Is Photoshop Destroying America Essay

Agliata, D., & Tantleff-Dunn, S., (2004). The Impact of Media Exposure on Males’ Body Image.

Film, television, and the media are a huge part of our culture. Especially in the modern age of technology, it is impossible for us to avoid being exposed it. It is on our phones, computers, and TV. It is our entertainment, a part of our education, and it serves as a reflection of our society. The problem with media, however, is that has the power in manipulating us to feel certain ways. The most problem of which is the way we perceive our own bodies. Leading media industries such as Hollywood sets. An example of the ideal body that we are expected to have in order to look good and be perceived as handsome or beautiful by society, but, behind the scenes, actors and actresses of Hollywood go to extreme lengths in order to attain that ideal look.

Modern people live media-saturated lives, even children as young as 6 years old, have had some type of media exposure. Extensive exposure to media outlets can lead to body image issues. Body image is defined as, the subjective picture or mental image of one's own body (Smolak 2003). Body image is formed as people compare themselves to others. Because, people are exposed to countless media images; these images become the basis for such comparisons. These mental comparisons, have a strong influence on an individual’s personal perception of beauty. Media outlets create images and pressures about what our bodies should look like; however, sometimes these images have been manipulated, creating an unrealistic expectation of beauty. When an individual believes that their body is substandard, they can become depressed, suffer from low self-esteem, or develop eating disorders.

A very prominent and controversial issue related to media-idealized images is that of eating disorders and eating problems. Eating problems include binge eating, purging, and unhealthy eating problems. These disorders are seen in young adolescents who are at a very fragile stage of life. Teenagers experience bodily changes as well as peer pressure and new experiences of going into high school. According to Dakanalis et al. the media portrays individuals with an extremely thin build for females and a slim-muscular build (i.e., muscles along with minimal body fat) for males is considered to be the cause of body displeasure and eating pathology. There is no solid evidence to prove that the media is to blame for the degree of eating disorder symptoms and negative body-image feelings that many feel, hence the reason it continues to be a highly debated topic. There has although, been continuous research and theories comprised over objectification. This occurs when men and women are sexually objectified. A person is treated as a body, where beauty and attractiveness of a person are important and valued. This theory can be found nearly anywhere because of the amount and variety of social interaction. It is common because of the way media represents body images. The media has ideals of men and women’s body images and individuals are compared to how well

Eating Disorders affect 5-10 million Americans, and thousands of people die each year from their complications. Although some groups are at a greater risk than others, eating disorders occur in people of all ages, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds. We do not know what causes eating disorders, but many factors have been identified that may play a role (Smolin and Mary Grosvenor, 40).

Media holds such high standards in today 's society, and media as a whole has gotten so much power throughout the years. There are so many different forms of media in today 's world: newspapers, magazines, televisions, the hundreds of websites on the Internet, social media applications, computers, and novels. Media advertises thousands of different things, but something that has stayed consistent over the years is advertisement on body image. Media advertises a specific body type, pushes different dietary needs to achieve this body type and thus creating the standard of in order to be beautiful, this particular body type must be achieved. However, what advertisers seem to be neglecting is the effect their advertisements are having on its viewers. The constant push to achieve a certain body type has affected the health of thousands of people around the world, and directly affecting the eating disorder epidemic.

For example, the images and celebrities in the media set the standard for what we find attractive. As a result of, leading people to go to dangerous extremes to have the biggest biceps or fit into size 2 jeans. Today, more than 66 percent of Americans are overweight or obese. In the American body, the media idealizes images of the male and female bodies. But, at the same time the media in the form of television, the internet, movies, and print publications is more powerful than before. “We live in a day and age where people make it IMPOSSIBLE for women, men, anyone to embrace themselves exactly how they are. Diversity is sexy! Loving yourself is sexy!” (Strecker, 2015, para. 2).

Although the American image is lost due to different interpretations, to be an American has only one definition. To be an American means to love all people within the one united country. Coming together as one country is what makes the United States the strong country that it is known by today. Americans are people of any race or gender from any background, while loving the country that they reside in. Americans have been known for working hard to obtain what they are given. Americans are known to have trained to get to a certain place in life.

