An increasingly effective outlet for media is through television, whether it be programming, advertisements, or news segments.  The average 13-24 year old views 13.6 hours of television a week (Viacom).  Young adults’ rabid consumption of television allows the media to easily reach their audience.  Constant viewing of thin body images has a strong impact on the minds of young adults, specifically, how they relate to the people and images that are being viewed.  Exposure to particular programs, such as soap operas, movies, and especially music videos, is correlated with body image disturbance (Tiggemann 419).  Individuals in their teen-aged years are especially susceptible to the media’s influence due to the gender identity development and sex role exploration that takes place during those years (Tiggemann 200).  Similarly, it is during this period of life that women are most affected by body image (Groesz 1).  Movies, and especially music videos, are tended for a young adult audience, making the message of the media more influential. 

            The root of the problem with television’s influence on the body image of young adults rests in the type of physiques projected.  The unrealistic body images in television programs and movies provide an equally unrealistic body ideal for the viewer; thus, repeated viewings of such images cements the idea that overly thin figures are normal and should be attained (Schooler 38).  Because the rate of television consumption for young adults is relatively high, such images have the potential to be viewed often and instill the improper ideals in the minds of the audience (Tiggemann 420). A study conducted by Flinders University indicated that those who view television more often have a lower self esteem, and are thus are more likely to accept unreal body image on television (Tiggemann 426).  Eighty percent of women who regularly view television express feelings of greater body dissatisfaction (Media and).  HBO’s award winning series The Sopranos star Jamie Lynn-Siegler recently battled anorexia. Mary Kate Olsen of Full House and Two of a Kind underwent rehabilitation in the summer of 2004 to overcome an eating disorder. Calista Flockhart of Ally McBeal is under constant scrutiny for her unbelievably thin figure as is Courtney Cox of Friends.  The female stars of popular television embody the ideal that perpetuates unrealistic body image and lead to lower body satisfaction and self esteem.