The Beauty of The Human Body

The body image has passed through history, where it has been concerned with the beauty of the human body. Every change in the society around it, the emergence of the media, the change of culture, and its impact on other cultures affect people’s thinking of their body, but these changes in their lives are not always successful. Today a lot of media has emerged that can be influenced by people’s thinking about the shape of their bodies which leads to dissatisfaction and the look of the tightness of mind and bad behavior towards themselves which will affect their lives and their relationships with others (Brazier, 2017). Today, body image is a very popular topic because most people have awareness about how they look compared to people in the media. Media has strong effects on body image, but it has more negative effects than positive effects. The image of the body is defined in several ways, including people’s thinking and feelings are towards the general shape of their bodies, and where the body image is of multiple dimensions and consists of two cognitive and emotional parts.

The cognitive section includes self-reflection about the body, the other section is the emotional section is through personal experiences, including psychological comfort and self-satisfaction of the body image. This emotional section depends on people’s thinking and interpretation (Sparhawk, 2003). Body image is preoccupied with excessive thinking of the external appearance. According to Brown University, in one study, 74.4% of women think of natural weight all the time. But women were not alone. The study also found that 46% of men think the same way women think about weight (n.d.). Most of the thinking the increasing preoccupation with how to change the appearance and dissatisfaction in how the body image is negative, which generates a sense of despair and indignation of the image of the body. Therefore, people may use the wrong practices that lead to loss to weight and size, like dieting is not suitable for the nature of the body and the use of stimulants or drugs may lead to other health diseases (Brown University, n.d.).Also, the people think that women are more likely than men to be dissatisfied with their bodies, but some studies have shown the opposite.

According to Medical News Today “studies show that men are also concerned about their appearance. According to one report, 95 % of male college students are dissatisfied with some aspects of their bodies” (Brazier, 2017). Today, with the development of the media, people think that men and women are very much alike in the negative way of thinking towards their bodies and are influenced by the media that is exposed every day in our lives. However, men are more reserved for their thinking and keeping their secrets while women show their thinking and how they feel to others.

Over the millennia, media has been thought to affect people who consume it a lot in a negative way. As reported by Starker (1989), In the 20th century, Newspapers that support the emergence of films have been attacked more than because where films were thought to have negative effects (cited in Kirsh, 2010). In other research, Jowett, Jarive,& Fuller (1969 ) In 1930, the first large-scale experimental study of youth media, which included investigating the impact of watching movies to children and teenagers. At the end of the study, the negative results included the emergence of negative stereotypes, poor sleep habits, low levels of cooperation, and increased anxiety.

However, the introduction of a new form of media does not guarantee the negative impact. For example, the radio was not seen as a threat to young people until the receivers were found in 90% of American homes, about 40 years after it was brought into their homes (cited in Kirsh, 2010). Another example of the recent appearance of television in the homes of most people and its widespread throughout the world has not had a negative impact on body image thinking but has been limited to the dissemination of political and sports news.

But over time the emergence of varied channels and advertising to market products for all groups of the society of children, adolescents and mature and their way of thinking the direction of their bodies. Many people also think that media such as television, advertising, and celebrities in social media have a strong influence on the body’s image and how people view their bodies (GoodTherapy.org, n.d.). In the US, children spend about seven to nine hours a day. they are using more than one form of media at one time. For example, they use computers, phone, video games, and other media(Conway, 2013). That the use of long hours and continuous affects people and their thinking, especially children and adolescents, which lies in the emergence of negative effects that lead to recklessness and the use of means unsuitable for their ages to feel satisfied with themselves and the image of their bodies. Where they believe that comparing themselves to those in the media and imitating them increases their love for themselves and high self-confidence. According to Conway, most agree that three steps are required. First, when people use the media, they accept all ideas about beauty. Second, they start thinking about themselves and compare. Third, they start to change on themselves or work hard on their look (Conway, 2013). Body image and media are not a simple issue because the effects of the media on the image of the body are many and change with the change of time. The use of social media in abundance affects the increased fears of the image of the body, especially if users consume certain types of activities on social media, such as make-up comparisons to others.

