Impact Of Mass Media On Adolescent Health: ”the Dark Side”
Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, & Signorielli, 1982).
Even more alarming is the issue of BODY IMAGE. Young adolescents are led to believe that the media-created image of the ideal body is how their bodies should look (Davies, 1993). This leads to girls trying to look like Cindy famous models and actresses. The major downfall of these magazines is their fixation with quick-fix diet advice. When Glamour magazine surveyed its readers in 1984, among a sample of college women, 40 percent felt overweight when only 12 percent actually were too heavy. A recent Wall Street Journal survey of students in four Chicago-area schools found that more than half the fourth-grade girls were dieting and three-quarters felt they were overweight. One student said, “We don’t expect boys to be that handsome. We take them as they are.” Another added, “But boys expect girls to be perfect and beautiful.” In their attempt to have the perfect body, girls often end up adopting fad diets that may lead to more serious eating disorders (Davies, 1993). Boys are susceptible to media body images because they want to build muscles like many actors and sports heroes. This desire to “bulk up” often leads to poor diet and possibly the use of steroids.
Television viewing is associated with increased consumption of snacks, which leads to OBESITY among adolescent. A decrease in physical activity is also linked to an increased risk for obesity and some chronic diseases
SEXUAL INFORMATION:
Mass media also provide formal and informal messages about sexuality. The greatest concern about the sexual information disseminated by the mass media is that it is value-laden (Davies, 1993). Glasser (1990/91) points out that all television shows answer the question, “What is ethical behavior?” Adolescents are adopting norms for their behavior based on what they see and hear in the media. Liebert and Sprafkin (1988) concluded that adolescents who watch a lot of sexual content on TV are less satisfied with their sexuality and develop misconceptions. Although sexuality is a difficult topic to discuss with youngsters, parents, teachers need to create media literate students who can evaluate the sexual information provided by the mass media. Adolescent can also compare the interactions of the characters in the commercials with real life behaviors (Considine & Haley, 1992). It should become evident to children that putting on cologne or perfume each morning will not result in an instant sexual experience. Through these exercises children will be more aware of how sex is used to sell a product, even though it has little to do with the actual product.
A leading media influence activist Jean Kilbourne says ironically that young boys often tell her that the media don’t influence them. Youth consistently underestimate the media’s influence on them. A May 2002 survey on teens, sex and TV shows that nearly three out of four(72%) teens think sex on TV influences the sexual behaviors of kids their age “somewhat” or “a lot”; but just one in four (22%) think it influences their own behavior.
ALCOHOL & TOBACCO:
A study of ninth graders in San Jose, California, found that increased television and music video viewing are risk factors for the onset of alcohol use in adolescents. Sex is often associated with alcohol in the media. Gorgeous, sexy female models are a constant in beer and wine advertisements that target males. Television shows often portray alcohol as a means to sex. In addition, alcohol is associated with success, excitement, and good times. For younger media consumers, media depictions of alcohol are tantalizing and alluring. A 1991 report, Youth and Alcohol: A National Survey, said that 35 percent of all wine coolers in the United States are consumed by high school juniors and seniors. The report also revealed that these upperclassmen drink 1.1 billion cans of beer and half of the 20.7 million seventh through twelfth graders drink (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1991).
Like alcohol, cigarettes are marketed to young people, although both the alcohol and tobacco industries challenge such a claim. The high volume of alcohol and tobacco advertisements makes media literacy training a must for young people.
VIOLENCE:
The impact of the mass media on early adolescents has been studied extensively. One of the most intensive areas of research has been violence in the media. Although there was a battle for a number of years over whether or not televised violence leads to subsequent aggressive behaviors, most researchers contend there is a connection (Murray, Rubinstein, & Comstock; 1972; Pearl, Bouthilet, &