Today’s 21st century teens have a multitude of problems that we are constantly working to solve. These include the obvious: drugs, alcohol, and reckless actions caused by pure stupidity. Actions such as these are most commonly discussed about because of the amount of teens that take part in them. One topic that is well known, but needs to be taken more seriously is the amount of pressure that society puts on girls to be beautiful. Although it is clear to most that girls will always be insecure, and some may argue that society is a good influence to them, it isn’t something to be taken lightly. Because of society, teen girls end up with depression, and causing harm to themselves. The high standards society hold on girls can have a positive affect on them, but more likely than not, the pressure to be perfect can go to extremes.
Although there are many negative effects that society has on teenage girls, some still believe that to be false. Those who believe in the positive effects feel that society promotes a physically and mentally healthy lifestyle. According to Bernie DeGroat’s article “Exposure to sports may have positive effect on teen girls”, exposure to sports magazines and women’s sports on television encourages teen-age girls to focus on body image. In their study, 426 adolescent females ages 10-19 objected to a certain type of media exposure does predict increased health risks. However, they also found that girls reading sports magazines are more satisfied with their body and have less disturbed eating. Also, magazines like Shape or television shows like Dr. Oz are dedicated to helping women to achieve their physical goals.
Besides what the less amount of people believe in, there are harmful effects of what society is capable of doing to a teenage girl. Being compared to every other girl makes one wonder if they are good enough, and this is without the influence of toothpick thin models strutting down the runway. Seeing this can inspire girls be like them, but end them up depressed about how they cannot achieve the same looks and body shape. Depression isnt taken very seriously, and because of that, this problem doesn’t have anyone trying to stop it. According to article, “More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression” 13% of teenage girls have experienced a bout of serious depression in the past year. Depression can cause headache, nausea/vomiting, heart disease, osteoperosis, and high blood pressure. Most people think that being depressed is just a way of saying that they’re sad, but in reality there are mental and physical effects of being depressed. Teenage girls can become depressed because of the insecurities caused by the media.
Adding another negative affect to the list, society can drive girls into self-harm when trying to achieve perfection. Self-harm includes as simple as a diet, to starvation, annorexia/bulemia, and overworking their bodies. Online at <http://womensenews.org/story/uncovering-gender/031029/teen-magazines-send-girls-all-the-wrong-messages#.UI2jLnORRNg> the magazine reported that 35% of U.S. girls 6 to 12 have been on at least one diet, and that among normal weight girls, 50-70% consider themselves overweight. From a girl who actually experienced being annorexic, Marya Hornbacher was four or five when she remembered that she decided she was fat. PBS shares her eating disorders story. Constantly throwing up, she went from 100 lbs to 63, and still wanted to lose weight. By age nine she bingeid and purged steadily, and eventually becoming so sick of the way she looked, she all but stopped eating. By 14, she had lost 25% of her body weight, in her advanced annorexia could only be helped by a full time treatment at a locked institution. This is only one example of what many girls go through to achieve the standards that society places on them.
In conclusion, there are many other topics about what risky activities teens are participating in these days, but what the pressure of society does to girls to be perfect needs to be brought up in a serious fashion. Some may say that society helps teen girls to develop into young women. But really all the world is doing is setting standards unrealistic and harmful to achieve. The things teens nowadays are willing to do to fit in needs to be taken more seriously because of the many girls suffering from clinical depression, annorexia, and harming themselves.
