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Medias Impact on
Body Image: A Literature
Review
JOANNE MUK RUI YI
Introduction
The average person will spend seven years, eight months of their lives watching
television and five years, four months on social media (Asano). From print media such
media, most people are constantly exposed to some form of media in their daily lives.
This being so, it is nearly impossible to resist influence from the culture and norms on
body image that the media has been building in society for years (Smith).
It has been a persistent topic of interest, with countless research studies conceived, that
the mass media definitely has an influence on media consumers. Body image
perception would be defined as the way one views their appearance and if they are
satisfied with themselves. The key area of focus should be what new and more defined
factors of the media can be surfaced. For instance, ways the media influences
consumers that have not yet been concluded with certainty, as well as the form of
media which is the heaviest influence on consumers. Lastly, another area in question
would be the differences in demographics and the variety of aspects that the consumers
have been affected. As some of these areas have not been fully discovered, this
literature review will look into them and identify portions needing further research.
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How the mass media has influenced body image perception
With idealised and elusive images and portrayals of a specific body shape by the mass
media (Warren), many researchers have taken it upon themselves to study the effects
of the constant exposure, of the idealised appearance, on media consumers. Apart from
unrealistic appearance standards, Warren also brought up the method used by the
media which is the cause for high levels of body dissatisfaction. Body-shaming and
setting elusive body image goals for the media consumers is the technique Warren
According to Daily Mail, being seen as fat or obese in our society could potentially
cost a person a job (Davies). A survey conducted shows that 56% of the respondents
would consider obesity as a factor during the hiring process, such that respondents
have also mentioned that between two equally qualified candidates where the only
difference between them is their size, they would be biased towards the thinner
candidate. The reason for this discrimination being the idea that larger sized people
would be lazier employees. Such unfair stigmas in society had been increasing from 7%
in 1995 and 1996 to 12% in 2004 to 2006 (Andreyeva, Puhl and Brownell 1131).
Burmeister has narrowed the cause to Media Priming, explaining that even short-term
exposure to media can influence cognitive attitudes (10), thus creating the
Ewoldsen, Roskos-Ewoldsen and Carpentier). This theory was tested in both visual and
written media channels by Domoff et al. (995) and Heuer, McClure and Puhl
respectively. The results brought about by both studies indicated that exposure to the
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overweight caused an increase in dislike for them, proving that the media can be a
to prove his hypothesis of media priming via disparaging weight humour, however,
mentioned that his method was not ideal (30). This calls for a deeper analysis of the
ways in which the media is able to affect the internal thought process of media
consumers.
With the media already portraying derogatory points-of-views on a specific body type,
they further influence media consumers perceptions of body image with their narrow
idealistic body portrayals. Cash stated in his research that people constantly refer to the
media for guidance on the ideals of what defines as attractive. Furthermore, Eyal and
Te'eni-Harari revealed in their study the role models of 391 students. Their study
brought up that amongst the role models of the participants, the most common
dissatisfied with their own appearance because of their role models, which they highly
value as seen from Cashs research. The repeating element of body dissatisfaction is
also proven in a study conducted by Anderson et al. where the participants also desire
body features, such as height, physical appearance and weight, that resemble those
portrayed in the media. Therefore, such idealised standards which are unrealistic,
partnered with the technique of body-shaming, pushes for high levels of dissatisfaction
perpetual display of the perfect looking human being, which surfaces the concern of
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which form of media has the most influence over a persons perception of the ideal body
image.
As mentioned earlier, people view the media as a guideline to standards on body image
and cultural norms (Cash). Studies have shown that media in general has influential
First of all is traditional media such as magazines and television. Magazines do have
the capability to influence perceptions. Brown University Child & Adolescent Behavior
Letter states in the research they conducted the impact of magazine consumers. 69% of
the respondents felt their perceptions of the ideal body had been influenced and 47% of
the respondents expressed desires to lose weight because of the images in the
magazine. In addition, Swiatkowski was able to replicate these results with a narrower
scope. Swiatkowski identified that fashion magazines were significantly related to body
dissatisfaction while health magazines were significantly related to the desire to be thin.
