Image Gap - Lesson
This lesson helps students understand how self-image can influence lifestyle choices.
Mirror Image - Lesson
In this lesson, students analyze their own body image and consider what they wish they could change.
Impact of Media on Body Image
Though they are by no means the only factor, media representations of weight and body shape are a major element in body image concerns. Media of all kinds frequently promote weight stigma, most often representing weight as an individual responsibility.[1] Time spent on social media and watching television[2] and exposure to manipulated photos on social media[3] have all been linked to negative body image or increased concern with appearance.
Body image – Digital media
Digital media such as social networks and video games have become increasingly important in the lives of children and youth. Even when young people are consuming other media, such as TV, music and movies, they’re likely to be doing it through the internet. As well, nearly all the media they consume, from TV shows to toys, have web pages, virtual worlds, video games or other digital spinoffs associated with them.
Talking to kids about media and body image
Children are exposed to many unrealistic images of both men’s and women’s bodies through media. TV shows, music videos, ads, movies, video games, and social networks can communicate ideas about what their bodies “should” look like. Techniques for manipulating images – from old-fashioned techniques like airbrushing to modern technologies like filters – even make it possible for media images to go beyond what’s possible in reality.
Media Education and Body Image
There’s significant evidence that media education can counter unrealistic media representations of men’s and women’s bodies. For example, a 2015 study found that girls as young as Grade 5 who had received media literacy education in school had higher self-esteem and body satisfaction.