Adolescent Self-esteem

Adolescence is a time of strained communication between parents and their daughters. In particular, girls are usually not good at expressing their own needs. Many girls tend to lack the clarity of thought and self-confidence needed to clearly state what is on their minds. A girl with low self-esteem and a poor sense of herself is going to be an insecure, unhappy teenager, which could linger into adulthood. Throughout any girl's adolescence and even early adulthood, she may be at a greater risk of developing emotional problems, such as depression and eating disorders, that can have serious long-term consequences. A girl's lack of confidence may prevent her from being able to master the skills she needs to participate fully in the high-tech world. Today's daily bombardment of image-conscious marketing schemes can easily cause a girl's self-esteem to be lowered, if not taken for hostage.

From Teenbeat to CosmoGirl!, teen beauty magazines have dramatically influenced generations of adolescent girls in many obvious and hidden ways.

Young Teenagers Playing Guitar Band of Youth

Jennifer Love Hewitt (cropped)

Cosmogirl

Because thinness is equated with healthiness and attractiveness in our society, many teen girls feel the need to "fit into" a body image created by supermodels. For many adolescent girls, weight is a major source of unhappiness. Approximately 20 percent of all adolescent girls have highly abnormal eating habits. These pseudo-informative magazines, for example, teach eager and envious girls how to correctly apply make-up in hopes of becoming a mirror image of their celebrity heroes. Crammed into these glossy pages are endless advertisements repeatedly coaxing young, female readers to buy these brand name beauty products. Although these supermodel-wannabes believe that they are gaining confidence, they are sometimes receiving the exact opposite.

All teen beauty magazines share a single common goal: to convince their readers how they should look and act. Numerous advice columns attempt to...