Do Media Cause Individuals To Develop Negative Body Images?

"With approximately six billion people in the world, and a mere ten million of them suffering with some type of disordered eating" (.18% of the overall population -- less than a ¼ of 1%)  (Something-Fishy.org).
The media's portrayal of  women in commercials has an effect in the long run because it can cause eating disorders for women that desire to be like what they see. In other words, yes, media does a great job of making women feel like they are not only objects but need to be a certain weight in order to be accepted. This idea is very wrong and it is sad that it happens.

According to something-fishy.org, "The average woman model weighs up to 25% less than the typical woman and maintains a weight at about 15 to 20 percent below what is considered healthy for her age and height." I think that a lot of women do not know this fact and that is why it continues to be a problem in society. Think of all the diet advertisements that you see every day on losing weight. A lot right? Indeed because people want to "look good" and "fit". Although there is nothing wrong with getting fit and looking good, the media takes it to the next level because of the large amount of skinny and unhealthy models that they show in commercials. 


So what can be done to solve the problem? Does every teenage girl have to turn off the TV and not be sucked into the media's view of women so that she does not get an eating disorder? Of course not. It's important to let young ones know that what they see on TV is not real and that most of the time it is computer animated. I think that educating kids about the media and the dangers that it can have on people in society will in turn make the world a better place and eventually end the messages that it sends kids and young adults.