Media and Body Image
For this week's blog post, I decided to take a closer look at the data collected from Common Sense Media on Children, Teens, Media, and Body Image. This current generation of students is very consumed with technology. As a result, problems arise when working with this media.Working at the elementary level, I have seen students as young as kindergarteners reflecting on how they look and compare to things they see on TV. According to the research done by Common Sense:
"Body image is developed in early childhood, and even very young children exhibit body dissatisfaction."
When I read this paper, I wasn't surprised that kids aged five to six years old start to experience body image dissatisfaction. The shocking part to me was that the kids already know about dieting. Some already even engaging in some sort of dieting behavior. "Twenty-six percent of five year olds recommend dieting behavior (not eating junk food, eating less) as a solution for a person who has gained weight and by the time they're seven years old, one in four children has engaged in some kind of dieting behavior" (Lowes & Tiggemann, 2003). Social media plays a huge role in how children think they should look. Television also plays a big role. Both social media and television teach children that thinner is better, and that if you look a certain way, you will be pretty. Kids are comparing themselves to models, cartoon characters, their peers, pictures they seen online, etc. They are doing this at such a young age, and the consequences are very negative.
Social Media and Teens
A second article, also through Common Sense Media, discusses Social Media, Social Life Teens Reveal Their Experiences. I read this article next because I wanted to see how social media was impacting teens' lives. The first article had some shocking statistics about children as young as five having body image problems. I was curious to find information on how this impacts teenagers. One part of the article had teens take a survey on how social media makes them feel. "The survey included a social-emotional well-being (SEWB) scale based on concepts such as happiness, depression, loneliness, confidence, self-esteem, and parental relations."
Using the graphs below, the data showed teens who were on the lowest end of the social-emotional well-being scale have the hardest time with social media in their lives. "Nearly half of teen social media users at the low end of the SEWB scale say social media is “extremely” or “very” important in their lives. Teen social media users on the low end of the scale are also much more likely to say they’ve had a variety of negative responses to social media, such as feeling bad about themselves when nobody comments on or likes their posts; feeling left out or excluded after seeing photos on social media of their friends together at something they weren’t invited to; and deleting social media posts because they didn’t get enough likes. Disturbingly, more than a third (35 percent) say they have been cyberbullied, compared to 5 percent of high-SEWB teens." After reading the stats from this survey, it is very alarming to see what effect social media has on teens who already have low self esteem. Technology has come very far in recent years. It has taken education to new levels, and it's a great way for teachers to differentiate lessons for students. However, its drawbacks can have harmful effects on children of all ages. These drawbacks can cause body image problems, low self esteem, leave students feeling lonely, and can even cause cyberbullying.
(Both pictures from: Common Sense Media )
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