How does media influence young girls' body image

By the turn of 20th century, more than 200 teen magazines flooded the market. They are playing vital role in creating meanings among teenagers. The exposure to altered photographs of extremely thin models influences the idea of ideal body image that girls hold. Undoubtedly, the readership of teen magazines is no longer teenagers only, but apparently children between the ages of 8 and 12 – typically ascertain as the tweens are getting more engaged with the magazines (Thomas, 2003). Despite the existence of hundred reasons not to trust mass-media photography, a vulnerable group such as teenage girls can be easily influenced by edited photos.
Media exposure undoubtedly is associated with the drive for thinness among young female audiences, the lack of set regulations on digital manipulation in magazines leads to delusional role models that young girls are blindly following.
To date, researchers who have explored teen magazines’ content and its influence on young girls. They have discovered infinite reiterated trends in the promotion of an idealized body image. Specifically, academics and health educators claims that the mass media influences people’s perception of beauty ideals. It plays central role in promoting the thin ideal and researchers have shown positive relation between teen girls’ mass media consumption and poor body images, occasionally eating disorders are the consequences (Tiggemann, 2006; Mckinley and Hyde, 1996; Dawn Currie, 1999). Further, the relationship between media exposure and body image disturbance was examined by Tiggemann. According to the research entitled “The Role of Media Exposure in Adolescent Girl’s Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness: Prospective Results”, adolescence is time of high body dissatisfaction, where thinness among girls is prevalent (Tiggemann, 2006, p.526). Fashion magazines reveal young, tall, and extremely thin models leading to girls craving to achieve the same unrealistic appearances. That