Photoshop is everywhere, we see it on basic social medias like Instagram, Facebook etc. Photoshop can be very harmful to society that sets an unrealistically, high standard for beauty. Photoshop has created this mold of what a person should look like and if you don't fit into this mold society has created you're considered ugly, fat and a lesser person. Most models don't look anything like they do in real life in their photos causing them to be insecure as well as other when looking at an unrealistic standard of beauty. Still many people aren't aware of the extent that are brought on from photo-editing. Percentages of young women and men suffering from eating disorders and depression have increased tremendously.“Fix one thing, then another

Grabe, S., Ward, L. M., & Hyde, J. S. (2008). The Role of the Media in Body Image Concerns Among Women: A Meta-Analysis of Experimental and Correlational Studies. Psychological Bulletin, 134(3), 460-476.

Media affects people in many ways. In terms of its effect on body image, young people are having trouble with images of people from popular media such as movies, TV, web and magazines, who are all considered ‘sexy’, ‘successful’, or ‘desirable’. This popular media lead people to wish that they could look like the people in the pictures. People get influenced by images from people from popular media such as movies, TV, web and magazines. Something that people don’t know is that most of the pictures have been edited through lighting effects, which makes the picture look better than before. Magazines often show images of heroes, sport, fashion models, and pop stars, this makes the youth get tempted to look like their idols and role models. (Dept.

American illustration went through many changes during the 20th century. There were major trends seen, including Coles Phillips and his "fadeaway" technique. For me, that was the artist and technique that stood out the most. It piqued my interest, and made me realize that I had held a very skewed view of what "art" actually was in the past. History, art, and illustration have all been changed in my mind by taking this class and by learning so much about illustration. Coles Phillips' technique was so fascinating to me because of his use of negative space and the way he used beautiful drawings of stylish women on so many popular magazine covers during his lifetime. His fadeaway technique let the reader see the complete image of the woman's skirt, but it also allowed some of it to blend into the background. That created a wonderful illusion but yet provided the reader with a clear picture of the illustration Coles was offering to the world at that time. It was surprising to me that someone could do that so well, because I had not seen that technique used before.

The media has taken a majority of time in the modern world, while morphing the ability to influence thought processes and how the brain perceives things around it. Television, for example, and even more so relevant—the Internet are the most powerful forms of media as they are able to produce advertisements that reflect and are more relatable to the targeted audience. Since the beginning of the Internet, researchers have been trying to figure out the effects of the media on our everyday lives such as the targeted effects of the effects of media violence on aggression, pornography and political issues. However the media’s, and the internet’s influences do not end there; they are able to affect our views and beliefs on several portions in our lives. A significant element to the media is the influence of advertising, with its goal to ultimately persuade the audience about products or lifestyle choices of interest. One of the stereotype ideas that media seems to promote relates to body image for both males and females. Media today has set standards about who is considered attractive and fashionable, and size 0, or even 00, seems to be the appropriate figure for a women in order to be considered attractive. Messages promote the idea that in order to be successful and attractive you have to be thin, or extremely muscular. These distorted messages have caused

In Vivian Diller’s “Is Photoshop Destroying America’s Body Image?” the important question of whether or not distorting images digitally in order to subscribe to the “idea'” standard of beauty is contributing to the growth of eating disorders and general discontentment of American body image is discussed. The American Medical Association (AMA) claims that it is so. However, there is not substantial evidence to support this claim and photographers and Photo shoppers are standing in defense of their tools. They state that Photoshop was created in order to bring subjects more into focus and believe that denouncing it will do little to change America’s body image problems. Diller suggests that while Photoshop may not be the only issue, it is

Throughout the twentieth century, mass media has helped shape American culture; however, not only culture is affected. Media has begun to change the way people view themselves and others. Body image is a significant part of a woman’s self-perception: it affects her self-esteem, her confidence, and her health practices. For generations since women gained the right to vote, media has taken an ever-tightening hold on body image. Women have been convinced for decades that in order to be a part of this male-dominated culture, they have to be able to do everything a man can do while wearing gorgeous clothes, staying slim, and doing other things to make themselves “beautiful.” Mass media has an immense impact on body image, and this relationship