Social Media and Eating Disorders Free Essay Example

Eating Disorders is a Global Problem of Modern Society

Nowadays, modern culture dictates the strict canons of the bodily norms distributed through a variety of mechanisms of social regulation. A special attention is given to the bodies of young women and a presence of eating disorders in public discourse, in connection with which the concern about the body, its size and shape, becomes normative and prescribed. Social media not only serves as a platform for broadcasting the ideals of bodily culture, but also open up opportunities for collective reflections, exchange of experience and the development of their own versions of bodily beauty among college students. The modern era is characterized by a passion for visual display of identity, which becomes a commodity in current socio-economic conditions (Dohnt & Tiggemann, 2006). Thus, body representation plays a special role in assessing an individual’s personal qualities, psychological and cognitive features, and serves as a starting point in recognizing an individual or excluding a girl from a social group, which may lead to eating disorders.

Plunging into the main issues of this research paper, it is possible to note that image, or body image, includes the way in which young girls perceive their own body and appearance. Being a part of the self-esteem of any person, ideas about the body and appearance, however, are determined by cultural values, and therefore, psychologists and sociologists are engaged in studying those issues (Thompson & Smolak, 2001).

The cultural conditionality of the concept of “beauty” becomes obvious if we trace how the ideals of female and male attractiveness have changed over the centuries. Perhaps, one of the most striking examples that may seem wild and even barbaric to modern people is the now-past custom of China to bandage the legs of girls, which is why their feet are deformed, often making it impossible to walk. The small leg, traditionally called the “golden lotus”, was one of the most attractive features of an aristocratic girl. Fortunately, over time, beauty standards have changed and met the requirements of modern society, but even nowadays, many young college girls become victims of following different standards of beauty, including destroying diets, which lead to eating disorders.

Adult women prefer to use different possibilities of plastic surgery. For example, plastic surgery may suggest removing the two lower ribs so that the waist looks narrower. However, as a rule, most are limited to blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty, face lift, or breast augmentation. These are ordinary procedures for those adult women, who are dissatisfied with their appearance. However, the standards of beauty that exist in society also affect children, girls and young women, and this effect is not always positive. According to different researches, almost all college students are very concerned about their appearance and dream to lose weight. It should be noted that the desire to lose weight is not directly related to the degree of satisfaction with their own appearance: the same study found that, at the same time, some college girls are also usually happy with what they look like, and none have noted that they are “always dissatisfied” (Alexander & Treasure, 2012).

It is also very important to mention, in the context of this research, that not only girls are extremely focused on their beauty, while boys may also be dissatisfied with their own appearance, but to a somewhat lesser extent. For instance, among two hundred Australian children, 26% of boys and 46% of girls expressed a desire to lose weight (Littleton & Ollendick, 2003). This is explained by the fact that the culture prescribes for girls to look beautiful and slim in most cases, whereas for boys of a certain age there are somewhat different demands, and the culture puts less pressure.

It should be noted that in its essence, the desire for a cultural ideal (for girls – for slimness, for boys – for an athletic physique) is not something negative. It may indicate both the desire to lead a healthy lifestyle and the high level of socialization in the existing society. It becomes a problem when it leads to eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia, psychogenic overeating, etc. In addition, it was found that a violation of the “relationship” with food at an early age (such as, for example, a presence of different unhealthy diets) can cause obesity, while this problem is not less important and even more common than eating disorders (Alexander & Treasure, 2012).

The main factor influencing dissatisfaction with one’s own body, especially among college girls, is reading magazines and watching films, as well as video clips with slim and thin models. It was found that such images worsen the image of the body, if it was negative at its initial stage. According to a study that explored the long-term effects that regular social media viewing with women, reflecting the cultural ideal of harmony and beauty, can lead to, such practices increase the likelihood that a college girl will have eating disorders. Thus, many young girls, watching similar programs for three years used self-induced vomiting as a means for losing weight, forgetting that this is one of the most dangerous ways to lose weight (Smolak, et al, 1996).

