Body image perception is influenced by factors such as media, family, peers, and puberty. Lack of body confidence can affect how a person behaves and dresses. Companies use attractive models to sell products, while teasing from family and peers can lower self-esteem. Puberty can cause embarrassment and struggles with body changes.
Body image perception is how a person sees what their body looks like. A person’s perception of their own image strongly influences how they act on any given day. If a person lacks body image confidence, they are less likely to walk proudly or wear attractive clothing. Body image perception has a strong impact on an individual’s personal life and comes from many factors, including television and one’s social network.
The media is a major factor influencing body image perception. When someone looks in a magazine, they often see pictures of slim, beautiful women and tall, attractive men. Many of these images, especially those of the women, are impossible to make in real life because they are really computer generated graphics. Companies often use young, slim women to sell their products or services because these women easily catch the eyes of TV viewers and magazine readers. For-profit companies that emphasize that their products help people achieve a certain look use attractive templates to entice their customers to buy the products.
Another factor that influences a person’s view of their own body is the comments of family members. Some close relatives, such as a brother or sister, may tease a sibling about how fat or awkwardly tall he is, which can lower the individual’s level of self-esteem. A parent especially influences the child’s view of himself either negatively through critical comments or positively through uplifting words of encouragement. Individuals typically hold their family’s view of them in high regard, so comments from family members play a large part in how one may feel about one’s body.
Peer groups also influence how a person thinks they look. Children often make fun of people their age who don’t look like them, which includes people of different races and ethnicities. This type of teasing and bullying typically stems from children’s lack of self-confidence. A child’s natural inclination to want to belong to their own social group can actually make them feel like an outcast when criticized.
Sudden changes in a person’s body during puberty also play a role in an individual’s body image perception. During puberty, the bodies of both boys and girls begin to change in various ways. This sometimes causes embarrassment as they struggle to deal with unfamiliar changes. Other boys and girls struggle with body image perception because they feel they haven’t matured fast enough.
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