“Selfie Image”: A media filled, distorted reality for girls and teens
DISCLAIMER: This is a paper I wrote for my AP Language class so it is in a different format than I typically write. WARNING: Content is harsh and very blunt at moments. Please read at your own disgression. Introduction 16- year-old Rachel wakes up to the sound of her alarm and immediately reaches for her cellphone. She checks her texts, snapchat, twitter, and facebook messages and it is only 6:30 in the morning. According to a 2010 study of 8- to 18-year-olds conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, girls such as Rachel will spend more than 7 ½ hours a day consuming media. (2010, http://kff.org) But what is the toll that these 7 ½ hours will take on a 16-year old girl? Does the media make any difference in the mind of a girl? Researchers seem to think so. Body image issues for girls and teens has been on the rise since social media has been introduced to the world and with it, the introduction of a new phenomenon: the selfie. Since the creation of facebook and oth