Essay, Research Paper: The Effect Of Advertising On Personal Appearence

What does it mean to be physically fit? Does it mean you can throw a football like John Elway, or hit a baseball like Sammy Sosa? Does it mean you can run a mile in one hundred degree weather under twelve minutes, or swim fifteen laps across a pool in one minute? Is physical fitness being anorexic or being on steroids. That’s what the media makes it look like. The average female super model is up to fifty pounds underweight. Sixty-two percent of football players take some form of muscle enhancing product.
Many girls worry about their physical appearance. They want to look like the model in this add for Calvin Klein and other advertisements. They think that’s how everyone wants them to look. Many will go to any length to get that way. That often leads to serious eating disorders like anorexia. It’s crazy because even the models don’t look like the adds. Almost ninety-six percent of magazine and t.v adds are touched up by computer to look “perfect.” The effect advertising has on some people’s personal appearance is bad. Even people that don’t develop eating disorders still feel bad about themselves at one point or another because they don’t look like the advertisements, like society wants them to look.
The “standard” that the media shows has other negative effects besides eating disorders. It can also lead to shame, guilt, stress, depression, and a lack of confidence.
It’s not just girls that are shown in these ads. Guys are shown that they should be muscular, and well built. They sometimes turn to steroids to get like that. Some even develop eating disorders. Guys also get a lack of confidence, they just won’t admit it.
Most advertising discourages acceptance of people that are different than you. They show you people that look almost perfect, and a lot of people judge you on how you look compared to the models on t.v and in magazines.
Advertisers shouldn’t focus so much on what a person looks like. They definitely shouldn’t have underweight models that are also enhanced by computers. It’s okay to have good looking people in advertisements, but not to the point were its not even real, to the point when it causes someone to develop an eating disorder, or lose their self confidence. In my opinion that is wrong. Physically fit does not mean being perfect in appearance. If you eat healthy, exercise regularly, and live a healthy life style than I think you are physically fit.


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