The Oprah Winfrey Show
Oprah's Best Life Series
Harpo Films
For One More Day
The Great Debaters
O, The Oprah Magazine
Subscribe Today
Oprah Radio
Oprah's Angel Network
Oprah's Book Club
The average teen girl gets about 180 minutes of media exposure daily and only about 10 minutes of parental interaction a day, says Renee Hobbs, EdD, associate professor of communications at Temple University.
In an attempt to emulate the countless media images they view, girls often take drastic measures. Many end up with very low self-esteem; some with dangerous eating disorders. "We're seeing girls at younger ages starting to be dissatisfied with their bodies, proactively trying to change them, and feeling like they need to emulate something different than what their bodies can do," says Elissa Gittes, MD, a pediatrician in the division of adolescent medicine at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
So what's a parent to do? Hide every magazine, turn off every TV and ban Barbie dolls—those incredibly thin yet curvaceous toys favored by girls as young as 3? Banning media exposure altogether may backfire. "It only creates the forbidden fruit phenomenon," Hobbs tells WebMD.
Related Oprah.com Resources
SOURCES: Renee Hobbs, EdD, associate professor, communications, Temple University. Elissa Gittes, MD, pediatrician, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Sarah Murnen, professor of psychology, Kenyon College. Carleton Kendrick, EdM, LCSW, social worker; co-author, Take Out Your Nose Ring, Honey, We're Going to Grandma's. Adrienne Ressler, MA, LMSW, national training director, The Renfrew Center. Dohnt, H. Developmental Psychology, September 2006; vol 42: pp 929-936.