The most famous examples of these products are shampoo ads, where most women compare the softness of her hair with the softness of the actress who appears in television advertising and believes that this product is a major cause of her hair and there are many advertisements that affect the thinking of women. According to Fardouly & Vartanian, as well as other cases similar to those found for traditional media such as magazines available examples indicate that the body image must be addressed through awareness programs and educating people, especially children, and adolescents, to minimize the potential impact of social media on them and their negative thinking about the impact of comparisons of such content on Fears of appearance for example, interference programs can shed light on idealism nature of images and content uploaded to social media and educating children and adolescents about appearance fears (Fardouly & Vartanian, 2016).

The positive impact of the media is that some people think about their bodies in a positive way and that they are happy and satisfied with their body and appearance. And that the media just help them to follow a healthy lifestyle, a balanced diet, and exercise. All these examples contribute to a positive image (Brazier, 2017). For example, if a teenager saw an announcement about a new hair color the girl, in this case, is able to appreciate herself and that the value of the self is not linked to the appearance and is satisfied with herself but looks to keep up with fashion because it is one of the hobbies and attention to the new fashion world. Good Therapy.org report in the article, Some people need to modify some of the parts of their appearance that they feel they need to adjust but do not cause them anxiety does not affect the dissatisfaction and self-confidence and keep the positive thinking of the person believing it is just a health flaw (GoodTherapy.org, n.d.). There are two examples of the positive impact of the media on thinking about the image of the body.

The first example is that if a person has a long nose with a congenital malformation and he watches TV commercials and that is about the most famous doctors in the world of beauty, this person starts thinking about going to improve the problem he has. Another example is that if a girl was suffering from hair loss and sees it as a health problem that should be treated as soon as possible, she resorts to searching the internet or magazines for a way to help her get rid of this problem.

So, in all the examples here people only need to solve their problem so that this problem does not make them dissatisfied with themselves and just do not make them compare themselves with other famous media. Now, all people are thinking about body image more and more because they have media. Media which make them compared their look to people in the media. Also, media has negative and positive effects, but the negative effects are more widespread than the positive effects. There are three pieces of advice to make people satisfied with themselves. First, they should remember that beauty is not just about appearances. Second, they avoid the media that makes them feel like they should be something different. Third, they should use the time spent on media in the practice of a hobby or anything that brings you happiness and positive thinking.

Works Cited

1. Brazier, Y. (2017). The media's influence on body image disturbance and eating disorders: We've reviled them, now can we rehabilitate them? Journal of Eating Disorders, 5(1), 1-7.
2. Brown University. (n.d.). Body image and the media. Retrieved from https://www.brown.edu/campus-life/health/services/promotion/nutrition-eating-concerns/eating-concerns/body-image-and-media
3. Conway, K. (2013). Media and body image. The Prevention Researcher, 20(3), 8-11.
4. Fardouly, J., & Vartanian, L. R. (2016). Social media and body image concerns: Current research and future directions. Current Opinion in Psychology, 9, 1-5.
5. GoodTherapy.org. (n.d.). Body image and the media. Retrieved from https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/body-image-media
6. Jowett, S., Jarvie, I. C., & Fuller, J. (1969). The media and socialization. In S. Jowett & L. O'Donnell (Eds.), Propaganda and persuasion (pp. 109-126). Sage Publications.
7. Kirsh, S. J. (2010). Media and youth: A developmental perspective. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 1(2), 162-171.
8. Sparhawk, K. (2003). Cognitive influences on body image dissatisfaction: A review of theory and research. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 22(2), 138-156.
9. Starker, S. (1989). Ideologies of the image of the body in film. Cultural Studies, 3(3), 381-398.
10. University of Minnesota. (n.d.). Body image and the media. Retrieved from https://www.cehd.umn.edu/fsos/projects/bodyimage/effects/