Hey everybody, welcome back to my blog! Recently I've been doing some research on the connection between fashion and self esteem, and in turn have learned a lot about this issue vast amounts of people deal with everyday. I've highlighted the basic things I believe EVERYBODY need to know about body image in the four categories below.
The Basic Statistics:
- Among high school students, 44% of girls and 15% of guys are attempting to lose weight.
- 80% of children who are 10 years old are afraid of being fat.
- • 72% of girls feel tremendous pressure to be beautiful
The Causes:
- Society And the Media: The pictures teens see in magazines, on TV, and online can have huge effects on the adolescent's self esteem. These advertisements often set unrealistic beauty standards that teens feel they cannot live up to.
- Bullying: When someone is bullied, it can make it hard for them to make friends, reach out to people, and focus in school. Bullying can also cause depression or suicidal thoughts in its victims.
The Consequences:
- 13 percent of girls age 15-17 acknowledge having an eating disorder.
- About 20% of teens will experience depression before they reach adulthood
How YOU Can Make A Difference:
Even though the things you've just learned about self esteem & it's effects are very common across the world, there is a lot we can do together to reverse this problem. Here are some awesome ideas that may even inspire you to start your own project!
- Leave positive, encouraging post-it notes around where lots of people may see them! Here are some cute examples that were placed on bathroom mirrors!
- Appreciate all body types. The media often uses very underweight women as their models. But we all know that there a ton of other body types that aren't at all represented in the media. Everybody was beautifully and fearfully made, so why not celebrate all of our unique bodies!
My Sources:
https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-teens-and-self-esteem
http://www.heartofleadership.org/statistics-on-body-image-self-esteem-parental-influence/
http://www.dove.us/Social-Mission/Self-Esteem-Statistics.aspx
http://www.self-esteem-nase.org/research.php
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/me-we/201312/10-sources-low-self-esteem
