Globalization of Eating Disorders
Abstract
Many young people in modern times can access mass media, thanks to the changes that have been witnessed in technology. This has led to the change in the definition of what a “perfect body” is. A majority of the young people who discern to have a “perfect body” have embarked on using dubious means to achieve it. As a result, several young people have been affected by eating disorders in the quest to achieve what they believe is a “perfect body.” This excerpt examines the effects that mass media has had on eating disorders among you people. It also examines what both parents and teachers can do to curb the trend.
Impacts of Mass Media on Self-Image and Eating Disorders
The recent time has witnessed rising cases of young people exhibiting dissatisfaction of their body images, as well as increasing cases of eating disorders. Without a doubt, this new trend is a surprise to many people. In the past, such issues were seldom recorded in most parts of the world. The change has triggered many researchers to have a suspicion that the growth of mass media might be having a connection with these adverse changes in the contemporary society. This paper provides research-based evidence that argues that there is a connection between the growing level of mass media and the alarming rates of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders among young people in contemporary society. Furthermore, the work discusses the role that should be played by teachers and parents to help their children avoid falling victims of the mass media, which is detrimental to their wellbeing.
First, mass media has resulted in a lot of young people developing a new perception of what an ideal body should appear. The 21st century has witnessed high-level growth in technological advancements. Technological growth has resulted in a lot of social media platforms where young people receive direct information for different parts of the world by the click of a button. The development of social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook enables teenagers to follow their iconic celebrities’ lifestyles, such as their bodies and the kind of food they eat. As a result, many young people have ended up abandoning the traditional meaning of what perfect bodies should look like, and instead, adopted the new notion embraced by their icons and other mass media sources. A study by Lawrie et al.2006, (p. 356) affirms the suspicion that mass media is impacting the body image of young people. During this study, both male and female participants revealed that mass media was generally discouraging them from gaining weight. Instead, girls were made to believe that slim bodies were sexier; hence, ideal female bodies should always be thin. On the other hand, male individuals were made to think that they should increase their body muscles instead of unevenly increasing their body weight. Without a doubt, it is evident that the growth of mass media is impacting how young people think about the kind of bodies they should own. Therefore, it is right that mass media is the force behind the increasing cases of body dissection among young people in different regions of the world.
Consequently, access to multiple information on the mass media concerning an ideal body is among the primary causes of eating disorders in young people. As young people view and follow guidelines on how to attain the so-called perfect bodies, many tend to change their eating habits. In most cases, the young, targeted audience often have bodies that do not count as perfect ones according to the mass media. As a result, such individuals engage in different efforts to help them attain perfect bodies. Many of them tend to change their eating habits, such as starting to consume a relatively small amount of food to achieve the dream, slim bodies. Others engage in fasting without correct advice from the specialists, while others resolve to the use of drugs to attain ideal body figures. A study by Uchôa et al. 2019, (p. 2) affirms this argument by holding that as more young people engage in multiple ways to attain the suggested body images, including changing their eating habits, the issue of eating disorders tends to set in. This research evidence confirms that as many young people use social media and other mass media platforms to pursue the journey of attaining perfect slim bodies, many of them end up falling victims of eating disorders. Therefore, it is true that mass media is behind the alarming cases of eating disorders among the young population.
Additionally, the high levels of advertisements on foods and the ideal body images have negative impacts on young people. In most cases, commercial companies come up with various adverts for their products and how they contribute to the attainment of perfect bodies. Often, such commercials use the comparison of images that they view as sexy and accurate as well as those that they are unattractive, hence the need to start using the products being advertised. In the end, individuals that have body sizes regarded as unattractive tend to fall victim to low self-esteem, which, in turn, forces them to refuse to eat or strive to change their eating habits to try and attain the acceptable, perfect bodies. In the end, such individuals fall victim to eating disorders that end ruining their wellbeing. Contreras-Espinosa et al. (p. 5) found that exposure to multiple commercial demeaning, some types of images tend to undermine some people’s self-esteem. As the group strives to attain the required bodies, they end up undergoing further exposure to unattainable beauty, hence, falling victims of dissatisfaction with their bodies. Thus, it is evident that mass media commercials about the perfect bodies are the cause of high-level eating disorders as well as individuals’ dissatisfaction with their bodies in contemporary society.
Due to the high-cases of media mass negative impacts on the wellbeing of the young people, there is a significant need of the people in the environment where this young population lives to play a considerable role that will safeguard the young people from the negative impact of media. The first parties that have a massive role in protecting the young population for the mass media menace about their image and eating disorders are parents and other caregivers. Unlike the old notion that only teenagers are on the verge of undergoing destruction by following what the mass media tries to teach them on perfect bodies, research shows that young girls with little age as five years unsafe as well. A study by Osad’n and Hanna (2015, p. 37) revealed that girls with as little age as five years tend to be negatively impacted by the mass media on perfect female bodies. Many of the young children feel that they have an excessive weight that makes them unattractive. Such findings show that parents have the role of controlling what their young children view to ensure that they do not fall victim to the misleading mass media perception of body images. Also, parents should hold a free conversation with their young ones to teach them that their bodies are perfect, thus no need to indulge in other activities that might only hurt their self-image and health in pursuit of perfect bodies.
Furthermore, teachers and the general school environments where young people tend to spend most of their time have a significant role in ensuring that the young population does not fall victim to the destructive misinformation by the mass media. Osad’n and Hanna (2015, p. 41) holds that teachers should always encourage the young people to maintain their already healthy and beautiful bodies, regardless of what the misleading mass media massages might throw at them.
Summarily, it is evident that there is a high-level correlation between mass media and the alarming cases of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders among young people. Multiple mass media sources tend to convey misleading messages about perfect bodies, which, in turn, the young people heed to, leading to the destruction of their wellbeing. Due to the increasing level of mass media menace on the self-image and eating disorders on the young people, parents, teachers, and everyone in the society has a huge role to play and safeguard the wellbeing of the young population.
References
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Lawrie, Z., Sullivan, E. A., Davies, P. S. W., & Hill, R. J. (2006). Media influence on the
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Osaďan, R., & Hanna, R. (2015). The effects of the media on self-esteem of young girls. Acta
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Uchôa, F. N. M., Uchôa, N. M., Daniele, T. M. D. C., Lustosa, R. P., Garrido, N. D., Deana,
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