Topic 5 Self Image

Why do teenagers need to learn about self-image and its management?

Adolescence is an essential stage of shaping one's self-image, and teenagers need to develop a sound, accurate, positive self-image. However, the trend of pursuing a thin-ideal physical appearance can impact teenagers' body image. When teenagers pay too much attention to their body shape and weight, it may cause unnecessary psychological pressure and even a distorted self-image. Through education, teachers can encourage young people to appreciate themselves from all-rounded aspects, spend time discovering personal interests and building multi-faceted abilities, cultivate moral character and inner beauty, and accept themselves within a healthy range of body weight and having a neat physical appearance, thereby reducing dissatisfaction on their physical appearance and helping improve young people's self-image.

Main concepts

1. Let teenagers know that self-image is a person's view of themselves. A sound, accurate and positive self-image helps teenagers build a sense of self-esteem. Teenagers sometimes have a proper understanding of certain aspects of themselves, and sometimes they do not and need to learn about themselves through self-exploration and interaction with others.
2. Let teenagers understand themselves from all-rounded aspects. Physical aspects of a person may include physical appearance and characteristics, body posture and health status. Social aspects of a person may consist of how they interact with family and friends and the roles they play in a group. Emotional aspects of a person may include the emotions they often experience and how they express their feelings. Academic aspects and talents of a person may consist of the subjects and exceptional skills in which you are more confident and interested.
3. Let teenagers understand the factors that affect self-image and realise that how people see themselves is affected by different factors, such as family, close friends and influential others, traditional values, cultural trends, social atmosphere, the online world, etc. These factors can positively affect teenagers and help them have an accurate and positive understanding of themselves. Still, these factors can also nurture teenagers' inaccurate or distorted self-image.
4. By observing social phenomena, teachers and students can explore the impact that today's cultural ideals for beauty commonly found in mainstream media and our society may have on teenagers' body image. It allows young people to develop critical thinking skills and the confidence to cope with the changing environment overwhelmed with various information and become a generation standing in the world with the ability to interpret information received from outside and make rational responses so as not to follow the bandwagon or have their self-esteem lowered.
5. Let students discuss what beautiful and stylish mean to reflect young people's pursuit of beauty. They should seek a style that suits them, and on the other hand, at the same time, they should also remind themselves not to be overly obsessed with it. Teenagers should have a whole-person perspective when viewing a person but stop the excessive pursuit of external beauty. They may reflect on the problem of judging people by their physical appearance. Instead, teenagers should learn to understand and value themselves from an objective and healthy perspective. Basic skincare techniques and healthy weight management principles help keep a positive body image and take good care of the body healthily. Students should also pay attention to the warning signs of negative body image, such as symptoms of anorexia.
6. Help young people to understand and accept the current self and explore the concept of an ideal self. The following questions may be helpful for students to reflect on the topic: "What kind of person can I become?", "What is the ideal me?", "What alternative responses can I make when encountering the same situation next time?" etc. There are often no right or wrong answers in this type of exploration. Not every teenager has a clear image of their future self, making it difficult to find a straightforward way to recognise their ideals or improve the current situation. Therefore, teachers should provide room and guidance (such as personality tests, discovering personal strengths, understanding the characteristics of their favourite idols, playing a board game about self-understanding, writing an introduction about themselves, creating a self-portrait and other forms of artistic creation about themselves). Students should also listen to each other's sharing with an open mind and encourage those who share.

Keywords

#Self-image   #Looking Glass Self   #Self-esteem   #Celebrity Culture

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