Being thin is now considered a regulation of beauty (Kilbourne 1994). With this being the idea of beauty, many people become depressed if they cannot fit this "norm". Depression can affect someone's psychological identity entirely. .
Many companies market their products in ways that could affect someone's psychological identity. Carl's Jr., for example, objectifies women on a daily basis by throwing actresses in barley there bikinis, shorts that are exceptionally too short, and make them eat burgers like a ravenous animal. But of course, Carl's Jr. isn't the only company that posts ads that objectify women. As one article says "Sex sells" (Nelson & Paek 2005). Men like to see half naked women being objectified because it helps fulfill their mental fantasies, but women also like to see this so they can imagine what it would be like for them to be that woman. By envisioning something you are not, you mess with your psychological being, which could, in turn, affect your psychological identity. "Body image [is] very important to the overall psychological well-being and life satisfaction of all human beings" (Moin, Duvdevany, Mazor). Nelson and Paek say "Despite women's gains in the real world, the media world still depicts women as sex objects even in media targeted to women". Not only do men need to change the way they view women, women need to change the way we view themselves in order to help everyone's psychological identity. .
Part of the reason why psychological identity is so important is because many people don't realize what exactly is affecting the image they have of themselves. Many of the reasons why we become so depressed over body image is because of the media's influence on both genders. Everything from supermodels to magazines, even to sex scenes on TV can affect one's psychological identity. Only a few decades ago, men and women could not be filmed or televised in the same bed, now we can basically view an entire sex scene without consequences.