This paper examines the cognitive and behavioral development of girls between the ages of six and puberty, with particular attention to the effects of exposure to oversexualized media content. Drawing on developmental frameworks by Gentile and Sesma (2003) and a literature review by Naigle (2005), the paper first outlines normal developmental milestones across toddlerhood, early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence. It then explores how television, music videos, and other media formats distort girls' self-perceptions, reinforce gender stereotypes, and undermine self-esteem and identity formation. The paper concludes that pervasive media exposure fosters unrealistic expectations about appearance, sexuality, and social roles, contributing to feelings of powerlessness in adolescent females.
The objective of this paper is to describe, compare, and contrast the effects on cognitive thinking and behavior in girls between the ages of six and puberty when they are exposed to oversexualized media — including video clips, reality shows, beauty contests, and television programs. It also examines the normal cycle of lifespan development in cognition, thinking, and behavior as compared to development under early media exposure, and provides specific examples supported by scientific research.
According to Gentile and Sesma (2003), the normal stages of cognitive development in children include the following key tasks:
Toddlerhood (1–2½ years): curiosity, exploration, and mastery; differentiation of self from the world; independence in actions such as self-care and feeding; and learning of language.
Early Childhood (2½ to 5 years): learning behavioral self-control and compliance with external rules; learning emotional self-control; and learning gender roles and stereotypes.
Middle Childhood (6 to 12 years): learning how to build loyal friendships and gain peer acceptance; learning social rules and norms; adjusting to school; learning the importance of academic achievement and real-world competence; moral development; and consolidating self-concept within the peer group.
Adolescence (13–18 years): learning to build intimate and committed friendships and relationships; adjusting to pubertal changes; transitioning to secondary schooling; and developing a strong and coherent personal identity.
Debbie Naigle's (2005) literature review, "Media Messages to Adolescent Females," reports that media plays a dominant role in shaping females' perceptions of the world and in defining their sense of self. Adolescence is a period in which severe psychological and emotional stresses are known to occur, and during this time, gender identities and values surrounding self-worth and sexual attitudes become central concerns. While these changes occur in both males and females, this period is generally more difficult for girls. It is characterized by anxiety and uncertainty, and adolescent girls are particularly likely to experience decreased feelings of attractiveness and self-esteem (Naigle, 2005).
Girls become more insecure and self-aware than boys during adolescence. This is a time of extreme introspection in which females look to media to help them define and explain the world around them (Naigle, 2005). Media is pervasive in the lives of adolescent girls and strongly influences how they construct meaning in their lives.
Research by Granello (1997), as cited in Naigle (2005), found that girls aged 12, 17, and 21 looked to media to help define social meaning, though in different ways. Twelve-year-olds looked to media to define how their lives would be; they observed characters and situations on television and believed that modeling themselves similarly would allow them to achieve the same status and rewards. Seventeen-year-olds looked to media to envision how their lives could have been under different circumstances — such as living in a different location or having a different socioeconomic status. They used television characters as role models but were aware that their own lives would not necessarily mirror those portrayals exactly. Twenty-one-year-olds were able to distinguish between their real lives and the fantasy lives shown on television, using media scenarios instead as conversation starters with peers, collectively constructing social and personal meaning through discussion.
It is not any single form of media but all forms combined that play a crucial role in influencing adolescent females in different ways (Naigle, 2005). While television viewing has been linked to body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls, Naigle notes there are no strong correlations connecting television specifically to eating disorder behaviors in the same way that magazine consumption has been linked. Different types of programming also vary in their influence.
Television has been found to distort and make light of serious societal issues (Naigle, 2005). Research cited by Naigle found an average of 3.5 incidents of gender or sexual harassment per episode across programs studied, with 33% of all episodes containing some form of harassment. While harassment is not necessarily a main topic in situational comedies, it is frequently used for humor. Treating a serious societal issue as comedic material belittles its impact and reinforces negative stereotypes. This sends the message that sexual harassment is trivial and not meant to be taken seriously. When such actions go unnamed and unlabeled on screen, they appear dismissible — leaving adolescent girls with the impression that degrading, male-empowering behavior is inconsequential (Naigle, 2005).
Additionally, women on television are generally depicted as less serious employees — less competent, more emotional and reactionary, and less reliable than their male colleagues (Naigle, 2005). These portrayals reinforce gender role stereotypes at a developmental stage when girls are actively forming their sense of identity and social belonging.
"Music videos and female body image and identity"
"Media creates unrealistic expectations and feelings of powerlessness"
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