Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Body image and social media
How the media effects anorexia
Body image and social media negative effects
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Anorexia Men and women on social media, in movies and on advertisements tend to have the ideal body type (muscular and lean physique) (skinny with perfect curves) which causes teenagers to get influenced by them and become insecure with their bodies. Western culture and media present images of thin women as being beautiful and desirable, while men of larger size are still considered more acceptable. However, there is media and societal pressure for men to be muscular and “fit,” and women to be skinny and curvy at the same time. Anorexia is a problem in our society because there is no way to satisfy people, if we are too skinny- we need to eat, if we are overweight- we need to go on a diet and hit the gym. Society and social media pressure
Anorexia Nervosa has been a problematic disease many women suffer from. The article “The Slender Trap” was composed by Trina Rys who is a stay at home mother with a husband and one daughter. Rys writes the main reasons a woman may develop anorexia from. She states that the psychological pressures, expectations of friends and family and influences of the media all are factors when a woman is inflicted with the disease. I strongly agree with Rys persuading argument that anorexia could be caused by an unknown identity and the overall main focus of the ideal image of a woman. Although, I believe Rys requires a stronger argument on whether food restrictions executed by parents are a major step to developing the harmful illness. She seems to put emphasize on mainly women but does not shine any light on men.
Pro-Anorexia Websites Cyberspace, something that was once considered a fad, has developed into a tool that allows people struggling with anorexia to potentially find sanctuary from the regulatory systems in popular culture that are applied to women’s bodies. Cyberspace provides an alternative space for women with eating disorders or body issues. The space created by cyberspace is potentially safer for women to meet because it allows anonymity while simultaneously being part of a community that the built environment is unable to provide. The components that make up pro-anorexia websites are usually considered abnormal, repugnant, or deviant within popular culture, because popular culture does not accept the way anorexics interpret images of the body. This popular view of people with anorexia does not allow anorexics to function as an accepted part of public space or popular culture.
The complications that accompany body image have long been an issue in society. Body image is the sense of how an individual views his or her own body as compared to others in society, or what is considered to be the ideal body image. There are many different factors that effect ones body image, but a major influence is the media. The media has long been associated with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder where an individual participates in self-starvation, and bulimia is an eating disorder where an individual will eat as much as he or she wishes and then purges the previously eaten food. These are two destructive eating disorders that are associated with a negative body image. This comes to question, does media have an influence on creating a negative body image, which may inherently lead to eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia? Anorexia nervosa and bulimia affect various age groups but is extremely common in adolescence and emerging adulthood. During this stage in an individual’s lifespan there is a lot going on with ones psychological development as well as body. How an adolescent views his or her body image be highly impacted by how the media portrays what the ideal body image is. According to Berger (2015), “as might be expected from a developmental perspective, healthy eating begins with childhood habits and family routines” (p.415). If proper eating habits are not implemented negative body image and eating disorders that are associated with media becomes further predominant in adolescence and emerging adulthood.
Anorexia nervosa is a psychosociological disease which affects young women. Anorexia is mainly a female's disease which has been evident for centuries-however, in the past twenty years, the incidence of this disorder has risen to horrifying proportions. It is characterized by the refusal to maintain body wight over a minimal normal weight for age and height; intense fear of gaining weight; a distorted body image; and, amenorrhea. (http://www.pgi.edu/hagopian.htm) This disorder becomes a disease when the mind starts to cause problems with one's physical well-being. A connection has been found between sociocultural pressures to achieve, familial characteristics, and individual personality traits.
Our society today is heavily influenced by the media and the imagery it shows. Though it may be indirect, the media provides unhealthy messages about ideal body sizes, gender attractiveness, and weight control that make women view themselves in a negative way. Magazines, television, and movies influence teenage girls on what they believe their body image should be. The images they show set the standard of what is considered physically attractive in our society. With the use of photoshop, media depicts falsified images of models and actresses to create a perfected look that is unattainable by the average woman. This creates a desire among teenage girls to look like these stars that are often shown. When teenage girls look at these images, they compare themselves to those images, and then judge themselves based on these comparisons. These judgements can potentially lead to eating disorders. In order to prevent the risk of eating disorders among teenage girls, the media should depict a typical image of people, rather than idolizing a specific standard of beauty.
