As summer rolls around the corner, bikinis and short-shorts are being pulled out from the bottom of the closet. The season of showing skin is quickly approaching meaning that for most girls, body confidence will be at an all-time low.

In the months leading up to summer, fashion retailers whip up advertisements for their new summer clothing lines, which almost always feature heavily Photoshop-ed, flawless looking models: perfect advertisements for any clothing (or non-clothing) store. This is all well and good for the retailers, promising young women false dreams about what they will look in the store’s clothes, but unfortunately the outcome of these advertisements isn’t so healthy for the consumers.

In 2013, the average clothing size for the American woman was a 14. Yet in popular store Brandy Melville, the biggest clothing size they sell is a size 8. Brandy Melville is just one of the many stores that don’t cater to the masses. In 1992 the average model weighed eight percent less than the average woman. However, research in 2012 shows that the average model now weighs 23 percent less than the average woman.

This is where body confidence issues come into play: when a girl finds out they’re too “big” for a store’s clothes, it obviously affects how they look at themselves. This makes them feel they need to slim down to be seen as normal, resulting in endless insecurities and, in some cases, fatal disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.

In 2011, 40 to 60 percent of 6 year old girls were worried that they were becoming too fat. This shows how much of an affect the media and the general attitude about body image are having on children, especially girls.

It is clear a critical change in the way society views peoples’ weight is needed. I urge you to help change the way people look at their bodies: don’t ignore advertisements with the size 00 model, make a scene to your friends about it. Get people to realize there is a serious problem with the media; make yourself heard.

The media doesn’t need to use our insecurities to sell their product. I encourage you to help stop the obsession with having a “perfect” body. Even if you just tell your friends they look good that day, you will be boosting their confidence in more ways than you know. Simple actions can lead to an overall body positive result.