Media and It's Terrifying Effects
How far will you go just to look "beautiful"?
The Effects of "Beauty"
Women all over the world are affected by eating disorders. Eating disorders can stem from any problem or situation. From a young age we are overwhelmed with photos and messages that enhance the idea that to be beautiful, happy, and accepted we must be extremely thin. It is very hard to look at any source of media without being confronted with the idea that to be overweight is disgusting. The terrible picture that the media is painting is reaching kids all over the world. When teens feel as though their bodies don’t look like those of supermodels and TV stars, they feel ugly and self conscious. The truth is, women portrayed in these photos and commercials have all been airbrushed and edited. But, women and teens think that they need to reach the goal of becoming size double zero, or lose a bunch of weight, no matter what it takes.
Anyone now will do anything it takes to become thinner. Diets, work out plans, pills, but mainly women and teens will stop eating in order to reach their ideal weight. There are many types of eating disorders. The most common are anorexia and bulimia. Being anorexic means that you do not eat at all, or if you do, it is close to nothing. This is beyond unhealthy and can lead to serious health problems. If someone is bulimic, it means they binge eat and then proceed to throw up what they have just consumed. In other words, they will "pig out" until they feel the need to make themselves throw it back up.
Eating disorders affect mainly young girls and women but a small percentage of men can also develop a disorder. Some statistics show that 47% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported that they want to lose weight because of the pictures they have seen in magazines, 69% reported that media has affected the way they think about themselves, and 42% in 1st-3rd grade said they want to be thinner. The media is affecting the way girls all over the world think about themselves, and now that it has come to not eating anymore, it becomes an even bigger issue.