Peer Pressure At The Study

A very prominent and controversial issue related to media-idealized images is that of eating disorders and eating problems. Eating problems include binge eating, purging, and unhealthy eating problems. These disorders are seen in young adolescents who are at a very fragile stage of life. Teenagers experience bodily changes as well as peer pressure and new experiences of going into high school. According to Dakanalis et al. the media portrays individuals with an extremely thin build for females and a slim-muscular build (i.e., muscles along with minimal body fat) for males is considered to be the cause of body displeasure and eating pathology. There is no solid evidence to prove that the media is to blame for the degree of eating disorder symptoms and negative body-image feelings that many feel, hence the reason it continues to be a highly debated topic. There has although, been continuous research and theories comprised over objectification. This occurs when men and women are sexually objectified. A person is treated as a body, where beauty and attractiveness of a person are important and valued. This theory can be found nearly anywhere because of the amount and variety of social interaction. It is common because of the way media represents body images. The media has ideals of men and women’s body images and individuals are compared to how well

Societal pressure also comes in the form of body shaming, which is defined as the criticism of another person’s body shape or appearance. According to a 2016 study, there is correlation between body shaming, body dissatisfaction, and eating disorders, all of which happen to be most prevalent in young women (Mustapic p. 447). In recent years, body shaming has become a huge problem due to the popularity of social media platforms. Women of all shapes and sizes are ridiculed on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and other sites for not conforming to societal normalities. The 2016 study also assessed eating disorders in relation to age and body mass index (BMI) of participants (Mustapic p. 449). Age did not have much effect on the data, which is unsurprising due to the fact that all participants were close in age. What is more surprising, however, is that BMI also had little effect on the data. One would think that women with greater BMIs would

Body image dissatisfaction in adolescent’s has increased significantly over the past few years. More adolescent’s have an ideal image carved in their mind that they need to be a size 0 or be thin in order to fit into society. According to Thopmson and Stice (2001), “People who endorse stereotypes of appearance presented in the media internalize them as standards of appropriate or ideal looks. Internalization can be described as the extent to which an individual cognitively buys into societal norms of size and appearance, to the point of modifying one's behavior in an attempt to approximate these standards''. This also relates to the article by Thompson and Stice (2001), "Indeed, the endorsement of media messages of attractiveness is related to the acceptance of beauty ideals and to the

The authors use an adaptation of Stice’s (1994) socio-cultural model of disordered eating that includes social comparisons, self-reports of body mass index and perceived weight status and examine how these components affect this model. Data obtained from a sample of 250 girls and 275 boys, ages between 11-16, revealed that pressure to loose weight is linked to eating behavior, social comparison, internalization and body dissatisfaction. Social comparisons were strongly connected to body dissatisfaction for adolescents who considered themselves to be overweight. There were considerable gender discrepancies, with girls being more affected by body dissatisfaction and

The ability to exchange weight challenges and thin body photos is at an all time high due to the Internet. There is a constant stream of images that have global platforms to support self-destructive behavior. These platforms can support eating disorders such as bulimia, anorexia, and binging (Rojas). According to Marcela Rojas, "Social Media, where users exchange information and photos and communicate over common interests, has become a bastion for some struggling with eating disorders. Images of spindly, concave stomachs and jutting ribs emerge on various sites" (2). Today's media creates dissatisfaction on various platforms; but bullying creates social conflicts as well as inner conflicts. Bullying can cause extreme emotional distress. It can lead to depression, which can lead to eating disorders. This constant cycle of depression leads to a repetitive cycle of eating disorders. As bullying can happen face-to-face or online, it can slowly dig away at a person's self-worth. Bullies can degrade individuals suffering with eating disorders' self-image, which can lead to worse things than eating disorders ("Does Social Media Cause Eating Disorders in

Being bullied for being overweight or underweight is very common among children and teens. Kids may want to feel accepted, but if they don’t have a normal-weight appearance like their peers they will possibly be more prone to being bullied. Health conditions concern parents as their child grows. Obesity in adolescents have rose up 11 percent from 1980 to 2012 (Magnolia, Paul, PhD, and Kenneth, MD Dill). Obesity results in diabetes, while anorexia

Due to young women being constantly indoctrinated by being told how to look and act, it is no surprise that effects on a young woman’s body-image are primarily psychological. Within the group of young women, adolescent girls are targeted when it comes to thin-ideals and negative body-images. Throughout many psychological studies, it has been noted that this is because a young girl’s body is going through many psychological and physiological changes that make them more vulnerable to a negative body-image. Bell and Dittmar describe why adolescent girls are more defenseless by saying, “ During adolescence, a primary psychological task faced is that of identity formation, and being socially accepted by one’s peers becomes

Over the last few generation, society has fabricated an existence where the influence of media on young adolescents and children is inexorable. Children are now broadcast by their parents on every social media platform, establishing a need for acceptance based on how “cute” the child is long before they are mature enough to voice their own thoughts. While traditionally media has been know to promote a specific body standard—proven to contribute to the development of eating disorders among young adults and pre-adolescents—a new trend in media has introduced the “body positivity” movement which has begun to successfully influence people of all generations and body types.

