Numerous individuals feel as if they are pressured by the idea of an ideal body image through the media. In many instances, individuals often have their own ideal body image, but because of standards that humanity has set for the "perfect body" that are reinforced through the media, men and women are expected to meet other standards. In chapter one of the book, Mass Media Research: An Introduction, the authors, Roger D. Wimmer and Joseph R. Dominick, state, "The term mass media refers to any form of communication that simultaneously reaches a large number of people, including but not limited to radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, billboards, films, recordings, books, and the Internet" (2). Because the media is so broad, it has a huge impact on society as a whole, like explained by Kristen Harrison, "They found media exposure to predict disordered eating both directly and through these intervening variables and concluded that internalization of the thin ideal partially mediates the effects of exposure to ideal body images in the media" (291). The impact that the media has on men and women may lead to self-esteem issues. As stated in the article, "Body Image and Self-Esteem among Adolescent Girls: Testing the Influence of Sociocultural Factors," Daniel Clay, Vivian L. Vignoles, and Helga Dittmar clarified a statement made by Rosenberg, Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger, & Vohs, Oishi, Diener, Lucas, & Suh, "Self-esteem is defined as a 'positive or negative attitude toward . . . the self' and can be viewed as a key indicator of psychological well-being, at least among people in Western cultures" (451). In today's society, it is very common for individuals to view themselves in a pessimistic manner and have self-esteem problems due to them making comparisons of themselves with other individuals or celebrities. There is ample evidence in regards to how the media negatively impacts individual's body image suggesting that one's self-worth should be based on appearance, and people illustrate an unrealistic ideal way other individual's should look to be considered attractive.
