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The Impact Of Social Media On Eating Disorders

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Social media impacts the lives of many daily, and many believe that is it taking over the ability to socialize in person as well as how the perspective used in viewing ourselves in the mirror. Websites like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, et cetera. contain sub-pages that promote weight loss. However, some take this idea to the extreme like pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia sites, which are promotional websites that encourage being thin to an unhealthy extent. Social media is one of the most impacting reasons for eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia is a medical condition with the lack or loss of appetite for food and bulimia is an emotional disorder involving distortion of the body image and an obsessive desire to lose weight …show more content…

Studies provide strong evidence that media images portraying the thin ideal body contribute to body dissatisfaction. “Television advertising and more (such as shows and movies aired) can send young girls (and boys) the wrong message about what is a healthy and normal body weight” (Mascarelli). Northern American television portrays very little diversity in many shows and movies. Those who are slim are portrayed most of the time as the popular kids as well as fit boys being jocks. Television sets stereotypes and misguiding body standards as proven when “girls in Fiji became more weight-conscious since being exposed to North American television shows” (Mascarelli). Media has driven the public’s perception of the ideal body since the early twentieth century (Ballaro). This shows being introduced to the media has a great effect on the lives of many. If the girls in Fiji genetically carried a trait which revealed a consciousness to their appearance, the media would have had no effect for they would already be battling with themselves. Media does not only impact through television but deeper in social media and on the internet. Websites like Ana’s Sanctuary and Go Pro: Ana Lives are pro-ana and pro-mia sites that promote the eating disorders anorexia and bulimia to achieve an extreme thinness which is seen as the most beautiful. These websites commandments or rules to live by are If you are not thin you are not attractive You can never be too thin Being thin and not eating are signs of true willpower and

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Bordo’s defines “body-image distortion syndrome” describing and stereotyping a North American white girl with money to buy fashion magazines, clothing, and parents that don't worry about putting food on the family table. Despite this description Bordo questions the reader if you have picture the syndrome to another person as Black, Latina, or Asian. Then, Bordo talks about Fiji and Central Africa and how fashion trends through media affected them differently, but at the same time with the same problem of weight loss. In Fiji island with the introduction of the television in1995, after three years in 1998, 11% of girls reported vomiting and 62% surveyed reported dieting during previous months. I think that the fashion industry is the one that

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Moreover, Body Image, Media and Eating Disorders states that 30% of children are dissatisfied with their body image due to being overweight and 15% are dealing with obesity (Derene & Beresin, 2006). This demonstrates that the number of children watching television and the number of overweight, obese children are involving their selves more into the media rather than more crucial events. Correspondingly, the average model is 23% thinner compared to 25 years ago (Ravelli & Webber, 2012). Today’s media has an impacting effect on how women should appeal themselves to others in society. This guides them to behave a certain way and not truly be themselves.

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In “The Globalization of Eating Disorders”, written by Susan Bordo in 2003, the author declares that eating and body disorders have increased rapidly throughout the entire globe. Susan Bordo, attended Carleton University as well as the State University of New York, is a modern feminist philosopher who is very well known for her contributions to the field of cultural studies, especially in ‘body studies’ which grants her the credibility to discuss this rising global issue (www.wikipedia.org, 2015). She was correspondingly a professor of English and Women Studies at the University of Kentucky which gives her the authority to write this article. “The Globalization of Eating Disorders” is written as a preface to her Pulitzer Price-nominated book “Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body” which was similarly written in 2003. Through the use of many logical arguments and evidence, Bordo successfully manages to convince her audience that the media, body images and culture have severely influenced the ‘so-called’ trending standard of beauty and how it leads to eating disorders across the world.

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This was a very informative article written and studied very accurately. I have known for many years that Alaska economy is dependent on oil. With this article offers is not just information but also statistics the displays a very pattern that Alaskan economy has. I don’t believe it’s bad to have these fluctuations of a boom and bust economy. What’s bad is that we don’t learn when the economy is good.

