The Medias Influence on Eating Disorders Essay example

The Medias Influence on Eating Disorders The National Eating Disorders Association states that eating disorders are conditions that arise from factors including physical, psychological, interpersonal, and social issues. Media images help define cultural definitions of beauty and attractiveness and are often acknowledged as one of the factors that contribute to the rise of eating disorders (NEDA). The National Eating Disorders Associations website, The Effect of the Media on Body Satisfaction in Adolescent Girls, The Medias Influence on Body Image Disturbance and Eating Disorders, and Dieting Behaviors, Weight Perceptions, and Life Satisfaction Among Public High School Adolescents are all articles that evaluate how the media†¦show more content†¦Thirteen percent of 10th graders have reported vomiting, or using laxatives and diuretics to lose weight (Champion and Furnham 214). Many teens have resorted to eating disorders to shed extra pounds and in recent decades anorexia nervosa has increased. Adolescents who de velop eating disorders tend to also have low-self esteem, a negative body image, and feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, social dysfunction, depression, and moodiness (Valois et al. 271). Body dissatisfaction can cause eating disorders, and eating disorders can then cause even more negative body image perceptions. Many teenage girls are turning to eating disorders to relieve their body dissatisfaction, but these behaviors will eventually damage their physical and emotional health, self-esteem, and self-control which will not improve their perception of their body image. One of the main reasons that girls think they need to be thinner than they actually are, is because they are exposed to media images that help define what beautiful and attractive should be. The average teenager watches 3-4 hours of TV each day. In a study of 4,794 TV commercials, one out of every 3.8 commercials sends some sort of ?attractive message? (?NEDA?). So the average teenager is exposed to a lot of messages emphasizing attractiveness, which can cause them to want to feel more attractive. Being exposed to television andShow MoreRelatedWhat Is the Extent of the Medias Influence Regarding Eating Disorders?3804 Words   |  16 PagesPsychology Extended Essay is â€Å"What is the Extent of the Media’s Influence Regarding Eating Disorders?† To further investigate this question, I researched what the media is and what it does, how people are affected by the media and many different studies and experiments. Through the use of several sources, mostly online and experiments, I was able to learn exactly what the media does to possibly be considered an influence on the development of eating disorders. I was able to find a multitude of experimentsRead MoreA Culture Of Perfection : Media s Influence On Adolescents1362 Words   |  6 PagesCulture of Perfection: Media’s Influence on Adolescents Comparison. It is one of the most dangerous and detrimental habits within our society. We fall into a routine of â€Å"self-checking† ourselves against others; mentally taking notes of what we can improve and what we are doing better. We all know that comparison often takes its’ toll on our confidence and self-worth; what we may not realize, however, is how early these destructive habits begin and why. The media’s influence is everywhere and its’Read More Enjoyment of Being a Girl: Overcoming Industry Standards Essay1489 Words   |  6 Pagesa clinical social worker (WVU). The media is such a huge influence in people’s lives sometimes they don’t realize it. As women are walking down the street, the media can influence them. As people are riding in the car, the media can influence them. And even as people are sitting in the comfort of their own home, the media can influence them. The media is everywhere influencing our lives; from television to magazines to the Internet (Media’s Negative). As a woman grows older she often finds it difficultRead MoreEffects of Mass Medias Ideal of Thinness1482 Words   |  6 Pagesindividuals are changing their perspectives to match that of the media’s current ideals. Concern over the media’s influence on body image has recently risen, striking the notion that many people regard the images shown throughout media as ‘real’. However, unbeknownst to them, such unbelievably thin body types are not quite attainable in reality, and therefore, individuals’ own beauty ideals and body images become unrealistic. The mass media’s ideal image of thinness has greatly impacted the overall bodyRead MoreSocial Media has Unhealthy Effect on Young Women647 Words   |  3 PagesImage, and Eating Disorders1) Although men are affected by the downfall of media usage, young women bear the cross. Not only do women have to face the expectations of perfection, bu t also the discrimination from themselves and others. Media usage has become an everyday part of life; however, it has an unhealthy effect on young women. Media’s example of perfection has been drilled into the minds’ of youth. More than half of young girls in America are dissatisfied with their appearance. (Media’s EffectRead MoreThe Globalization Of Eating Disorders963 Words   |  4 PagesSoundness in the Globalization of Eating Disorders In her essay, â€Å"The Globalization of Eating Disorders,† Susan Bordo informs her audience of the growing trends in eating disorders. Through her argument, Bordo illustrates the cruel identity of body-image distortion syndrome while she searches for a solution to the eating-disorder problem by looking to its birthplace in culture. Making use of several examples and scenarios, facts and statistics, and appeals to pathos and logos to construct her argumentRead MoreMass Media Essay1114 Words   |  5 Pagesand entertainment. With these purposes, comes the influence of all the information we are exposed to. Most might say that mass media has had a positive impact on society as it’s made communication and information easily accessible for everyone. However, what they’re not aware of is the negative influences it has brought to women’s body-image. Because of the media’s endless advertisements of what is considered â€Å"beautiful† or â€Å"perf ect†, eating disorders and body dissatisfaction have now become significantRead MoreThink Of A Beautiful, Ten-Year-Old Girl Standing In The1281 Words   |  6 Pagesher cheeks because she is being teased for not being as skinny as the other girls in her class. She looks at the models on TV and envies their skinniness. She wants to look just like them. At ten years old, she starts running after dinner and not eating as much as she use to eat. That beautiful little girl is just like every woman all over the world; she is pressured to by the media to have a â€Å"perfect body.’ Women all over the world are coerced by society to change the way they look. These womenRead MoreThe Media Responsible For Females Essay1679 Words   |  7 PagesDissertation – Chapter 2 Is the media responsible for females, especially youths, for having low self-esteem and lack of confidence? Is the media responsible for the development of eating behaviours and disorders? In a culture with saturated media, the powerful influence upon women and younger girls is a continuous debate. Females of all ages come under immense pressure from the media, friends, partners and even parents to maintain a great body shape. The body images portrayed in the media canRead MoreMedia s Portrayal Of Women1155 Words   |  5 Pagesmay feel depresssed and may want to look like the model through unsafe dieting and other eating disorders. The media has affected girls as young as six years old into changing their appearance to look similar to those idealized in television and magazines. The mass media’s portrayal of women today sets standards of beauty that are highly unattainable and unrealistic, leading to an increase of eating disorders and a negative view of self image. People are exposed to as many as two hundred and fifty