Embrace your insecurities

Embrace Your Insecurities

By: Devyani R, Jenine A, Lijie Z, Heather R, Jessica C

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.

- Helen Keller

Media’s impact on self-esteem

How we are going to promote our project

This issue fits into the theme of human development because as humans, we tend to nitpick at our flaws and let little things bring us down. Negativity is contagious but so is positivity. Being negative will only set one up for failure whereas being positive helps one cope with the stress of the environment on one's mental and physical health . For college students, it's easy to fall into thinking negatively but if you look at things negatively all the time, there is no way you will be able to branch out and explore all the other options there are in the world.

When the media releases images like these to the public, young adults and teenagers grow more and more self conscious, WHY? Because actors, actresses, models like these are all being portrayed as the ideal image of “beauty”, “ordinary people” begin to feel just that, “ordinary” which leads to self esteem issues.

Is make-up two-faced?

3. We can hold some sort of a support group or club where people can talk freely about their self image issues and learn to cope with and embrace them. We will do activities such as asking people to list the all the things they like about themselves and what they're good at. Also, routine self confidence building activities is a must! Other activities might include making other people feel good about themselves, even if it is by giving a small compliment or word or encouragement. 4.Recruit more people(free)More people= more ideas = more effective Communication skills will play an important role when we publicize our project. By winning people to our cause, they can in turn, spread the word and attract more people.

Maybe we can find a sponsor

to support our project~!!!

1. With our budget of $500, we plan on printing flyers and inspirational cards. We also plan on making pamphlets with motivational quotes and advice and tips on how to be self confident. Guides on how to boost self-confidence could be given out to the public.

2. Utilizing Facebook and Twitter (Free) - Facebook and Twitter are today's social hubs where you can reach audiences of hundreds to thousands. Approximately 90% of college students at least have a Facebook account, and also current reports reveal that a lot of students actually spend at least one hour on Facebook per day. What we need to do is create a Facebook page about our project; people just need to click like, comment or share.

Used to hide our imperfections and mask our insecurities? Or to improve our self-esteem and confidence? For whatever reason you wear makeup, if it makes you happy then do it. If you like to work out 3 times a week and that makes you happy and confident, then go ahead and work out.

If there is something you want to do to help boost your self-confidence like wearing make-up or working out to get a fitter body, then we encourage you to do so. You should not however, do said things, because the media tells you to do it; whatever you do should be for YOUR own happiness and well-being.

Everyone has insecurities and many people let their insecurities hold them back from doing things they like or want to do; as a group we want young adults to overcome these insecurities and go forth and take on the world.

How would addressing this issue improve humanity?

Addressing this issue would improve humanity because it would boost the confidence of young individuals that many need to succeed in school, the workplace and socially. If people are confident, they are happier and thus more efficient and effective. It also teaches individuals to not conform to society's pressures.

• TV shows portray casts of very attractive, fit characters who have exciting lives and can get anywhere. More often than not, the women use their feminine 'qualities' to get something they want. “Reality” TV shows, also influence people to believe that other 'real-life non-celebrity' people (who are usually attractive) can live awesome fun lives. Advertisements also try to sell their products by using attractive models and individuals who try to make people think 'this product will make me look like this'.

• Music videos such as “Bandz a Make Her Dance” “Birthday song” and “Don’t Cha” by the Pussycat Dolls portray women, as having fun when they’re half naked with unrealistic bodily proportions. Men are portrayed as being “big dogs”, smoking, doing drugs and partying while still being rich and well off. Both of these examples of men and women are not realistic or accurate.

• Magazines advertisements and covers display “perfect” women and men with secrets to a “Perfect” body. Words like hottest, perfect, fast, diet and sex are used to reach out and attract young men and women.

From a young age, kids begin to watch television and listen to music and idolize these individuals. Oftentimes they idolize these individuals for the wrong reasons. Males decide they want a girl that has a proportion of 34-24-34, bust-waist-hip ratio. Females in turn want a guy that more or less looks like this:

HOW DO YOUNG PEOPLE VIEW THEMSELVES?

Well you can imagine the consequences the media has on young people’s self image and the way they view themselves:

They think that they are under or over weight

Not pretty or handsome enough

Not fit enough

How media influences self image.

In our modern day, media has a tremendous impact on our self-image. Celebrities on television, music, and magazines all influence the perception of what we “should” be like. Most people look up to famous figures, most of whom are modern day celebs and artists who work ridiculously hard to achieve their bodies and undergo surgical procedures to alter their faces.

What is body image? In an article published by Dina L.G. Borzekowski and Angela M. Bayer, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, define it as “the internal representation of one's own outer appearance which reflects physical and perceptual dimensions.” (Borzekowski & Bayer, 2005) They also state that body image is closely related to self-esteem and self-concept.

In other words, body image is how the mind perceives the body's outwardly appearance, which is influenced by factors such as media and society both.

In South Korea, 4 out of 5 Koreans are born with monolids. However, if you take a walk down a busy street in Seoul, you'd see double eyelids everywhere. That being said, South Korea is home to a booming Korean pop industry; and coincidentally has the world's highest plastic surgery rate.

South Korea has a population of 50 million, and Koreans undergo 365,000 procedures yearly; with 74 procedures per 10,000 people of all ages per year.

The United States on the other hand, has a population of 309 million and people undergo 1,300,000 procedures yearly; with only 42 procedures per 10,000 people of all ages per year.

Why we chose this topic

Our overall goal in a sense is to allow students on campus to have a more positive view of themselves. Because they have a more self image and reasons to be happy, then the chances of them trying to spread their happiness to other people increases. Even a few people at first is a step in the right direction!

We chose this topic because these statistics are really unfortunate and it would be great if we could help even just a few people to get out of that rut. What our group will try to do is encourage people to focus more on what they have to like rather than what they dislike, and give them reasons to smile or ideas to improve their confidence, like make up or exercise tips, or just generally trying to encourage people to spread kindness and positivity.

Goal of our project

Issue

Our group's goal is to create a more positive self-image among all of the students on campus. There are so many statistics saying that the majority of people ages 15 and up have problems with confidence, or wish they were more attractive, or thinner or are just generally unhappy with themselves.

90% of all women want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance.

81% of 10 year old girls are afraid of being fat.

Self Image problems of the young people

today.

Why does this issue matter? - Many young adults suffer from a sort of self image problem, thinking that they're not good enough or not what the media and society expects them to be. Everyone gets insecure about things that usually only they noticed about themselves.

How will this program address this issue? - We will try to combat the effects of media and society on the minds of young people by helping them cope with their self esteem issues and creating a more positive environment for them to thrive in.

Budget and resources needed - Our budget is $500. This will be a campus wide program because this issue relatively affects people of our age group.