The media’s influence does affect society’s opinions and definitions of the ideal body because of the industry’s body and beauty standards. “Many women in the United States feel pressured to measure up to a certain social and cultural ideal of beauty, which can lead to poor body image. Women are constantly bombarded with "Barbie Doll-like" images” says Women’s Health. The media has never seen such a high volume of viewers/consumers of their material, and that can be directly correlated to the easy access in today’s technology driven society. The media depicts women with unobtainable and obviously distorted qualities not found in the average …show more content…
Recent studies have shown that teen depression rates are at an all-time high, many find themselves feeling not good enough, and they feel “worthless”. Some studies have linked teen suicides to unhappiness with their bodies. “Suicidal impulses and attempts are much more common in teenagers who think they are too fat or too thin, regardless of how much they actually weigh, a study found.” reports CBS News. Teenagers are seeing these images plastered by the media, not realizing the images they see are unrealistic. An encouragement and educational website, Just Say Yes, says that “Teens are barraged with a constant stream of media and peer pressures related to body image. The media tells them their value is based on their outward appearance.” The media may not intend for this to happen, however it has been proven that they do have heavy influence on the millennials. Their only intentions might be advertising a product or to entertain, no matter what they truly intend to do, the media sells more than a product in doing so. As the media continues to mislead women on the “average” body should look like, society can only expect an increased rate of negative side effects as a