Pressure To Be Perfect: Eating Disorders And Social Media

Pressure to be Perfect There are around an astounding number of 24 million people of all ages and genders who suffer from different eating disorders in the United States alone (NEDA). There are constantly advertisements, television shows, and social media posts that promote a flawless body that makes people loathe their figure rather than embrace their appearance. Eating disorders may be caused by other things such as genetics, being female, sports, family history, and many other reasons (Mayo Clinic). Although there may be many downsides to society’s look on appearance, it may benefit people as well. There are places on the internet and social media that provide body positivity, which can help men and women who are suffering from an eating

Research shows that the average child or adolescent watches up to five hours of television each day (Marcus). Since children grow up watching television often, they may grow up thinking that they need to look exactly like those celebrities to fit standards. Thompson strongly concedes when she describes, “television shows featuring thin or very muscular actors make viewers feel like they need to look thin or be super fit in order to be successful.” Seeing these television stars may make people seem overweight when really, they are average (Media, Body Image, and Eating Disorders). TV productions also compose the idea that being skinny and fit comes with happiness, popularity, and success (Marcus). Since many actors and actresses contain a high income, they have other ways of reaching society’s idea of perfect. Thompson comments, “some [actors and actresses] even resort to plastic surgery, liposuction, and breast implants.” This explains that what society sees is mainly not realistic. These celebrities can spend thousands of dollars to look the way they want, and this again puts a false image in human’s heads because that body cannot most likely be achieved without getting surgery. When children turn on their TV, they may end up comparing themselves to someone who looked completely different before they became famous, which is not always

For a majority of the population, Instagram, Youtube, Snapchat, and other apps are used daily where they can find many images of fit bodies. Gleissner points out the effect when she states, “According to research, media is a causal risk factor for the development of eating disorders and has a strong influence on a person’s body dissatisfaction, eating patterns, and poor self-concept.” This explains that social media is a factor of eating disorders because of the images and sayings that people post all over the internet. Men and women cannot scroll through their feed without seeing an image that expresses body negativity. People normally only put everything that is going greatly in their life on social media, causing confidence issues for other people (Marcus). Social media seems to lead more towards negative encounters rather than positive, and Clark relates when she explains, “comparing yourself to your friends, and your friends of friends on social media can easily put you in a bad mood, harboring negative thoughts about your body. The alleged fix: restricting food and exercising excessively.” It is proven that because of social media’s body image and an abundant amount of exposure towards images of friends and celebrities, that can result to self-hatred