Eating Disorders: The Negative Effects Of Mass Media

From the beginning of the development of mass media, it has affected us negatively. One of the ways we are affected by mass media is through propaganda. Propaganda is defined as, “information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view” (Oxford Dictionaries). Beauty and fashion advertising are a form of propaganda that is being used to control the way we think about ourselves. For many years, the fashion and beauty industry have used unrealistic images to influence the standards we have set towards beauty. With eating disorders growing fast among both male and female populations at such an early age, it is clear to see that the mass media has psychologically damaging

Thin models are used because of the fact that the Beauty and Fashion Industry make a financial gain when they sell products that consumers buy in the hopes of getting closer to being as desirable as the media's ideal women (Eating Disorders: Body Image and Advertising). What is dangerous about the media's effect on women is how it can lower their self-esteem and it teaches them their worth is based on their looks. Women often feel unhappy with themselves because they are not within the media's beauty standard. In an article where Arielle Cutler was given a Levitt grant to study the performance of media literacy programs she stated that “when all you see is a body type that only two percent of the population has, it’s difficult to remember what’s real and what’s reasonable to expect of yourself and everyone else” (The Media's Effect on Women's Body Image). With society being so hung up on weight it is no wonder that eating disorders can often develop. Eating disorders are the result of one's obsession with their weight. Since we already know that we are being exposed to the media’s ideal of the perfect women it is easy to fall into a weight consumed trap. A type of media that is supportive of unhealthy women is the modeling industry. According to Nada Stotland a professor of psychiatry at Rush Medical College in Chicago, "we know seeing super-thin models can

The Human Barbie trend is a prime example of social media gone horribly wrong. Women have become so dissatisfied with their appearance they have undergone plastic surgery to look like Barbies. The surgeons of the ladies who have transformed themselves into living dolls state they have done this because of BDD (Body Dysmorphic Disorder). People are willing to adjust their look just for acceptance and a sense of belonging (‘Human Barbie’ trend fueled by social media, body dysmorphia, experts say). Social media helps reinforce the thin beauty ideal and with women taking drastic measures such as turning themselves into human dolls it is obvious the media's effect on us has become problematic. Dr. Margotta has said that “social media, selfies, photo-shopped magazine covers all contribute to a society with an increasingly unrealistic view of human beauty and the human form.” (‘Human Barbie’ trend fueled by social media, body dysmorphia, experts say) . Social media has other ways of impacting our body image. Instagram stars can be seen as the new celebrities with their flashy clothing, slim bodies, and perfect features it is likely that women aspire to be like them. Essena O’Neill who has now quit Instagram despite her stardom revealed what it was like to be in the public eye. Essena says to achieve her look that “She would also look at photographs of models on 'Google, Pinterest, Tumblr' and