We make sure they get enough veggies (or we try to anyway), that they leave the house properly bundled up, and that their bodies are strong enough to fight off viruses. But when was the last time you immunized junior-ette against the lifelong detrimental effects of mass media? We berate them about the length of their micro minis and order them to change before heading off to school, confident that our brand of tough love will do the job, only to find that such confrontations not only multiply as they age, but morph into defiance. What’s there to be done, right? Rebellion is natural for adolescents. You say “they’ll grow out of it, just as I did…”

But will they? Things have changed since you or I flirted with the guy in the next locker. In an age when someone’s external appearance can define one’s social group or even career, it’s paramount that we look deeper into the cause of this dangerous shift in self-perception. People will always strive for the unrealistic images depicted in magazines and TV shows, but have you noticed how much earlier girls are thinking about diets, the latest tna accessories, and sex?

While they deprive their bodies of the foods they need, they’re also starving their minds. That’s why sites like About-Face.org are necessary. Education is always the best defense against the viral effects of media. From one that refused to colour with pink crayons as a child, simply because it was expected of her, to a woman who battled with anorexia nervosa for ten years, About-Face is run by a group of women out of San Francisco who recognize the negative and distorted images that today’s youth are bombarded with and aim to equip them with the resources they need to filter out the bad influences. The site offers a plethora of referenced facts, a gallery of offenders and winners (bad and good advertisements), a forum where readers can voice their opinions and concerns, as well an avenue to show your support. Worth checking out!

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