Hey everyone! So it has been quite a while since my last post, so I am going to give you a quick update. So far in my research I have found seven credible sources from the database called, Opposing Viewpoints. As of now, my topic has morphed into the exploration of the media, and how unrealistic it can be. Starting with the use of photoshop and video editing software that makes models and celebrities look better or enhanced. In some cases, models are changed so much that if you put the before and after pictures next to each other, they would look absolutely nothing like the "better" version. This goes hand in hand with certain websites like tumblr that advertise the idea of being a size zero and having the perfect body. I have found sources that give statistics of adolescents who will or have developed eating disorders because they see what they aren't in the media, and they believe that they need to fit what society believes is beauty. I am hoping to reach out to the community of people who have suffered from these diseases, and to bring awareness to it. My goal is to make an impact on as many people as possible, in the hopes of saving as many lives as possible from eating disorders, and/or the worry that people are not good enough. Because everyone is good enough. Everyone is is beautiful, but society is ugly.
At this point, I want to focus on the effects that the media has on teenage girls. I would like to point out the specific magazines and websites that use propaganda to make real life girls feel that they need to change to become accepted in society. I will focus a lot of my energy on the controversies of the use of photoshop in the media, and how unreal it makes some of the models in the pictures look. Girls see these photos and they then have an image in their mind of how they need to look, and this leads to insane body image concerns. I will then branch off of this, and talk about the effects that these false images have on the mind, and what girls do to be "perfect."
In today's society, the growing rate of obesity is getting to a point that we can no longer control, and the new generations of children that are being born into a society with parents that can't afford to feed the nutritious food is scary. With this topic, I hope to cover all of the effects of obesity and the fast, lazy lifestyle that millions of americans are now living, mostly due to an enormous number of families now living below the poverty line. It is just sad to see all of these children who are growing up without any knowledge of the foods they should be eating, or that they need to eat in order to live a healthy, balanced life, and their parents can tell them what to eat, but they cannot afford to aid them in actually eating the right foods. On TV and in magazines there are constantly commercials for fast food restaurants, and the newest candies and treats on the market, teasing kids, and angering parents because they know they shouldn't buy it for their kids, but at the same time they can't deal with disappointing them. One of the controversies with this problem is that kids will grow up to have the habits that they learn to keep while they are young, and if they grow up learning to eat unhealthy, cheap foods, they will not live very long and prosperous lives, and if they have kids they will continue the trend of unhealthy living. One of the main reasons that this trend is continuing to grow in families across America, is due to the rapid increase in families living below the poverty line. I am going to try to focus on families living on minimum wage or less, and how it affects their ability to live the "ideal" healthy life.
"Deforestation." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 1996. Web. 16
Sept. 2014. <http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/ global-warming/deforestation-overview/>. This source maps out the cause and effect that deforestation has on our world today, and it targets audiences of all ages and destinations. The article was published by an author who is employed by the company National Geographic, and his or her name and copyright date is not listed. Based on the content of the article, I can infer that the article was written recently, due to its connection to problems that have just recently been uncovered by journalists and scientists studying the growing problem. The background of the author is not specified, although his/her style of writing shows that he/she has the ability to write clearly and concisely, while relaying information well to others. In reading the article I was not able to pick out any bias, as the author basically just gave facts and no conflicting opinions. The purpose of the article is to let the information about the problems deforestation is causing to be known, and to provide its audience with the ability and knowledge to reach out and do something to make a change. The first possible topic that I wish to pursue is something along the lines of the influences that the media has on teenage girls. With this being such a broad topic at this point, there are many different directions I could go with it. I can focus on the aspect of body image and how it affects girls in the sense that they may believe that they are "fat" or "not perfect enough." These thoughts ensued in these girls by all forms of media one way or another, can cause eating disorders to form, such as anorexia or bulimia. Also, along those lines, girls are caught "body bashing" which is the term used for girls that make fun of people that look different than them, either in shape or size, and the learn to hate themselves. This causes low self esteem in teenage girls that can lead to serious, sometimes fatal mental health issues, including thoughts of suicide. The obsession with being a "size zero" and looking up pictures of skinny girls for "thinspiration" is NOT okay! Most of this "inspiration" for the girls struggling with these issues are constantly seeing photoshopped pictures of models on the covers of magazines, and even some stars that are supposed to be role models for these girls, are editing their pictures to the point that they look nothing like what they do in real life. It is this false sense of reality that the media is presenting to society, that is making adolescent girls go crazy. Girls of all ages, but especially in the 10-18 age range, need to love themselves as they go through changes. We as a society need to promote this more and more, to keep the current and future teen population sane. Thank you for taking the time to read my first topic of interest! Look out for a post on my second topic choice on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2014.
If you are reading this post, you are probably wondering what this blog about. Well first of all, I am a student at Rutland High School and I am participating in the Global Studies Capstone Research Project for seniors. The purpose of this project is to teach us how to be an active member of society, become aware of global issues, and learn communication skills which will be crucial for use in college, and for the rest of our adult lives. Thanks for stopping by, and look for more posts in the future! |