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by Sherry Akers

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The influences from advertising and famous people has been effecting how average people perceive how they should look, act and feel for many, many years. We see it everyday with unnaturally skinny models and beautiful actresses and actors on the covers of magazines and newspapers. We get pulled into every aspect of their lives as it gets reported on the news, how could we not get some sort of influence from that. Of course, it's only natural for people to see their beauty and fame and want the same. It not only influences body image, it has an impact on how the average people act and feel as well.

It is really disturbing to think that these are who our young people are idolizing and aspiring to be. Young singers, actresses, actors and athletes get "front page" attention for their bad behavior and decisions. Being in jail is only a joke and a publicity stunt to them. Our businesses profit on this as well. Clothing for young children is getting more "adult like" every year . . . made so they can look like their favorite stars. A friend of mine told me just recently she was trying to buy her niece a ticket to a concert . . . she's 5 years old! I was shocked and didn't know what to say. Now the teenaged stars are having an effect on 5 year olds . . . just plain scary!

What the media doesn't cover is how unglamorous and normal these stars really are. The media only shows you what they want you to see . . . it's all about publicity. Not to mention those perfect bodies you see in magazines are posed and air brushed to hide their imperfections and the stars have spent hours day after day training to look the way they do or they have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for doctors to make them look that way.

The bottom line is that we cannot change how the media portrays the famous, but we can change our perception of what is acceptable body image and behavior. Whatever your acceptable ideals are, teach them to your children at a very young age and they will not fall into the media "body image" trap. Young people are our future, so let's change the world one young person at a time.

Learn more about this author, Sherry Akers.

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