Furthermore, Swiatkowski found that the higher the commitment to magazine, the more
Television is arguably still one of the most influential forms of media today (lonova).
Lynch states that the average person still watches 32 hours of television each week.
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Harrisons study surfaced that television consumers would have an influenced
perception of body image as the participants were found to have a higher possibility of
On the other hand, as for new media, such as social media, one of the worlds leading
forms of media which has 2.34 billion users worldwide (Statistics and facts about social
media usage). The Guardian has reported that social media is the new cause of
media platforms (Ratcliffe). Even though traditional media has set the standards, social
media has taken over in terms of pushing media consumers to achieve the unrealistic
beauty standards. Ratcliffe also stated that 70% of women and 50% of men edit their
images before posting them, hence showing that social media users are pushing each
other to reach the ideal body image. A study conducted by Fardouly et al. supports the
heavy influence of social media. The research had a group of participants who were to
website. Participants who were part of the first group reported higher levels of
researchers ably proving that their studied platform of media influences body image
perception, one needs to find out and recognise which form of media would be the
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Demographic differences of medias influence on body image perception
The largest, most prominent differences when it comes to the demographics studied by
When it comes to gender, Warren has pointed out that the stereotypical expectations of
each gender from society is widely differing since birth. The females are ideally to have
perfect, youthful looks, while the males are valued for their brains and not just their
image differences, the males were more concerned about their height while females
were more concerned about their weight. In addition, van den Berg et al. found that
there was a more significant direct and indirect link of medias impact of body
satisfaction in females than in males, bringing about the idea that females could be
originally more dissatisfied with their bodies (Women more unhappy with their bodies
than men). Building on the influence of media on genders, Moriarty and Harrison
conducted a study which proved that females were more affected than males as they
consumption. However, a study conducted by Hobza et al. has shown that men are no
exceptions to the influence of media on body image. The study showed that males had
low body-esteem after viewing media-portrayed ideal bodies of other men, indicating
that further research on media influence on body image should have equal emphasis on
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In the same research that Moriarty and Harrison performed, they were also able to
identify a disparity on media influence between races. Even though Black females
reported higher television consumption, their perception of body size and interest in
ideal body image were consistent with those of the White female participants, thus
showing the varied levels of impact on the two races. Another study conducted by
Okodogbe supports the racial difference of media impact. Okodogbe found that media
internalisation was more significantly related to appearance concern for White females
than Black females. However, Black females were also found to be generally more
concerned about their appearances than White females. Race, being a factor not
commonly explored, can be a topic of interest when researching more in depth on race
Singapore.
Conclusion
All in all, there is a near definite conclusion that the media does influence body image
perception of every person. From the internal thought process of media consumers, to
the different media platforms and finally to the demographic differences of media
consumers. The review has proven that there are still new areas of focus to be
human interest.
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The only ambiguity or variants being the level of media internalisation and direct
influence on the different demographics explored in this review, as well as each form of
media and their individual extent or capability of influence in the modern day. Another
area in need of further research and clarification is the method by which the media is
able to alter our cognitive attitudes, possibly via the short-term theory of media priming.
The research used in this literature review are based overseas, and will be used to
1798 words
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Works Cited
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Cash, Thomas F. The Influence of Sociocultural Factors on Body Image: Searching for
Constructs. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, vol. 12, no. 4, 2005, pp.
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Davies, Madlen. Why being fat could cost you a job: Obese people are seen as
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2014, www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2736449/Why-fat-cost-job-Obese-
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Domoff, Sarah E., et al. The Effects of Reality Television on Weight Bias: An
Examination of the Biggest Loser. Obesity, vol. 20, no. 5, 2012, pp. 993-998.
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and early adolescents body image perception: The role of favorite characters.
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Lonova, Katya. Why TV is still the most effective advertising medium. CNBC Catalyst,
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Swiatkowski, Paulina. Magazine influence on body dissatisfaction: Fashion vs health?
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