The influence of media contents about health in the construction of

the discourse about the body in young adults and teenagers

Lazaro Echegaray

University School of Chamber Commerce of Bilbao

Carmen Peñafiel

University of the Basque Country

Milagros Ronco

University of the Basque Country

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this research is to find out how Young and teenagers young people from the Basque Autonomous Community and the Regional Government of Navarra search for information about

health in Internet in Web Pages in Spanish and Euskera (Basque) languages.

This research has been stablished in three diferents analysis phases:

- In the first phase, analysis was carried out about the perceptions of male and female communication managers in Internet who communicate health contents.

- In the second phase, an analysis of the contents was developed based on a sample of Web Pages which were selected according to their topics.

- In third phase in which work was done on the user, executed by creating 8 discussion groups distributed between the two geographical zones in which the scope of the study was framed

AIMS AND GOALS

The research which is now presented has focused on the latter aspect and aims to explore how young people from the Basque Autonomous

Community develop their discourse about the importance of the body's aesthetic image in a society which promotes cultural aesthetic

perfection.

METHODOLOGY

FOCUS GROUP WERE PREPARED BASED ON TWO MAIN FEATURES:

GEOGRAPHICAL AREA The geographic distribution was set up based on the creation of one group of young adults and one group of teenagers in each of three

territories of the Basque Autonomous Community.

According to the recommendations from the Esomar Code: `teenagers` group was established in an age range comprised between 12 and 18

years old, comprised by individuals of both genders. The ‘young adults’ group was comprised by young men and women between the ages of 19

and 24

THE EDGE

The main questions inserted in the research scripts were divided into seven blocks or chapters regarding topics such

METHODOLOGY

vision and perception of health

the use of Internet and its applications in daily life

the search for health information in Internet

the reasons for these search actions

the search process phases

RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH

In the following headings, the results are provided for the discussion groups and an analysis of the resulting discourses has been carried out. The samples have been explained verbatim which were considered to

be the most representative

Information searchers, receipt and ‘ junk mail and spam’ advertising

When searching for health information especially stand out all the questions related to aesthetics or beauty

When the participants were asked where they had searched for information, the following typical statements were heard

“In Internet, although we shouldn't”

“It is the worst”

“You leave frightened”

“There are many false web pages”

“They talk about health but they want everyone to have the same type of body”

NO TRUST

NO TRUST

There is a generalised idea about the lack of quality and the potential falsifications

The new communication methods from mass media mean that the information receipt process has been developed in two different ways

Information searchers, receipt and ‘ junk mail and spam’ advertising

“’Discover how the Hollywood models…’ and people think that if the famous do it, “’“Discover how this football player achieved this body”

“His secrets”“If you plan to read things about the crisis, it also appears”

On many occasions, the information in Internet arrives in an involuntary way. Likewise, all the groups complained about the amount of ‘spam’ messages which are inserted in social

networks as well as in the Internet browsingnt information searches are about how to achieve perfect ‘10’ bodies

Digital Media Traditional Media

Information searchers, receipt and ‘ junk mail and spam’ advertising

“invasion of nutrition and beauty web pages” “fitness items”

Perception of health concept

Both groups expressed how complicated it is at their ages to think about health issues, a topic which they believe is more appropriate for people who are older than them

“We get sick less since we are young. We have fewer problems than older people”

The first reactions to the question about what health was involved associating health with healthy practices and the well-being of body and mind

“The reason that governed their life, more or less. In the end, everything which you do is governed by it”

“If you are ill, everything will depend on that, your life will depend on that”

“I believe that health is not just physical but it is also mental, in order to feel good about yourself, you must also be well mentally, because if not, this will take its toll on you”

Health Mean Freedon

The importance of the food

In a very similar way when they talked about the health issues which most concerned them, the idea that a healthy lifestyle begins with a healthy diet

“When I think about health, I think about eating healthy and playing sports”

Besides, the groups revealed a type of love-hate relationship with the fast and junk food

“eating poorly causes problems for you, whereas if you follow a ‘good’ diet, you prevent them”

