Impact Of Offensive Content In Social Media On Vulnerable Population
In this essay I want to talk about the impact of gender norms and offensive content on vulnerable populations. By vulnerable I mean children, teenagers and people psychologically vulnerable. “American teenagers spend more than 10 hours a day consuming media, most of it filled with content that objectifies and distorts their bodies. ” (Miss Representation) Young girls are submerged by these images and this has a major effect on their manner of speaking, their way of acting, their clothing etc…
All of this influence girls to be conscious about their bodies and to compare themselves with women on these ads. Hence, “53% of 12-year-old girl feel unhappy with their bodies, and 78% of 17-year-old feel unhappy with their bodies” (Miss Representation). As a consequence, unhealthy eating behaviors increase and the correlation between ads and eating disorders has been proven. In the study called Television, disordered eating and young women in Fidji (2004: p. 134), Anne Becker demonstrates a “dramatic increase in indicators of disordered eating during the 3 years following the introduction of television to a community of Fiji”. But the impact goes beyond that. Girls and young women are impacted in their self-esteem, their self-confidence and their ambition. It can also contribute to anxiety, depression and various health problems. But what about younger children? They are exposed to all of this since a very early age and are still very impressionable.
How to learn them to treat everyone with respect if they don’t see people doing it around them? Unfortunately, advertiser don’t seem really worried about this. 7 I think that it is a real social issue and that advertisers should consider avoiding, at least, offensive content in ads and medias intended for young people. But kids and teenagers are an easy target for marketers. Today’s kids have more autonomy, are more connected and have more decision-making power. And they are the direct way to their parent’s wallets. Concerning health issues, it is unfortunately profitable for companies to feel horrible about ourselves. The ultimate solution against this issue could be to consider having more women at the head of marketing departments. Because most of the sexist ads considered as shocking have been created by men.
Conclusion
In a context of hyperconsumption, where we always have to buy more and more, the woman’s body has become a weapon in marketing strategies. Through these stereotypical images, advertisers sell a whole concept of love, sexuality, success and “normalcy”, and the film does a good job of showing that. And what about the impact of these ads on women’s and men’s self-esteem, on their health and most importantly on kids? How young girls could become strong and independent if they have always heard that what is important is how they look, not how they think? The freedom of expression (or free speech) is a right and a rule but the respect of human dignity is something essential. However, things begin to change progressively, especially through social medias: “body positivism” (all bodies are good bodies) or the viral video called “an adpology” which apology to women for the way they’ve been shown in ads over the years. And even if some people think it’s a scam or that it won’t last forever, it’s already a good way to raise consciences about the ethical issue of woman’s body in ads and its impacts.
