Body Image Amanda Harripersaud Eng 1108 – 03, Professor Synstelien

1. Body Image Amanda Harripersaud Eng 1108 – 03, Professor Synstelien Inver Hills Community College What Do These Images Mean? Mind Map BACKGROUND In the top left and right corners are the Facebook logos which most teenagers are very familiar with. On the middle right is a picture of a young girl who looks in the mirror. She is very skinny in reality however when she looks in the mirror she sees something completely different and sees herself as chubby.In the bottom picture in the middle there is a graph about how kids of different ages think of themselves.. There was a test done to see what kindergartners, first graders, and second graders thought about themselves They either wanted to look like Barbie or Emmy. Most of the kids chose Barbie. • Assignment • I am going an informative research project for my English 1108-03 class. It is a semester long research project. The topic I chose to research is body image and how it effects young girls when they see ads on the internet. I chose this topic because I think it is an interesting topic and I would love to see if a correlation between social media and negative body image exists. • Thesis: • Social Media has influenced how teenagers visualize their own body image. Paragraph Summarizing Paper Dev. Definitions: Body image is the visual way people see themselves physically. Teenagers are young girls from the ages of 12-21. Social media is used for communication and entertainment purposes where people can exchange information for both social and professional reasons. Facebook is a website where people can make a profile including information about themselves and post pictures. People can interact and talk to each other using this website. Influence is a thing having the capacity to make a huge change. History: Before social media people would see beautiful models or actors and actresses on television or even in magazines. Body image resolved around how the models and actors looked and most young girls looked up to these beautiful people as people to look up to. Body image has been around for centuries. For western culture it is expected to look beautiful, have hair and makeup done, as well as being skinny. Social media began in the 1990’s with sites such as sex degrees and classmates.com. People began using these sites to talk to other people and stare at pictures. Facebook has become one of the most used websites in the world. People are using social media more and more and the roles of body image are really sticking out. People aren't staring at a magazine for a couple of seconds or driving past a billboard anymore. People are physically staring at a computer screen for hours on end looking at pictures. Theory: The theory driving my researching this term is that society influences body image by Paul Schilder. Paul Schilder is the man who came up with what the concept of body image really is. He was a psychiatrist who looked at how people think mentally and how it connects to society. His belief was that body image begins with an infant that takes and blends personalities from other people to make their own personality. He believed that boding with other people changes a persons view on how they view themselves. He was able to prove that society is the main aspect that shapes who a person becomes. Cause and Effect Social media effects body image because it causes people to stare at pictures on Facebook for hours on end. Facebook is an addictive website and people end up sitting on the computer staring for hours. Facebook has ads on the sides where they advertise diet pills and have various other ads with women in bikinis. This effects teenage girls because they are constantly staring at the task of bettering their body image to societies expected norm of being thin. BIBLIOGRAPHY Arnold, Carrie. “Inside Wrong Body.” Scientific American Mind 23.2 (2012): 36. MasterFILE Premier. Web.29 Jan.2013. “Body Dissatisfaction and the Media.” Nutrition Research Newsletter May 2000: Gale Student Resources in Context. Web. 29 Jan. 2013. Facebook-Logo. N.d. Photograph. Web. 9 Feb. 2013. Goble Gordon.”The History of Social Networking.” Digital Trends. 7 Feb. 2013. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall | The Star Online. N.d. Photograph. The Star Online. 17 May 2009. Web. 09 Feb. 2013. Science Blogs. N.d. Photograph. Cognitive Daily. By Dave Munger. 19 Apr. 2006. Web. 09 Feb. 2013. Sharps, Matthew J., Jana L, Price-Sharps, and John Hanson. “Body Image Preference In The United States And Rural Thailand: An Exploratory Study.” Journal of Psychology 135.5 (2001): 518. EBSCO MegaFILE. Web. 29 Jan. 2013. Ximia Ramirez."Facebook Use Leads to Negative Body Image and Eating Disorders." Care2. N.p., 9 Feb. 2011. Web. 7 Feb. 2013.013.