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Abstract
It is becoming impossible to recognize the level of photoshop on advertisements. However, little is known how continuous exposure to such images can negatively impact the short- and long-term psyche of young girls aged 6 to 14 years old. The study’s theoretical framework was Benet’s polarities of democracy, emphasizing freedom and authority and human rights and communal obligations. The research question focused on the negative impacts false advertising has on young girls and what public policies could assist in mitigating these short- and long-term impacts. A general qualitative design, with semistructured interviews of seven adult participants with relevant insight on the negative impacts to young girls, generated themes through multicycle coding. Themes included (a) impressionable young girls, (b) deceptive advertisers, and (c) protecting women. Congress can use these findings to inform policies supportive to protecting young girls’ self-esteem from false advertising. Such policies could assist in reducing current behaviors of young girls from such advertisements including but not limited to eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and depression. Implications for positive social change include informing Congress of potential systemic issues that either hinder or democratize young girls’ rights within Congress and further supports protecting the mental health development of young girls. Therefore, providing a tax or monetary benefit to participating businesses proving they did not use photoshop could provide a greater motivation in producing natural models as well as set an example for what models actually look like for young girls.
