Is The Media Affecting Teens to Much?

Teenage girls are not only pressured by magazines to dress like celebrities, but the magazines and media have a big influence on the ways girls physically look. When a very skinny beautiful girl is on the cover of a teens favorite magazine, they will do whatever it takes to look just like them. This is causing many eating disorders amongst teenage girls, such as  bulimia and anorexia, which is changing their lifestyles. According to the article Teen Magazines Send Girls All The Wrong Messages, "Magazines, not television, seem to have the strongest relationship to eating disorders." and "Researchers explain that because television encourages the consumption of high-fat foods, the effect toward eating disorders is minimized. On the other hand, magazines offer more instruction on dieting and therefore seem to be more significantly correlated to eating disorders." Since so many magazines influence dieting, they are causing eating disorders. Also in the article, How the Media Affects Teen Girls, they say "According to the National Eating Disorders Associations, 51% of 9 and 10-year-old girls feel better about themselves when on a diet." Many people agree that eating disorders have become so popular because of the media and fashion magazines. All the girls in the media and magazines are told or forced to be skinny which has an influence to other girls making them want to be skinny like them as well.

Teens and Fashion Magazines

Teenage girls love fashion magazines. Fashion magazines have a huge impact on teens because they are a way teens find the latest trends. Most fashion magazines know their largest target group are teenagers, particularly girls, so these magazines will put popular celebrities on the covers just so teens buy the magazine. Teens will see the cover and say “Oh look who it is! I love her! I HAVE to have that outfit.” Many magazines advertise the companies where celebrities are buying their latest styles. According to the article How Do Teen Magazines Affect Teen Fashion? states, “According to the U.S. Census Bureau, teens between the ages of 13 and 18 spend more than $216 billion each year, and fashion ranks in the top five spending categories.” When teens see their favorite celebrities in the newest trends the teens will go out and buy what that newest trend to be just like their favorite. Without the magazines advertising, teens would create their own trends and wear what they thought was trendy rather than the celebrity styles. Not only do teens look up to celebrities in magazines, they look up to all the younger models they see in the media. For example, in another article titled Media and Girls, it says “Over the past decade, the fashion industry has begun to use younger and younger models, and now commonly presents 12- and 13-year-old girls as if they were women.” These younger girls who model have an influence on how teens want to be. They see in the media that younger girls are modeling and wearing crazy outfits so they feel they can do the same.

Introduction

 

Teenage girls these days look through all the fashion magazines and watch many fashion related television shows. They look up to each and every girl they see on television and in their favorite fashion magazines. Many teenage girls get their inspiration from media and magazines. Magazines have had a huge impact on the way teens dress and the way they try to look. When a teenager sees their favorite celebrity or model wearing something they love they will try to wear that same type of style just to be like them. Media has this same affect on teens. Teens watch all types of crazy reality shows these days which is causing them to want to live up to the celebrities they watch on television. Teens do not realize how much media and fashion magazines are affecting their style and lifestyles.