Thus, those images, which are broadcasted through the social media, can be especially dangerous for young girls and women suffering from dissatisfaction with their own bodies, since college girls, in the absence of information, are turned to the media in order to learn different ways how to change and improve their appearance. Media often translates a very narrow and limited sample of beauty, and also offers potentially dangerous diets. Not everyone can achieve the ideal body image transmitted by the culture even at the cost of great efforts, since not all people have the necessary height and body structure at the physiological level. Moreover, it is also very important to take into account the features of the functioning of the metabolism. As a result, the incompatibility of one’s own body with the cultural ideal can greatly affect the girl, causing the development of eating disorders and low self-esteem, as well as it may have a negative impact on both a psychological and a physiological condition of the person.

Method

Participants

The participants of this study included 345 female college students. The participants ranged in age from 18 to 25, with a mean age 21,5. The majority of college girls have normal body mass indicators, while only a very little amount of participants were fully satisfied with their weight and body structure.

Measures

Of the main interest in the present study are the ways in which college girls react at their appearance and the level in which they are concerned about their body image and the necessity to be interested in different diets, which may lead to eating disorders.

Procedure

The first stage of the study was the mapping of groups and public pages in the social network Facebook. Inquiries in the search line included such words as “body”, “anorexia”, “puffs”, “plus size”, “thin”, as well as other terms and phrases that could be used to describe the shape and size of the body. In addition, groups were selected by hyperlinks to friendly communities and pages. The analysis showed that three key themes can be distinguished around which groups relating to corporeality are consolidating: stout women (plus size models), “normal” / “healthy” bodies (designated as “conventional”) and pro-anorexic communities.

Making different researches, we have found that the most numerous and massive are groups dedicated to a healthy lifestyle and diets. They are open to all users and broadcast the dominant bodily ideals — slender, toned, young, sexy bodies. Groups dedicated to “other” bodies, plus size or anorexic, are predominantly female, significantly smaller in number and often are closed for ordinary users because they require confirmation of participation from the group administrator. As a result, the bulk of participants in all communities are young women under 25, which answers to the age of college girls who are the participants of this study.

Providing a thorough research, we have found out that the more time college girls spend on social networks like Facebook, the higher the risk that they will suffer from bulimia or anorexia. In addition, watching online fashion or listening to music also encourages college girls to negative self-esteem and a wrong attitude toward food.

In addition, there were found that many participants of the study prefer to use the format of online diaries in the process of discussion of their weight and body image. To explain, in the online diaries format, the techniques of everyday work on the body are most fully revealed. A creation of such diaries implies the existence of a starting point, a problem body, with which it is necessary to work until the desired result would be achieved. Diary format involves chronological fixation of the process of losing weight, which is presented in the form of text or photo collections. One of these groups is the community “Dear diary, I want to be skinny”.

Within the framework of the diary community, the image of a female model is broadcasted, providing an idea that every young woman should be slim, toned and sexy. The demonstration of the “ideal body” as a motivating stimulus takes 49.8% of the publications on the community wall. The next publications include recommendations on sports loads (25.6%), nutrition (17.4%) and self-care (7.2%). Control of nutrition and sports loads are offered as the best way to healthy and successful weight loss. At the same time, “proper nutrition” is presented in communities as the slowest, easiest, and most healthy way to lose weight. Proper nutrition includes drawing up a daily diet of “good” foods (vegetables, fruits, lean meat), elimination of “unhealthy” foods (fatty, sweet, flour) and following a meal schedule. In turn, diets are described as difficult and hard, but fast and effective, and such an approach does not inform young girls about possible eating disorders.

References

Alexander, J., & Treasure, J. (2012). A Collaborative Approach to Eating Disorders. Routledge.

Dohnt, H., & Tiggemann, M. (2006). Body image concerns in young girls: The role of peers and media prior to adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35(2).

Littleton, H., & Ollendick, T. (2003). Negative body image and disordered eating behavior in children and adolescents: what places youth at risk and how can these problems be prevented? Clinical child and family psychology review, 6(1).

Smolak, L., et al. (1996). The Developmental Psychopathology of Eating Disorders: Implications for Research, Prevention, and Treatment. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Thompson, K., & Smolak, L. (2001). Body Image, Eating Disorders, and Obesity in Youth: Assessment, Prevention, and Treatment. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]
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