Social Media is the Main Cause of Eating Disorders

Today in society people care about making sure there life looks perfect on social media, so they get more likes or follower/friends. What people do not understand is that no one’s life is perfect, people just put up a fake shield over there life. Nowadays there is photoshop if a person doesn’t like their body. This editing can cause everyone to think there is only one perfect body image. When a person is already self conscious they will believe anything anyone says especially famous people. Social media were a space that empowered body positivity was only 32%, which 68% is negative (“Statistics & Research on Eating Disorders.”). The leading cause to eating disorders is social media due to the promoting of diets, the perfect body image, and following peoples unhealthy actions, there is no easy way to fix the problem but having more empowering post by influential people that other will follow should get people to listen.

The amount of eating disorders can show there has to be more causes to create those disorders. The most affected by eating disorders in females, 4:1 female to male ratio and Typical age of onset is adolescence or young adulthood (jade). Females are mostly the one’s to quick judge themseleves and judge others not as common in men. The types of disorders are Anorexia Nervosa (AN) which is¨ by failure to maintain an adequate body weight, body image disturbance, and excessive dietary restriction (“Types of Eating Disorders.”). The most common disorder is bulimia Nervosa (BN) which is consuming large amounts of food while feeling out of control accompanied by compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain, and body image disturbances (“Types of Eating Disorders.”). Lastly Binge-Eating Disorder (BED) which is binge-eating without compensatory behaviors. What is incommon with all the eating disorders is they all have a cause of body image problems.

We have already explained both that the ideal body has become smaller, thinner and differently shaped over the past 20 years(Jade).The perfect body is defined by what people post on social media. Although that these adolescent girls articulated a desire to be thinner, they also described how this did not necessarily mean they were dissatisfied with their bodies (“Home - PMC - NCBI.”). Body image is closely connected to self-esteem, It is possible to have low self worth and a good body image if other aspects of functioning are important (Jade). When young adults are on social media they are more open to ideas of changing their lives or body to what matches the ideals. The ideal image most of the time is not achievable by just exercising. This causes people to do anything to accomplish the body image even kill themselves.

Technology has advanced on social media throughout time to were u can make a person look like their favorite celebrity. Pictures are everywhere, perhaps airbrushed, filtered, and set at flattering angles. People can use tools to make one’s self appear thinner, make nose smaller or waist slightly tighter (Jade). This is called Photoshop which causes a fake image for people to try to achieve. The thing is most of those images are unachievable body because the photoshop makes the body look inhuman. That is setting unrealistic goals which could hurt a person’s future or health. Humans like to show off their body, for example users can swap “thinspiration” (“inspirational” pictures of extremely thin bodies) and compare body measurements and stats (“Home. ....Effects on Physical and Mental Health”). People cannot compare their body on social media due to that fact that all bodies are different.

When a person sees someone happy with the perfect life, that they want it makes them feel different about theirs. This makes people want to follow that person on social media but not just follow they want to copy them. What people do not know is behind that perfect life on social media is a real problem. No one has a perfect no stress free life but people can make their life on social media look that way. Most of the people who do this is celebrities and most of them have eating disorders. They share the diets and workouts they do and doesn't think anyone is going to follow in their path. They also give out easy tip and tricks to unhealthy behavior which can cause their follows to copy those bad decisions (“Home. ....Effects on Physical and Mental Health”). Only takes one person to look up to someone, to cause a eating disorder.

Everyone’s parents always asks“would a person jump off a bridge if the other person did”. Obviously mostly everyone would says no of course not but this must not be true by how many people follow in the steps of people they look up too without thinking. For example when a person sees a model like Kim Kardashian who has a fit curve idealistic body, promoting Fit Tea everyone thinks it’s going to work just cause she uses it. What people aren’t thinking about is does she actually use this product?, and is this product safe for use? Diets or health tricks that are promoted by influential people are cause false mind sets to their followers.

Social media is where people become popular or they become a loser. The more the followers, the more likes determined how a person is doing in life. Even 41% of teen girls say the use social media to “make themselves look cooler (“Statistics & Research on Eating Disorders.” ). All ages are affected by social media. There was a case study at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine analyzed 1,765 American adults aged 19 and 32 years old and found the most time engaged with social media each day had 2.2 times the risk of developing eating disorders (“Home. ....Effects on Physical and Mental Health”). Nineteen to Thirty two year olds go on social media and post photos that would get a ton of likes. When it gets to the point of when someone might not like a overweight persons picture over a fit skinny person, this can cause someone to be self aware of their body. This may make them feel like something is wrong with them even though there is nothing wrong. At that point anyone will do anything for likes or more followers. Even starve or purge themselves till they die.

Just using social media for merely 30 minutes a day can change the way one’s view their own body (“Statistics & Research on Eating Disorders.”). The way a person feel about their body can affect mood and emotions. Body image is closely connected to self-esteem. It is possible to have low self worth and a good body image if other aspects of functioning are important (Jade). If a person hates herself it cause others to look at them badly too. If person is confident in their skin, others will look up to them more. Social media can also give people confidence to post pictures. The only thing is to make those pictures perfect there is major cost.

People are very judgemental, and sometime we can not help it. Some just keep their judgments to themselves and other will say it straight up to that person. This starts bully not just in person but also on social media. Due to the inventions of Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat which are the most popular, and 71 percent of teens say they use more than one social media site (“How Does Media Impact Body Image and Eating Disorder Rates?”). This gives judging or bulling people to another level. It? not just the people around that person can see it, it is actually the whole world. Especially when that perosn may be overweight or underweight people may make one feel like something is wrong with their body by commenting judgy stuff to make them feel bad. The bullies most of the time are jealous of the people they bully. The people being bullied do not understand that there bullies are hurting too.

When a person is told there body looks wrong they think they have to change. This a start of a long lasting eating disorder that could ruin a person's life due to the fact that a person was mean. People care alot about what others think of them, so when someone says on social media their body look ugly it hits really hard. Most people think starving or purging one? self does not have a effect on one? body. Actually those action have a huge impact long termly on the body like, brain, heart, reproductive organs, and bones. All those are major things in the body that if hurt could cause a person to die. Who knew that trying have the perfect body could cause death.

The concerning amount of people who has had Anorexia (AN) or binge eating disorders (BED) is crazy. ¨AN affects approximately .4 out of every 1000 women in any 12 month period and 9 out of 1000 at some point in their lives (“Types of Eating Disorders.”). Also ¨bed affects 16 out of every 1000 women in any 12 month period and 35 out of 1000 at some point in their lives (“Types of Eating Disorders.”). Being so young with these diseases rising the risk of death , for example ¨between the ages of 15 and 24 with anorexia have 10 times the risk of dying compared to their same-aged peers (“Statistics & Research on Eating Disorders.”). When a person is a kid they should be dreaming of their future instead of worrying about how there body should compare to everyone else's. Loving oneself is a importance thing as kid because out in the real world people are going to be mean and rude just cause they are sad themselfs. All a person could do is to not listen to what others say and only care how they feel about themself.

The amount of positivity on social is very low compared to the negativity. Negative beauty critiques on social media posts, comments, photos, and videos, and a majority see them at least once a week (72%). 

Cite this page