Eating disorders (EDs)have been around for a long time and have been unacknowledged as a serious problem. Although there are several contributing factors to EDs, one major contribution is the rise of social media. Within society, social media is prevalent in people's everyday lives, especially in the youths' lives.
Social media plays a huge role in what people think of themselves. In a world that is so consumed with likes, comments, and followers, people can find themselves compared to others which causes a great deal of mental distress. A poll was taken by the student body about which social media platforms they found themselves comparing themselves to others. The top three responses were TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. The connection between the three platforms is that they all are made to share photos and videos. These photos only show the best parts of people’s lives and bodies and faces, creating unrealistic beauty standards and expectations for everyone. When you add a filter to your whole life to make it look perfect it makes everyone wonder what is real.
In the past years, the number of people that have fallen into an eating disorder has gone up by 3.4% to 7.8% from 2000 t0 2018. (The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2019)
During this time various social platforms have been created and have become a part of people's everyday lives.
How does social media affect eating disorders? Well in a world with bizarre beauty standards, plastic surgery and filters can deflate people’s self-confidence a lot. When you look on Instagram and see people who look flawless and look like they are living their dreams, without looking at the behind-the-scenes. They probably took hours to get ready and take the picture and they photoshopped it to death. And celebrities love to give “advice” on their body or workout routine to try to help but they make it much worse. Most of them are not qualified to give health advice and can lead people towards unhealthy habits.
When people feel defeated with how they look they turn to unhealthy habits that start eating disorders. There is no specific way people fall into eating disorders. Every person's story is different and unique. That’s why you should check on your friends if they have an off day. You should start making sure they are taking care of themselves and doing the right things. And if they are not being like themselves and not eating well you should confront them and talk about their health and what you can do to help. If your friend is ignoring you and pushing you away this is a sign. In most cases, they know that what they are doing is bad so they will push people away from what they know will try to help them.
Eating disorders can come in all shapes and sizes and not each one is the same. It's common for people to think they are only a couple of eating disorders but there is more than that. Another common misconception is that only females have eating disorders, although the number of females that have an eating disorder is greater does not mean it is only female. A lot of males struggle and are afraid to ask for help because society tells them it is “unmanly” to be insecure about their bodies. But what is different about being a woman and being insecure and being a man and insecure. Just because they are supposed to be the “stronger gender”.
In a world that can seem to judge everything, make sure you are boosting yourself and others up.