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Body images and the ensuing and inevitable body shaming, has grown to become a pressing problem impacting the Canadian youth. With overweight rates at 65% and 30% for adults and children, respectively, one may see weight loss as the necessary solution to solve all body images stigmas. On the contrary, eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are climbing steadily amongst today’s Canadian youth. (Derene & Beresin, 2006). With such drastic sides of the spectrum, many have pointed toward different potential reasons for this trend however, a key determinant that must be tackled in the role the media play’s in the lives of today’s youth.

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One of the biggest issues with the media is “thin-ideal media.” Many American celebrities of the twenty first century are incredibly skinny. However, this is only because so many of them lose weight due to unforgiving diets and overbearing workouts. Thin-ideal media causes the majority of issues, “‘thin-ideal media’ refers to media images, shows and films that contain very thin female leads… Thin-ideal media highlights the idea that thinness is a good and desirable thing to be, even if it is to a level that is potentially damaging to a persons health” (Farrar). Females are portrayed as feminine, skinny, and ladylike on screen.

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Annotated Bibliography: Social Media’s direct correlation with eating disorders Hellings, Bridie, and Terry Bowles. "Understanding And Managing Eating Disorders In The School Setting." Australian Journal Of Guidance & Counselling 17.1 (2007): 60-67. Academic Search Complete.

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It is clear that society is responsible for cultivating a community in which beauty and thinness are interdependent. According to Lintott, “the average woman is preoccupied, if not obsessed, with thinness” (66). She argues that this comes directly from exposure to modern media, which “bombards us with images of impossibly thin models and exceedingly skinny actresses, among whom the rates of eating disorders are extremely high” (qtd. in Lintott 67).

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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.

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People feel the need to be thin because society and the media make us think that’s the only way to be pretty. It’s hard to break this way of thinking, someone could make it their life’s work to break this thought from the media, but you can’t make someone change, you can only influence them too. The issue can really affect kids, so parents should learn how to help them because you always want the best for your child, rather them safe and healthy than dead, right? Parents need to be there and help their kid’s and Kandel agrees, “ Johanna Kandel, founder of the alliance for eating disorders awareness, stresses the value of having two-way discussions with your child about social media use.”

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Kayla Estrada Mrs. Turano English 3 13 March 2023 Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives, with many individuals spending hours scrolling through various platforms. While social media has provided numerous benefits, such as connecting people from all over the world, it has also had some negative impacts. In recent years, there has been an increasing concern regarding the effects of social media on body image, eating disorders, and body dysmorphia. This thesis paper will explore the relationship between social media and these conditions, examining the potential negative effects that social media can have on individuals' perceptions of their bodies and their eating habits.

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From an early age, we are exposed to the western culture of the “thin-ideal” and that looks matter (Shapiro 9). Images on modern television spend countless hours telling us to lose weight, be thin and beautiful. Often, television portrays the thin women as successful and powerful whereas the overweight characters are portrayed as “lazy” and the one with no friends (“The Media”). Furthermore, most images we see on the media are heavily edited and airbrushed

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In today’s modern culture, almost all forms of popular media play a significant role in bombarding young people, particularly young females, with what happens to be society’s idea of the “ideal body”. This ideal is displayed all throughout different media platforms such as magazine adds, television and social media – the idea of feminine beauty being strictly a flawless thin model. The images the media displays send a distinct message that in order to be beautiful you must look a certain way. This ideal creates and puts pressure on the young female population viewing these images to attempt and be obsessed with obtaining this “ideal body”. In the process of doing so this unrealistic image causes body dissatisfaction, lack of self-confidence

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Many cases of anorexia and bulimia can be linked as an attempt to “look beautiful” as said by the victims. Pressure from society, and the desperation to fit in can trigger self esteem disorders, social anxiety, depression, and can even trace the path for many forms of self harm. Media norms could be a factor in the decline of neurotypical teens and young

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