Research on Pro-Anorexia Website Content Essay

In 2004 a study was conducted of an analysis of popular children movies. It was proven that 60 percent of female characters were thin and it was presented as a positive female trait. Also, in 2004 where only five percent of the females in the United States were diagnosed as underweight, 30 percent were presented as underweight in the films. There are also numerous websites online now geared towards pro-anorexia. There are blogs out there specifically made to help people hide and get away with their eating disorders. They perceive eating disorders as a healthy lifestyle choice and encourage other women to follow in their footsteps. In 1954, Leon Festinger create the Social Comparison Theory which hypothesized that people are impulsed to evaluate and compare themselves to similar persons. That theory also stands true today, in 2013, with women everyday comparing themselves to each other and celebrities they see onscreen. Research back ups the theory that media parading the thin-ideal hypothesizes lower self-esteem, eating disorders, and the favoring of comparing themselves to thin socialites.

It is largely known that environmental factors correlate with the existence of eating disorders. For example, bullying and skeptical comments is the cause of eating disorders. Anything that has to do with pressure from one person to another to look or feel a certain way is an enormous impact (What Causes Eating Disorders?, 2017, p. 4). Any person who is severely underweight or obese is at a higher risk for being bullied. This is when the skeptical comments come into play, especially from loved ones. The media has an even bigger impact on those who struggle with weight issues and body image. Magazines sitting in the checkout lines or commercials that portray unrealistic expectations for men and women of the “perfect” body have a deeper effect on one’s self esteem.

Typically, the initial onset of Anorexia strikes in the teen years and continues into young adulthood. During this time, many of those who suffer from symptoms of Anorexia develop a distorted body image. Among men, full blown Anorexia tends to develop later. As previously discussed, Anorexia in males is typically a response to being overweight. Men who develop the disorder generally try to lose weight by restricting their caloric intake and with intense exercise. Men, like women, are being increasingly targeted with similar unrealistic body images. Skinnier models in fashion and an accepted cultural belief that “a real man” has six pack abs, has created a social atmosphere that causes young males who may be of a healthy

Various studies have demonstrated that when women are shown both photographs or TV commercials with extremely slender models they indicate an increase in dissatisfaction with their body (Crouch & Degelman, 1998). A study regarding social media specifically, was conducted by researchers at the University of Haifa on 248 girls ages 12 to 19; they found that the more time girls spent looking at pictures on Facebook, the more they suffered from eating disorders such as Anorexia, as well as other conditions including a heightened urge to diet and lose weight (University of Haifa, 2011). Media access is

Beauty standards in the media are one of many reasons feeding and eating disorders are a rising problem. The unrealistic body types of being extremely thin, in pop culture, are influential factors for many teens, especially teen girls. According to the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5), anorexia nervosa is a “restriction of energy intake, intense fear of gaining weight, and a disturbance in the perception of one’s body size” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Individuals diagnosed with anorexia tend to place a high value on their shape and weight, which can interfere with their daily lives. Individuals diagnosed tend to view of their body shape in a distorted representation. The motivation to become

One example of how social media has impacted the eating disorder problem comes from Fiji. In 1998, Television became available to the residents who called Fiji home. In just that year, eleven percent of girls started throwing up and went on dietary programs. Bordo argues that now more than ever, we are taught how to live through the demonstration of pictures. Our would has become digital and we are constantly being shown the “way we are supposed to look.” Bordo also discovered that eating disorders now have been pushed onto men as well, just in a different way. Men take steroids, are constantly working out, and always are looking at ways to become more muscular. With so many enhancement services the medical field has to offer, people think it is easier to obtain their “ideal” weight, when in reality it is just a way for the medical professionals to make a profit. Bordo concludes that families, racial, and cultural backgrounds all contribute to the way a girl wants to be perceived. Yet, until we can figure out how to halt the dysfunction and twisted view of ideal bodies through images and social media, this problem will never go

The average American woman is 5’4” and weighs 140 pounds, while the average American model is 5’11” and weighs 117 pounds (Chojnacki, 2017). Those models’ digitally enhanced pictures are published in magazines, posted online, and shown on television. Individuals scroll past filtered images of the “thin ideal”, flip through the pages and images of magazines as they stand in check out lines, and are drawn to advertisements of beautiful, happy, and skinny people. All of these encounters happen several times daily without even thinking twice about the message that is being sent. The enormous audience that the media can now reach due to advancing technology is both a blessing and a curse. Technology has allowed the public to connect with people thousands of miles away at the touch of a button and

The impact of media on feelings about weight and shape were assessed. The results were also assessed on whether participants agreed that going on a diet or initiating an exercise program was due to the impact of pictures and articles from the fashion magazines. Pie charts and graphs were done to assess the associations between levels of frequency of the media and losing weight influenced by the media. The participants were asked to assess body type by categories of thin, athletic, normal, and overweight. The outcomes were measured against the prediction that fashion magazines would have a major influence on women's body dissatisfaction, idea of perfect body shape, dieting to lose weight, and encouraging an exercise program.

