The body is a powerful tool: it shows us who we are and who we want to be. Body images are equally powerful. The media uses bodies to sell everything from cars to food. Although this media tool is very successful, it has a disadvantage in today's world and is often very negative towards people's bodies. Just stand in line at a shopping mall and you'll find yourself surrounded by magazines advertising weight loss plans, fashion and the best diet to follow. The media uses this tool to their advantage: the promise of a good life goes to those who have a good body. If you are thin, tall and have perfect skin, you will definitely have a good career, a successful marriage, perfect children and the best furniture. Often people find themselves striving for a perfect body image that is virtually unattainable. The media has found many ways to implement this "perfect" image, most commonly Photoshop. Often the image we see in the magazine has been cropped and edited and the person on the cover does not resemble the person in real life. Social media has created negative pressure that can affect people's body image, self-esteem, and physical and mental health. We all have a perception of ourselves: what we are and what we want to be. These are often driven and influenced by social media. In an article by R. Kay Green, CEO and president of RKG Marketing Solutions states that we have a "real self" (who we are) and an "ideal self" (who we want to be), and what these two selves become when we go on the Internet . “Consider the fact that on social media sites we view our profiles as presentations of who we are. Therefore, through interaction with the social medium, the real and ideal self intersect; and the ideal... in the center of the card... Body image." - The Media Lies. Np, nd Web. January 27, 2014."Bones so fragile they would be impossible to walk and room for Only half a liver: shocking research reveals what life would be like if a real woman had Barbie's body. "Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, April 14, 2013. Web. February 9, 2014." Girls and Body Image: Media Effects, How Parents Can Help." WebMD. WebMD, nd Web. January 29, 2014. "Society Causes Low Self-Esteem | Bear Facts." Bear Facts. Np, nd. Web. 29 January 2014. Meikle, James. "Growing numbers of girls suffer from low self-esteem." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 29 November 2013. Web. 29 January 2014 Green, R. Kay. “The Social Media Effect: Are You Really Who You Represent Online?” The Huffington Post, 7 August 2013. Web, 26 January 2014. “The Ugly Truth About Body Dysmorphic Disorder.” The Telegraph Media Group, 26 February 0010. Web. 29 January. 2014.