How Does Media Influence Eating Disorders?
Just when you had grown weary of hearing about every female wanting to be thin, it is no secret that mass media plays a huge role in our perception of ourselves and others. Are we good enough? Do we reflect the golden standard that society has put forth? In the United States alone, approximately eight million people suffer from eating disorders every year. The body type portrayed in advertising and editorial contents around the world as the ideal is possessed naturally only by a few females. This clearly indicates that comparing oneself to unrealistic standards set by mass media has a negative impact on self-esteem which further pushes the prevalence of eating disorders. The benefits of mass media help to raise awareness towards the prevalence
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of eating disorders. However, for every benefit, there are drawbacks. Not surprisingly, mass media has increasingly introduced progressively thinner representations of the female body. Recent research has expanded on prior studies by looking at the role that social comparison and cultivation theories play in media’s impact on body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and disordered eating (South Carolina Mental Health). With the media’s power misrepresent body images, the media has been able to manipulate the beauty standards of America, exploiting an unrealistic figment of imagination, but in this situation, a figment of the media. Using popular ICT platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, to promote and educate people about these unrealistic standards will create an area for women to understand and express their thoughts on the media’s standards of a women’s body. This will also expose the fault in the media subjecting women to these ideal standards that in reality does not exist. In addition to mobile ICT platforms, using traditional media platforms not limited to television and magazines, should consider promoting advertisements that focus on positive eating habits rather than the advertisements that continue to promote body dissatisfaction.
Numerous studies have been conducted over recent years to examine the links between media exposure and its subsequent effects on body image and disordered eating. The influence of media continues to be a growing cause for concern and it is seen by many as an increasing burden and a clear pathway to endless conditions of psychological illnesses. Within these studies, the results showed a significant relation between the effects of media consumption and eating disorders. In terms of the cause, a consensus can be reached that frequent exposure to media is responsible for the chronic states of bodily discontent and unhealthy attitudes towards eating widespread amongst women in modern society. Body dissatisfaction shows negative assessments of one’s body, and has been found to be as a result of exposure to the thin ideal by mass media, which has often led to low body image, low self-esteem, and increase in eating disorders. It is quite alarming to note that the term eating disorders was not commonly used until recent years (EATING DISORDERS).
Bulimia and anorexia was not included in the psychiatric diagnostic manual until 1980.
Before the 1980s, there was little information regarding eating disorders and it was often considered as a “white girl’s disease.” Until recently, there has been little attention to eating disorders as well in regards to race, religion, class, and sexuality. As a result, a diverse group of women of color – Asian, African, Native American, Latinas, and so on – have been ignored. In today’s society where media has a tremendous impact on our lives, it is almost impossible to believe that women of color can escape the pressures of western influence and promotion of women’s thinness. The debate of media influence on body image in various demographic regions has led to the development of various theories and studies in order to enhance the understanding of the topic. These disturbances in body image results from internalizing the cultural message of thin meaning good and failing to balance these messages with warnings sent out by a female’s body (EATING DISORDERS). According to the National Eating Disorders Association, about three out of every hundred people in the United States eats in a way disordered enough to signal a need of treatment. A multicultural picture of eating problems also highlights reasons why those historically left out may be especially vulnerable to eating problems not just in the United States, but also around the world. The link between eating problems and socially induced trauma due to media exposure and other conditions should not just be an individual concern. There is a change needed in the critical social conditions that may cause these problems, yet the prevention of eating problems depends on more than just isolating women from mass media. The studies that follow do seem to be somewhat outdated, however by the time these research articles were published, the pervasiveness of mass media had risen to an unprecedented level and would only continue to increase
(Get The Facts).
of eating disorders. However, for every benefit, there are drawbacks. Not surprisingly, mass media has increasingly introduced progressively thinner representations of the female body. Recent research has expanded on prior studies by looking at the role that social comparison and cultivation theories play in media’s impact on body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and disordered eating (South Carolina Mental Health). With the media’s power misrepresent body images, the media has been able to manipulate the beauty standards of America, exploiting an unrealistic figment of imagination, but in this situation, a figment of the media. Using popular ICT platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, to promote and educate people about these unrealistic standards will create an area for women to understand and express their thoughts on the media’s standards of a women’s body. This will also expose the fault in the media subjecting women to these ideal standards that in reality does not exist. In addition to mobile ICT platforms, using traditional media platforms not limited to television and magazines, should consider promoting advertisements that focus on positive eating habits rather than the advertisements that continue to promote body dissatisfaction.
Numerous studies have been conducted over recent years to examine the links between media exposure and its subsequent effects on body image and disordered eating. The influence of media continues to be a growing cause for concern and it is seen by many as an increasing burden and a clear pathway to endless conditions of psychological illnesses. Within these studies, the results showed a significant relation between the effects of media consumption and eating disorders. In terms of the cause, a consensus can be reached that frequent exposure to media is responsible for the chronic states of bodily discontent and unhealthy attitudes towards eating widespread amongst women in modern society. Body dissatisfaction shows negative assessments of one’s body, and has been found to be as a result of exposure to the thin ideal by mass media, which has often led to low body image, low self-esteem, and increase in eating disorders. It is quite alarming to note that the term eating disorders was not commonly used until recent years (EATING DISORDERS).
Bulimia and anorexia was not included in the psychiatric diagnostic manual until 1980.
Before the 1980s, there was little information regarding eating disorders and it was often considered as a “white girl’s disease.” Until recently, there has been little attention to eating disorders as well in regards to race, religion, class, and sexuality. As a result, a diverse group of women of color – Asian, African, Native American, Latinas, and so on – have been ignored. In today’s society where media has a tremendous impact on our lives, it is almost impossible to believe that women of color can escape the pressures of western influence and promotion of women’s thinness. The debate of media influence on body image in various demographic regions has led to the development of various theories and studies in order to enhance the understanding of the topic. These disturbances in body image results from internalizing the cultural message of thin meaning good and failing to balance these messages with warnings sent out by a female’s body (EATING DISORDERS). According to the National Eating Disorders Association, about three out of every hundred people in the United States eats in a way disordered enough to signal a need of treatment. A multicultural picture of eating problems also highlights reasons why those historically left out may be especially vulnerable to eating problems not just in the United States, but also around the world. The link between eating problems and socially induced trauma due to media exposure and other conditions should not just be an individual concern. There is a change needed in the critical social conditions that may cause these problems, yet the prevention of eating problems depends on more than just isolating women from mass media. The studies that follow do seem to be somewhat outdated, however by the time these research articles were published, the pervasiveness of mass media had risen to an unprecedented level and would only continue to increase
(Get The Facts).