executives promise less violence, they are simultaneously pushing the latest fad in violent entertainment, the misnamed “reality-based television.” Many “reality” shows, while based on case histories of real crimes, are a poor approximation of reality. Although they show numerous shootings, they rarely show the suffering that accompanies the shootings. Indeed, for all the graphic violence, television and film portrayals of gunfights are highly unrealistic. The cameras quickly cut away from dead and dying bodies. The fast break to the commercial teaches no lesson about the permanency of death or injury. Few quadriplegics with shattered spines populate the world of television shootings. (David B. Kopel, Spring 1995).
The Essay on Does Media Violence Effect Society
Media is undoubtedly the greatest medium of communication in our society, but how does medias portrayal of violence affect us as a whole? Is musics explicit lyrics and televisions raunchy and violent content the cause of our downfall, or is it merely an accurate depiction of todays society? Two young males were fatally shot with multiple gun wounds to the head and chest, how many times have we all ...
According to the study by Escobar-Chaves, S. L., Tortolero, S R, Markham, C M, Low, B J, Eitel, P., & Thickstun, P. (July 2005).
Impact of the media on adolescent sexual attitudes and behaviors. Pediatrics, adolescents in the United States are engaging in sexual activity at early ages and with multiple partners. The mass media have been shown to affect a broad range of adolescent health-related attitudes and behaviors including violence, eating disorders, and tobacco and alcohol use. One largely unexplored factor that may contribute to adolescents’ sexual activity is their exposure to mass media. This study sought to determine of what is and is not known on a scientific basis of the effects of mass media on adolescent sexual attitudes and behaviors.
