ADAPT

• By "Media" we mean the visual media - magazines, newspapers and television
• Most media rely on advertisers to stay in business
• Adverts are designed to create demand
• Demand through dissatisfaction
• About 2% of the population could look like models
• Some models have 10% body fat
• Healthy women have between 20% and 25% body fat
• Many girls smoke believing that it will keep them slim
• Smoking causes heart disease and many cancers
• The visual media, through advertising strongly influence young people who diet and smoke in an effort to look like models increasing their risk of heart disease and cancers.

Should We Be Suspicious of the Media?

There is no doubt that we all are influenced by advertising.

The trick is to realise that the world depicted in media advertisements, is not real.

There are exception of course - publications like The National Geographic and many of the major broad sheet newspapers (the large page variety) pride themselves in not promoting this unreal world of super models, cosmetic surgery, expensive makeup and high performance cars. But even they have to stay in business!

Wide use is made of image manipulation, changing the shape of an individuals face, removing natural blemishes, whitening and straightening teeth and even using someone else's bum in an image. Some images are changed so much that you would have difficulty in recognising the original picture.

Fashion magazines display the worst examples of promoting discontent through advertisement. If we were to believe the appearance of the models and the lifestyle they enjoy most of us fell some feelings of low self esteem and discontent with how we look.

THAT IS THE IDEA!

It is usual for young people to accept what appears in a media to be true (this includes the web).

What is required is a skeptical approach to viewing the media - questioning the content and adverts in particular.