Ways to Prevent the Social Media From Damaging Your Teenager’s Body Image

One of the famous schools in Dehradun, Ecole Globale tells that the average teenager spends 9 hours per day using media for their enjoyment. Frighteningly, those same teenagers spend less than an average of ten minutes n a daily basis talking to their parents.

It’s seemingly that in those 9 hours of media consumption, your teenager is bombarded with thousands of messages regarding the ‘ideal’ body. These unrealistic and unattainable portrayals of beauty will make for havoc on your teen’s body image if you’re not careful.

Messages Teens Receive regarding Weight

Movies, commercials, magazines, and websites portray beautiful individuals as ideal. Skinny models and Photo-shopped pictures of perfection are everywhere. Diet and beauty items send the message that being thinner and additional attractive is that the key to happiness and success.

The impact is often seen in kids at a young age. The analysis shows kids as young as three like game pieces that depict skinny individuals over those representing heavier ones. By age 14, 80 % of girls are on a diet.

Social Media and the quest for Perfection

It’s not simply traditional media that places teens under pressure to be skinny and beautiful. Social media might have an even more powerful impact on your teen’s body image.

Immediate, peer-to-peer feedback are often addictive for those whose self-esteem really depends on social media affirmations.

Many teenagers crave validation from their peers, and social media may be a quick manner for them to achieve feedback. Whether an adolescent posts a selfie on Instagram, or she views photos of others boasting regarding their “thigh gap” on Tumblr, social influences are often terribly powerful.

Some teenagers spend hours trying to capture a selfie at simply the proper angle. Others gauge their look based on how many likes their latest Facebook picture receives.

Unfortunately, several teens receive harsh criticism and rude comments on social media. Cyberbullying is often quite damaging to a teen’s body image.

The Consequences of Poor Body Image

The pressure to be thin will have serious consequences. Analysis has joined the exposure of pictures of underweight air-brushed female bodies to unhealthy eating habits and reduced self-esteem.

Poor body image will cause even more severe consequences. Whereas some teenagers develop eating disorders, others experience depression. A 2008 study found that girls who were sad with their appearance were at a significantly higher risk for suicide.

Boys and Body Image

It’s not simply girls who are subjected to unrealistic media portrayals of beauty. Superheroes and action figures depict unrealistic body types and start sending boys the wrong messages at a young age. Teenager boys might attempt for the proper body through diet or compulsive exercise. They’ll conjointly develop eating disorders or psychological state issues stemming from poor body image.

How to Combat Media’s Harmful Effects

It’s not possible to stop your teenager from being bombarded with harmful media pictures all the time. Smartphones and increased electronic devices mean your teenage can see perfect versions of beauty everywhere. However, you’ll teach your teenager to be media literate.

• Use real examples. Watch TV along and pause shows and commercials to speak regarding the messages that are being sent. Look at magazines together and discuss the false pictures.
• Talk about marketing efforts. Discuss the ways advertisers use to sell the product. Facilitate your teenage spot underlying messages regarding how a product can create her more attractive.
• Hold conversations regarding unhealthy body pictures. Discuss the harsh realities that underweight models and overly-muscular stars experience. Remark the forceful and unhealthy measures many folks take to obtain these body types, despite the toll it takes on their health.

Make these topics a part of ongoing conversations in your house. Facilitate your teenager to develop a healthy body image, and you’ll cut back the adverse impact media, and social media can have.

This article is contributed by the best boarding schools in Dehradun.