The opposing side to this topic says that media does not play a role in anorexia because of environmental factors, exercising, and dieting. People that support this side like Adam Cresswell and Sarrah Le Marquand state that anorexia is not caused by society or the media world. Cresswell states “Eating disorders are a product of epigenetics is good news for parents and carers, who often “wring their hands, asking: ‘what did I do wrong’””(Cresswell 1). Cresswell is wrong by this fact in the actual fact that if a young teen is suffering from anorexia, then the parents should be worried about their child and get that child help. No child or adult should have to suffer from such disease. Cresswell also states “These can be early-life pressures, stress, and ultimately dieting,” he says. “For some people, dieting can be really dangerous behavior. The reduction in certain nutrients can alter gene expression “” (Cresswell 1-2). Cresswell is right about how dangerous dieting can be, because it is, but television advertises all of these new diet methods and how to exceed these plans, internet sites give lists of different dieting options, and these are examples of how media pushes some people that live in this

An analysis done by the National Institute of Health revealed, that plenty of Pro-Anorexia or "Thinspiration" websites and blogs support extreme weight loss and eating disorders, masquerade as fitness inspiration websites. This caused plenty of body dysmorphia sufferers to restrict their diets, which is potentially hazardous as the content should supposedly be devoted to healthy pursuits. Social media is also an outlet where a person can be exposed to body shaming, which serves as a trigger for those already suffering from the

Cyberspace, something that was once considered a fad, has developed into a tool that allows people struggling with anorexia to potentially find a sanctuary from the regulatory systems in popular culture that are applied to women’s bodies. Cyberspace provides an alternative space for women with eating disorders or body issues. The space created by cyberspace is potentially safer for women to meet because it allows anonymity while simultaneously being part of a community that the built environment is unable to provide. The components that make up pro-anorexia websites are usually considered abnormal, repugnant, or deviant within popular culture, because popular culture does not accept the way

Most American citizens are familiar with the proposed notion that the media has an effect on the populace, yet a definitive answer regarding what those effects are and why they are occurring has yet to be established. The effect that the media has on individuals has been a commonly tested relationship in terms of research. Researchers have frequently studied the effect that the media has on body satisfaction (Baird & Grieve, 2006; Cash, Ancis, & Strachan, 1997; Harrison, 2000; Johnson & Wardle, 2005; Jones, 2001; Knoblock-Westerwick

This paper is a critical analysis of how research into pro-anorexia websites effects is insufficient for determining their influence on body dissatisfaction, dieting and anorexia nervosa (AN) disorder. These unorthodox services have received outrage in recent New Zealand (NZ) news coverage because they are seen to advocate engagement in eating disorder behaviour, and disengagement from professional treatment (Hawkes, 2017).

Strasburger supports her argument that the media is to blame by using a study that was done in Fiji. A natural field experiment in Fiji revealed that the eating disorder rate increased dramatically after American television shows, which show excessively thin female lead characters, were introduced. There are also now over 100 pro-anorexia Web sites on the Internet that not only encourage disordered eating but also offer specific advice on purging, severely restricting caloric intake, and exercising excessively (Strasburger). Recent studies have shown that adolescent girls describe the “ideal girl” as being 5’7”, 100 pounds, size 5, with long blonde hair and blue eyes (Developmental…Eating Disorders, Section 2, Chapter 10, Pg. 235). Girls related this “ideal girl” look to being

“The attention-grabbing pictures of various high-flying supermodels and actors on different magazine covers and advertisements go a long way in influencing our choices” (Bagley). The media is highly affective to everyone, although they promote an improper image of living. Research proved says those with low self-esteem are most influenced by media. Media is not the only culprit behind eating disorders. However, that does not mean that they have no part in eating disorders. Media is omnipresent and challenging it can halt the constant pressure on people to be perfect (Bagley). Socio-cultural influences, like the false images of thin women have been researched to distort eating and cause un-satisfaction of an individual’s body. However, it