How Media Affects Self Image

It seems to me like teens now a days are too focused on appearance and how other people view them. Mass media influences these ideas and brainwashes our generation into feeling the need to conform. Teenagers are trying to hard to to fit in, or have "the look." For example, the show America's Next Top Model affected one of my friends in a very unhealthy way. She told me how she always wanted to be a model. However, they care too much about your size that she was discouraged. I know this happens a lot because the media portrays to the public that one must be thin, have high fashion, and have natural beauty. This causes self consciousness, discouragement, and unhealthy habits for our and younger generations. Even younger kids are starting to transform the way they act and look in order to be like their role models on television and in the magazines. Kids are beginning to apply make-up, speak inappropriately, and dress more revealing than they have in the past. If the media did not put such a heavy influence on appearances, our world today would would be more classy and people would be happier and healthier with themselves.