Photo shop

Here is an example from the media, this lady in a bikini shoot has been photo-shopped. The first is the original picture and the second is the photo-shopped one. The first noticeable change in the picture is that her whole body has become thinner and more toned, from the size of her arm, to her stomach, to her thighs. It has all been changed to create a cellulite free, more desirable looking female figure.
The next noticeable change is that they have made her skin tone darker so that she appears to be more tanned than she actually is. The media has spread the idea around that being tanned makes you more beautiful or look slimmer, which is why they have enhanced the colour of her skin. This is the reason why many teenage girls tend to do a large amount of tanning over the summer, so that they can have this desirable body, even though doing this does put them in danger of melanoma skin cancer. For some, the danger of the sun means nothing to them as they don't even put on sunscreen because they have such a strong need to look bronze. I think that this idea is ridiculous because how tanned you are depends on how much melanin is produced in your skin which for some people, is out of their control (which is why some people don't tan).
The third thing we notice is that her bikini changes colour. It changes from its initial greeny, unflattering colour to a white and beige colour that emphasises her 'tanned skin' and her 'slim body'. This is a prime, media advertising trick. We see this lady in the magazines who has this stunning body, glowing skin and a bikini on so we think, 'if I wore that bikini maybe it would make me look tan which would make me more desirable'.
 The last noticeable difference is that in the first picture the women is dripping with water which is is easily seen, where as in the second picture, the water dripping down her body and from her arm is still there but the water between her legs isn't there and I think that this is because a shower head is not seen, so it would be inappropriate to have water seen between her legs.

The photo-shopped picture used by the media has a strong effect on girls today. Even though the woman in the picture is most likely not in her teens, it creates the idea that 'even an older lady can look like that so why can't I?'  This affects the teenage girls living today because they see how beautiful the girls in the media are and how slim they are. This eventually begins to bother the teenage girls because they don't look like those in the media do, when really, in reality those in the media are photo shopped (like the above example). The unrealistic idea that they will ever look like those models clings to them and can lead to eating disorders. '46% of 10 year old girls are dieting, have a fear of “fatness,” or are binge eating.' This statistic is a disgusting thought. The fact that at the age of 10 the media can already have an impact on how such a young girl can think is truly unbelievable. '90% of those who have eating disorders are women between the ages of 12 and 25' (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, The Center for Mental Health Services, offices of the US Department of Health and Human Services). This is another unbelievable statistic, it definitely shows that it is the teenage group and young females that are targeted by the media and it shows the affect that they really do have on young women. This is a serious consequence of the media's actions and it can be caused by one little bikini shoot in a magazine. 

Statistic webpages:
http://www.eatingdisorderfoundation.org/EDFFAQ.htm
http://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/counseling/Eating_Disorder_Statistics.pdf