Social Media And Eating Disorders Essay

Americans tend to value thinness while shaming those who are overweight. With the rise of technology and social media, social comparison is ever-present which is culminating a series of issues related to body satisfaction. This combined with limited research on eating disorders in people who don’t fit the white woman persona leads to misdiagnosis and mistreatment of patients.
With time spent on social media platforms increasing, the rates of eating disorder is also on the rise, “…respondents who spent more time on Facebook were more likely to display eating disorders, have negative body image, eat in dysfunctional ways, and want to diet” (Comer 2015). With social media being as prevalent as it is, there are countless opportunities for users to compare themselves to fitness models, celebrities, and even their peers, perpetuating issues such as cyber-bullying, body shaming, and ultimately, eating disorders. Talleyrand’s article applied this directly to women of color “… the increased presence of racially and ethnically diverse celebrity role models in the media may contribute to a rise in the rates of body and eating disturbances among children and women of color” (Talleyrand, 2012). This statement highlights the fact that social comparison is causing an increase of eating disturbances in people other than white women. Becker’s

This means that though they are very muscular already, they constantly view themselves as scrawny and will make extreme attempts such as excessive exercise or taking steroids in order to get bigger. (Comer, 2015) With social media, men are just as able to compare themselves to others, but are less likely to pick up on their own symptom pattern and be able to identify themselves as having a disorder, thus making them less likely to seek and receive