Media s Influence On The Media - 1169 Words

Research Topic Proposal Maria Gamez and Ross Warner Andrews University Statement of the Problem The â€Å"Media† or medium is defined and described by encompassing television, music, radio, Internet and the newspaper to effectively communicate to populations worldwide. With all these mediums to ensure communication and information to communities globally, it has become a great staple in how many conduct their lives and communicate to others. While many would suggest that we are to not believe everything we read or see, could that mean that it has the ability to have a negative effect on some? And if so what age, demographic or social group could be considered to be more vulnerable to these effects? Melissa A. Milkie (1999)†¦show more content†¦In general, the respondents indicated that the feminine images in the magazine presented an unrealistic appearance, both in the style of clothing and in the perfection of their faces, hair and bodies in comparison with the largely imperfect local girls† (p. 198). Alyson Kay Spurgas (2005) also stated, â€Å"influences on body-image perception among participants take many forms. The main influences were location or environment, family, friends/peers, men, individual psychology, cultural background, race or ethnicity, and media imagery† (p. 305). Peers have a great impact with how girls view themselves. Friends or peers are supposed to be a big support system and what they say is greatly taken accounted for. Ethnicity can be correlated with friends and peers. Girls who have friends that are of the same ethnicity may also have concerns with their body image, because they are comparing themselves to how they look like. Alyson Kay Spurgas (2005) states that, â€Å"the combination of ethnicity and media not only had a significant influence on the way a participant perceived her body, but seemed to form the distinct origin of beauty standards for participants† (308). Girls look at how their own ethnicity looks like and when this is in the media, it has a strong effect on girls. While this matter seems to be an ongoing issue and topic of conversation the reality is that young girls, within all cultural backgrounds are