Mass media is designed to reach large audiences through the use of technology. Its purpose is to provide the information we need to function as a society. The mass media are everywhere; there is no escape from it. From the moment you wake up until the moment you fall asleep you are faced with the media. Nearly every home in America has at least one TV, Internet and cell phones. You can't drive down the highway without seeing billboards. Shopping at the supermarket can be tricky if you try to avoid magazines. The media is supposed to represent what is considered normal; therefore, it influences what society considers normal. The media's portrayal of body image negatively impacts adolescents through the use of stereotypes, encouraging sexual behavior, and promoting unnecessary products. Teenagers are very impressionable during the difficult and already confusing part of their development. So what the media tells them is "normal" affects them more than adults. The media uses stereotypes to portray what a "normal" body should look like. Women are often portrayed as unrealistically thin and men as having larger than life muscles. The idea that these unrealistic bodies are normal and healthy can be quite damaging to a teenager's self-image. In 2003, Teen Magazine reported that 35 percent of girls ages 6 to 12 have followed at least one diet and that 50 to 70 percent of normal-weight girls believe they are overweight. Even guys feel pressured to weight train and use steroids to achieve that perfect body. Weight is not the only topic used by the media. If your weight is okay, they tell you that you are getting older and that you need beauty products to achieve the ideal look. Teen dramas use the stereotype that popular kids are beautiful, middle of paper, how parents care about them and what they do. Second, parents need to establish a good line of communication between themselves and their adolescent children. Teens need to know that they can talk about anything with their parents. We also need to talk to our kids about the realistic importance of bodies and sex. If we don't do it, the media certainly will. Finally, parents need to monitor their adolescent children; media use and exposure. If parents are aware of what their adolescents are exposed to, they can better communicate what is appropriate; therefore, directly counteracting the media's negative portrayal of body image. Works Cited Bourland, Korrie. “Images of the Female Body in the Media.” http://www6.svsu.edu/~glt/Magazine/Bourland.html 08 December 2004. Web. 23 February 2010Ransohoff, Julia. “Tweens and the Media.” http://www.pamf.sutterhealth.org/preteen/growingup/choices/media.html 2009. Web. 23 February. 2010