In: Psychology
Answer the following question: Why do you think eating disorders are on the rise for both men and women? Search the internet and find a photo that reflects how social media has shaped society's thinking and maybe our own. Please make good choices when choosing your picture! When you find that perfect photo please post the URL and briefly give one or two sentences discuss the photo. Keep in mind the following: What is the ‘reality’ behind these photos? How does a photo like this affect your own thinking about body image? How do you feel the media has shaped your thinking? What do you think we as a society can do to change how photos like this create our perceptions of body image?
There is plenty of content floating around social media that promotes an ideal body image for both, men and women. Because social media is actively used by scores of users across the world and is easily accessible, the spread of messages that explicitly and implicitly promote idealised body types has become even more rampant today. Take for instance, the following fitness blogger:
https://www.instagram.com/taylorkayteee
Social media sites are filled with such profiles and it appears that these tend to invite the maximum amount of popularity. Although fitness is a desirable goal, in my view, it is being promoted by many individuals to obtain ‘likes’ and ‘followers’ by showing off one’s physique. Such pictures are often filtered in order to portray perfection. When viewers like me look at these pictures, we may feel inadequate about our own bodies even thiugh we maybe perfectly healthy otherwise.
During my adolescent years, I would feel extremely unworthy by looking at images projected by the media but as I have matured, I now recognise the amounts of filtering and distortion that such images undergo. Their dangers should be recognised early on as children and adolescents would be most vulnerable to them. This can come about from our educational system and also how our parents raise us.