The media can impact people’s lives in many ways, whether it’s fashion, movies, literature, or hobbies. One of the impacts is how women view their bodies. Movie stars and models feel pressured to catch attention and to look good in order to have a good career in their respective field. People tend to judge how someone looks based on their body composition. The result of this “judgment” is that Hollywood is getting skinny. Since models and actresses serve as role models for people, people tend to want to look like them. The result of this seemingly harmless model of behavior is in an increase in eating disorders.
In conclusion, society’s influence sparks the initial thought that skinny is pleasurable and desirable. Adolescents will buy into this misconception that they get from the media and society. When this misconception is bought into, it can cause serious consequences as the individual looks for extreme measures of weight control. This weight control can be contained by helping individuals struggling with Anorexia and Bulimia fix their distorted view of themselves, eliminating the negative influence one media source at a time.
Media has more of an effect than people realize on how people think about themselves, especially body shape. Social media, television, and magazines all encourage low self esteem regarding body image and eating disorders. The media is a major factor in young boys and girls developing eating disorders; when surrounded by media for hours a day filled with commercials encouraging weight loss and models that are unhealthily skinny, it is inevitable to feel insecure about your body shape and self image and in some cases, results in developing an eating disorder.
In today’s world, the pursuit of thinness has increased due to the association it has with physical attractiveness and body perfection. Society, particularly the Western culture, idolizes thin body size as the ideal body image. And as a consequence, eating disorders can develop when people take this to the extreme. Scholars have looked at all forms of persuasive tools that can explain the popularity of anorexia nervosa. From language use (Burke, 1966) to the power of culture in terms of presumed knowledge (Dumit, 2003) and its increasing interest in the ideal body image of the Western culture (Vandereycken and van Deth, 1994).
intro- Ninety percent of teenage girls have been on a diet. Some take it too far and starve themselves to be thin. Over one million people in just the US are afflicted with anorexia. If what is on the inside matters, then why are does society and the media constantly promote being thin? The influence of society’s promotion of a thin body plays a significant role in the development of such eating disorders as anorexia.
Ninety percent of the eating disorder cases occur in women ages twelve to twenty-five and many researchers believe the media is to blame. Though there is no single cause of an eating disorder, multiple studies cause an eating disorders to the media. With being vulnerable to the “thin ideal” in mass media, there is an increased risk of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. (“Media, Body Image, and Eating Disorders”)
I. Historical Development Obesity is not a new notion or phenomenon in history. Centuries ago some cultures and societies saw obesity as the most noteworthy platform for wealth, social status, and sexual appeal. The influential Greek physician Hippocrates was among the first to record the negative effects of excessive weight and poor diet on the human body. While advancements in medicine and public health have helped improve life expectancy, obesity is becoming a silent yet visible threat to these milestones especially with the influence of technological innovation on the day-to-day of humans.
It is estimated that about 8 to 10 million Americans have an eating disorder. Of these people, one fifth of girls ages 6 to 11 have been exposed to websites containing harmful content that may have led them to develop an eating disorder. Another study showed that one third of people who have suffered from anorexia or bulimia nervosa have been affected by a brain abnormality. What is the sole reason for these diseases? Were they influenced by the media, or by something that’s lurking within your brain?
Today we live in a society that honors thinness. With this being said people develop eating disorders threatening their health. It’s been found by researchers that eating disorders consist of many different genetic, biological, behavioral, psychological, and social factors. Eating disorders can affect both males and females. You can get affected by an eating disorder at any stage of your life. Although they can treatable it can tend to cause harm. Among the many eating disorders there is one called Anorexia which is people that have an intense fear of gaining weight and who live with an abnormally low body weight.
Social Media causes young ladies to have eating disorders. The main two disorders are bulimia and anorexia. Bulimia means people throw up their food and try hard to avoid weight gain. Anorexia means people are worried about their weight and what they eat. The reason for teen girls to have eating disorders because of celebrities and body shames. Mostly, celebrities pictures are photoshop ; and it makes them look amazing. Photoshop photos cut out fat and make their bodies look better. Mostly, when women look at women celebrities and see that people praise their bodies.They want the same attention as the celebrities. Also, body shaming affects the way young teenage girls look at themselves. Body shamers make teenage girls think negative about