“if you eat poorly, you have more possibilities to have health problems”

FOOD IS CONSIDERED AS THE START OF EVERYTHING: FAULT OR SUCESS

Beginning and the evolution of the aesthetics discourse

The concern for beauty was not so evidently present in the young people's groups,

although there is a slightly perceptible concern about it. Accordingly, they considered that the act of doing exercise to lose weight is

an “adult” activity“Unless you have a problem with obesity”

“It can be detrimental to you”

Many of them considered that one of the things which can motivate them to search for information about

health involved “being overweight”“If you feel like you are overweight, then you can look for images and ideas about

how to get thin”

It is in the higher age groups where we truly observed that the aesthetics discourse has an

important meaning. In all these age groups, the discourses in this respect were intimately linked and they were quickly

interconnected• “When you are young, in the short term, the aspect which most

reflects one's health is one's physical condition. And also perhaps for this reason, we are more concerned about nutrition”.

• -“It is more aesthetics than anything else. This means, the same as going to the gym and eating well… so, you eat to get thin… you eat for your physical appearance, for aesthetics and not for one's health”.

• - “If you want to have a good social image and self-image… Well, it depends. It can be for yourself and also be social”.

Teenagers Group Young Adults

Beginning and the evolution of the aesthetics discourse

Young Adults

As shown, the concern about aesthetics obeys a social need, for the presentation of an acceptable and desirable image

“In the end, the first thing that you see in someone is their physical appearance. And you say, wow, that boy is healthy. Of course, if someone has a bad appearance and eats poorly, how am I going to keep in shape if he

does not bother to keep fit”

“You follow a diet and in the end, you have to pay attention to all the effects that this has on you and also on your health. Thus, it is not just physical appearance but health is also a part of the aesthetics topic”

The social influence and advertising in the concept of beauty

These educational guidelines are focused on taking care of one's diet, the awareness that you are being observed and aware of your body and its problems, asking for advice and visiting the doctor

when necessary

Indeed, learning about a healthy lifestyle in which aesthetics is not mentioned

“Beyond what is scientific, you pay more attention to marketing, what is on television and what they are selling to you. This is what you see every day and you do not really read the studies in the magazines or find out what is the

best food to eat”“Watch 30 minutes of TV. In all the spots that are shown, they are all models”

Health Concept

SCHOOLFAMILY

HOME

But also in MARKETING and MEDIA

Sometimes an obsessive behaviors have been observed as far as the body is concerned

“Many boys do not go to the gym for health but for their aesthetic appearance”.

“And they take proteins and things like that”

“I do not believe that anyone goes to the gym because they like lifting weights”

“They go to fit in with the beauty standards which are demanded by today's society”

However, they were not able to determine up to what point, the social influence is due to media influence or vice versa

everything is observed inside the same whole

The social influence and advertising in the concept of beauty

The immediately following topic was about mass media

The social influence and advertising in the concept of beauty

“Television and certain mass media also have a quite intense impact on us, because they really promote these aspects in a very powerful way”

“the concept of beauty and aesthetics is confused with health”

“Above all regarding what they teach you… because they teach you that the girl prototype is practically an anorexic. Consequently, the majority of girls, we view ourselves like this”

Conclusions

- The acquisition of healthy lifestyle habits has a cultural component- The idea of a healthy body was converted into the idea of a ‘socially

acceptable’ or ‘socially presentable’ body- The possession of a socially acceptable body also means existing inside

the discourse which is communicated by the mass media and advertising- In addition to this, there is the underlying importance which social

representation has today in the ‘personal ownership channels’ - Young males and females do not have a conception of the body similar to

teenagers, nor do they expect the same things from their social relations

Conclusions

The existence of the awareness of the body is very human. The desire for a healthy body is one of the basic principles of a healthy life. It is a different thing to seek a

‘lustful body’ which was already mentioned by Le Breton (1999) as a factor of social success and the result of specific receptive guidelines which would convert the

body into an element of capitalist production