There are numerous beliefs that people are perceived to be a certain way. People are supposed to look a certain way and behave a certain way. Internet, television, movies, magazines and social media applications that allow individuals to share content, known as media, is considered to be a major cause in the increase of disordered eating which leads to eating disorders. According to the National Eating Disorder Association, “…research is increasingly clear that media does indeed contribute and that exposure to and pressure exerted by media increase body dissatisfaction and disordered eating” (NEDA). Multitudes of college athletes have inspirations and people that they look up to. They follow the most important and well known athletes in their …show more content…
I struggled with disordered eating on and off for three years. I have dealt with the pressure of my coaches telling me that “I’m too fat”, I have dealt with my teammates who were smaller then me performing better, and I have dealt with social media depicting what is considered beautiful. In all-star cheerleading, we have people who are called “cheerlebrities”. The term cheerlebrities speaks for itself, cheerleaders who are considered to be famous. In order to become a cheerlebrity, an individual had to be extremely skinny with abs, pretty, and tan. It was never based off of skill, which did not make sense considering that athletes become famous due to their skill level and technique. Being in the cheerleading world, I have grown to also think I was not good enough because I was not an extremely skinny girl. Even though I was better skill wise, it did not matter because I did not fall into the three categories to be considered a cheerlebrity. It was proven that the girls who were skinny, pretty, and tan had more followers on social media, had numerous interviews, were given special treatment, and received many publicity opportunities. Not only did I have the pressure from my coaches, but the consumption of social media popularity is what also driven me to develop and struggle with disordered