Social Media And Eating Disorders

776 Words2 Pages

We live in a media obsessed world, and we never even notice how much it affects us. Social media is all around us, from magazines to youtube videos. There are tons of pictures, videos, and comments that encourage the mindset that women have to be a size 2 and always look gorgeous. At least 30 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the United States (Hudson). Social media has a very significant influence on women with these disorders.
From the time we’re kids to when we are grown adults, the environment that we’re used to being around affects how we dress, act, and feel. For example, if a young girl spends her time on a platform like Snapchat obsessing over how pretty she thinks her friends are, which would …show more content…

Some say that people with eating disorders are just being dramatic, and trying to get attention. They say that if you want to eat, you can just eat. In some cases, thats true. There is no single cause of body dissatisfaction or disordered eating. But, research is saying that media does contribute. Other causes of eating disorders are irregular hormones, genetics, nutritional deficiencies, negative body image, poor self-esteem, dysfunctional family dynamic, careers that promote being thin and weight loss, such as ballet and modeling, sports, family and childhood traumas, peer pressure, and stress (Ekern). Unfortunately, the list goes on, and on. There are many causes of eating disorders, but social media is definitely one of them. Media has a huge impact on women with eating disorders and body image issues. Hopefully, someday soon, there will be a way to help these women, and we should start by stopping all of the hate and criticism …show more content…

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