Imagine someone saying to another: “You are ugly the way you are. Maybe if you lost 20 pounds and wore a cool tie like me, you could look fabulous. Well, we tell it to everyone all the time, but in a more subtle way: through the media. Media are the means of communication, such as television and newspapers, magazines and advertisements, that reach or influence people. Today's society is surrounded by media. But these means of communication attack adolescents with false images. Think about all the advertisements for cosmetics, clothing, dietary supplements or muscle enhancers, how often do the thoughts of “I would look so much more beautiful if I wore this Maybelline mascara because it would make me look like Scarlet Johansson?” If my muscles were bigger, would I look like that guy who plays Thor? The media has a powerful influence on society and has negative effects on young people and their body image. Teenagers struggle with their body image. These insecurities come out when they look at “perfect” women and men in the media (Gandhi). It's hard to hear that teenagers would do anything to become an image that doesn't exist. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, “in 2012, 130,502 plastic surgery procedures were performed on adolescents under the age of 18 in the United States” (ASAPS). The reason most teenagers do this is to get that perfect image; but don't realize that these images are fabricated. And in reality, these models they see in advertisements are giving up their health to contribute to a false image. In the 1970s, models weighed 8% less than the average woman, and in the 1990s, models weighed 23% less than the average woman (The Negative Side of Media). In fact, teenagers compare them...... middle of paper......). It's no wonder that eating disorders exist more than ever. People must all be aware of this problem that the media welcomes and not encourage traits of an image that degrade that of another human being. Works Cited “ASAPS”. Press releases. Np, and Web. April 16, 2014 Cruz, Jamie Santa. “Pressure on body image increasingly affects boys.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, March 10, 2014. Web. April 15, 2014. “Eating Disorders.” PBS. PBS and Web. April 13, 2014. Gandhi, Kiara. “The Photoshop effect.” Ghana Homepage, Resource for News, Sports, Facts, “The Negative Side of the Media”. The negative side of the media. Np, and Web. April 15, 2014. “Oprah.com.” Oprah.com. Np, January 1, 2008. Web. April 15, 2014. “Self-image/media influences.” Just say yes RSS. Np, and Web. April 22, 2014 “Solutions for Eating Disorders.” - Body image. Np, and Web. April 15. 2014.