Today, we live in a culture based on image; which urges all of us (especially teenagers) to improve our appearance. “Thinspiration from the media” is sent through various tools with headlines like “-38 lbs. in 4 weeks methods” or “Flat Abs Firm Butt” those messages create a mental image – thinness equals happiness-. While providing entertainment, social skills and knowledge to teenagers the media is also becoming a strong tool promoting teenage eating disorders.
The media today is a powerful tool with the ability to influence the way we think and observe things; it took a central part in our lives dictating our words and actions. Mass media are forms of communication directed and …show more content…
Bulimia
“Teenagers with bulimia nervosa typically ‘binge and purge’ by engaging in uncontrollable episodes of overeating (bingeing) usually followed by compensatory behavior such as: purging through vomiting, use of laxatives, enemas, fasting, or excessive exercise.”
Media influence
In Time Magazine (2005) Sara Song reported about “Starvation on the Web”. Lizzy a 19year old student created “Cerulean Butterfly”, one of so many websites that openly discusses and sometimes approves with anorexia and other eating disorders. Lizzy has been anorexic sing 2002 and she believes that eating disorder is a lifestyle choice not a disease. Lizzy landed in the hospital having her weight dropped 88LBS , she wrote on her site “I was surrounded by the skinniest people I had ever seen can we say envy.” Welcome to the underground world of Pro-Ana, where people with eating disorder gather for support and companionship, girls as young as 10 share tips for loosing weight. 11million American’s suffering from Anorexia or Bulimia visit those websites. Lizzy says her website has been on the web since 2003 and has registered more than 85,000 hits. In my opinion, those website highly encourage teenagers to have body …show more content…
The sky’s the limit.’
4- ‘Thin is perfection, I'll die trying to achieve it’
5- ‘An imperfect body reflects an imperfect soul’
Flipping through a magazine and you read an article “How to Loose 20 lbs in Four Weeks”, why is it always loose not gain? , looking at these articles teenagers develop that being thin is a trendy and they start going on extreme diets to get the weight they desire.
Music, it’s supposed to be an escape for teens however music video’s on MTV portray skinny girls dancing which has nothing to do with the theme of the song for example Beyonce & Shakira’s music video of ‘Beautiful Liar’ where they just danced showing off their perfectly shaped bodies. Sara Penn a 15 year old stated that “WOW! I need to go on a diet, I seem obese compared to them, I loved the dancing but it has nothing to do with the song