An eating disorder does not have one main causative factor. There are many psychological, interpersonal, and social factors involved. Poor self-esteem, feelings of imperfection and depression contribute to the psychological factors. Interpersonal factors include problems with expressing emotions and feelings. Contributing social factors like media or peer pressure to be thin or have an unrealistic body image also add to this illness. Neumark-Sztainer reports, “Over one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives” (2005). This statistic shows alarming amounts of adolescents are affected by eating disorders. Awareness of this mental disorder is increasing, inducing American schools to address this specific illness among its students. Even though the disease is not recent, and dates back to the 12th and 13th centuries, it is now explored to a much higher level than in the past. Researchers are finding that eating disorders not only affect the physical health of students, but also affect their daily lives and activities. It removes them from the usual social functions and disconnects them from their family and peers. This mental disorder weakens the student’s focus and concentration and impairs the adolescent’s ability to perform and achieve

Social media plays an immense role in the way that stereotypes about attractiveness is conveyed in regards to body image. As Gerbner and Gross wrote in 1976, the cultivation theory states that high frequency viewers of television are more susceptible to media messages and the belief that they are real and valid. The subjection to social media can cause an idealistic view amongst young girls and women alike. Among the mechanisms of human agency none is more central or pervasive than beliefs of personal efficacy (Bandura, 1997). This belief that these body types are achievable can lead to females being dissatisfied within their own skin. The result of the discontent can potentially lead to eating disorders. Body dissatisfaction occurs when views of the body are negative and involves a perceived discrepancy between a person 's assessment of their actual and ideal body (Cash and Szymanski, 1995 and Grogan, 2008). It is estimated that approximately 50% of adolescent girls report being unhappy with their bodies (Bearman, Presnell, & Martinez, 2006). Surveys have revealed that the exposure to social media can cause body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms’ and the concept that thin is “beautiful” amongst young girls and women (Botta 1999; Harrison and Hefner 2006; and Stice et al. 1994). With media influence, the question is the strength of the effect, studies indicate the effects are small in scale; they are likely to operate in accordance with particular differences in

Regardless of the parenting style, peer pressure also influences the degree to which children conform to expected gender roles. For example, up until about grade six, girls performance as well in science and math as boys, but during adolescence girls' test scores and level of expressed interest in these subjects declines. The tendency is to abandon competition with boys in favor of placing more emphasis on relationships and on physical appearance.

There are various cause and effects of peer pressure. Peer pressure is pressure or influence from a person’s peers. Peers are often described people of the same age group or social group. Peers will feel the need to be in control and will often surround themselves with weak-minded or people with low self-esteem to have the do their bidding. The causes of peer pressure include the need to fit in, low self-esteem, fear of rejection, and at most time the need to feel safety and security from peers. The effects of peer pressure can be negative and also have the worst outcomes.

Body-shaming has been tied to many different disorders like anxiety, depression, anorexia and more. “According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), at least 30 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder in the U.S., resulting in at least one death every 62 minutes” (Abrams). Teenagers seeing photoshopped celebrities everyday on their screens and in magazines makes them believe that’s what they need to look like when in reality their body is perfectly fine. School is a place where teenagers are stressed with the constant strain of trying to be the best out of all of their peers. It is seemingly obvious that some sort of standard needs to be met in

The challenge to adjust to high school life usually corresponds to other moments of development in the adolescent’s life with such changes taking place which include puberty and related concern about body image, changes in social cognition, increased responsibility and decreased dependency on parents (Santrock, 2016). These changes were observed in my teen through certain reports such as how at 13 she was nervous about the transition to high school and worried that her friendships would change. She also experienced physical changes and concern about her body image as at age 14 she expressed being teased about having a flat chest and requesting new kinds of bras to remedy this. This body concern also came as she began gaining some weight during puberty making her refuse to wear certain clothes that she felt accentuated her weight problem. These reports show that this newfound concern about body image that was developed is so significant to adolescents that it tends to

In today’s society, the public is exposed to technology at even younger ages than ever before. Everywhere you go these days you see kids even as little as three holding their parent’s phones or even their own, watching videos or playing games. But as said in the article Does Social media impact on body image by Philippa Roxby, as kids start becoming teenagers their technological uses advance and they start to rely on social media sites for new sources of communication, and their main channel to the outside world. Based on studies conducted by psychologists they have come up with a conclusion that social media has a direct relationship to body image concerns. I believe that in today’s society we should focus on promoting self-confidence as most of the adolescents have a very low assurance of their own bodies. Although a study conducted in the article The Upside of Selfies: Social media isn’t all bad for kids by Kelly Wallace says that a survey which resulted in 52% of the teens saying that social media positively influences them. Even though social media platforms have some beneficial aspects such as they make people want to go on diets, exercise, and eating healthy, the teenagers don’t really look/understand the negative aspects of it. The impacts that are carried with social media are mostly negative such as fancying teenagers to lose confidence in themselves and has become a toxic mirror to them. The visual platforms impact