The media plays a key role in passing important information to society. Most people hang on to every word relayed by the media. This has made the media to be one of the most effective modes of communication available in the world today. One of the most important duties that the media has been carrying out is educating people on the importance of good health. In the recent past, the media has however deviated from this role and they are now preaching ideals that have resulted in eating disorders among people. The information obtained by society from the media influences their thinking, attitude, and behavior in general. (Cemanovic, n.d.)
Over the years, the media has been associating the issue of eating habits with beauty. Naturally, people want to look physically attractive. This issue has obsessed people to a point where they can do anything just to look beautiful. The media presents images of celebrities with a perfect body shape, size, and appearance that we subsequently wish to emulate. Many people view these celebrities as their role models in society.
Companies dealing with beauty products that feature slim people in advertising for their products have compounded this problem. The existing beauty contests where people are continuously comparing themselves with others have adversely affected people and the whole society in general. People are so much obsessed with beauty that they are willing to go on the strictest diet or undergo dangerous cosmetic surgery procedures among other things that they are willing to do to attain that perfect image. (Beauty at any cost, n.d.)
On the other hand, those who fail to comply with the set beauty standards are judged on this basis and may find themselves missing on several opportunities. The media has distorted the issue of beauty to a point where beauty is no longer “in the eyes of the beholder” but on people’s body size. Many Americans are undergoing the strictest diets just to attain that ‘perfect’ body presented by the media. (Beauty at any cost, n.d.)
Two theories explain why the media influences people’s eating habits. According to Leon Festinger’s (1954) social comparison theory, people tend to evaluate and rate themselves by comparing themselves to others. These comparisons increase significantly with perceptions of similarity. According to this theory, people might compare themselves up or down with others. According to Festinger, when one compares himself/herself downward to people who are inferior to him/her, he/she experiences a boost in self-esteem and a decreased feeling of anger. (Beauty at any cost, n.d.)
On the other hand, when one compares himself/herself upward with people that appear to be superior to him/her, he experiences feelings of anger, depression, and low self-esteem. The media plays here significantly by portraying celebrities as people with a beauty that others need to emulate. These comparisons with celebrities have seen people and especially American women in a mad rush to look and remain beautiful. These same people believe that celebrities are people who underfeed themselves to attain a perfect body image. This has seen people in a mad rush to look and remain beautiful. Often, they are knowingly or unknowingly ruining their health. (Beauty at any cost, n.d.)
Another theory that explains how the media influences people’s eating habits is the cultivation theory. First developed by George Gerbner in the mid-1960s, cultivation theory explains how television influences people’s behaviors. According to this theory, televisions portray ideas that cannot work in the real world. These are ‘television world’ which can be thought true by television viewers although they can never work in the real world.
For example, a television may show a slender woman maintaining her perfect body size while taking junk foods. Although this is false in the real world, viewers will pick and try to apply these ideas in the real world. In America, many people have been influenced to emulate ‘television world’ ideas leading to problems like eating disorders among others that result when people mistake the ‘television world’ as real. This theory further proves that the media plays a key role in influencing peoples eating habits. (Beauty at any cost, n.d.)
In a bid to look and stay fit, people have adopted unhealthy standards of living just to attain this. The media proposes ways that one can stay and look young. Some of these ways have been termed by health experts to be unhealthy and destructive to one’s health. The media and cigarette manufacturers present smoking as one way that people can lose weight. This is not only wrong but it also puts people at risk of contracting chronic diseases like throat cancer.
These health problems are increasingly starting at an early age as teenagers adapt to the beauty ideology at an early age thanks to media influence. According to the findings of a study carried out on the matter, 67 % of young people including those with dieting disorders are trying to lose weight. The interesting trend is that 53 % of dieters are trying to lose weight although they are at a healthy weight. Moreover, as high as 39% of women are greatly concerned about what they eat. This same study shows that young people believe in the Media’s presentation of ideas than any other mode. (National institute of mental health, 2009)
As discussed earlier, the media presents cigarette smoking as a means of losing weight. A Study on women has shown that 13% of women smoke to lose weight. The American Lung Association has discovered that tobacco companies while marketing extensively target women. These Companies present themes of an association between weight control and smoking of cigarettes. These are carried out through advertisements that feature slim and attractive females.
The American Lung Association also discovered that young people start to smoke at an early age to lose weight and identify themselves with groups that are models to those featured in smoking advertisements. These advertisements are misleading teenagers that being slightly overweight is worse than smoking although the reverse is true according to medical evidence. Cigarettes are portrayed to cause slimness and loss of appetite. Medical evidence however shows that smoking is very harmful to our health. (Cemanovic, n.d.)
According to a study carried out among teenagers, young people who watched commercials showing underweight icons were so much affected physiologically that they lost self-confidence and became unhappy with their bodies. Another study showed that thirty minutes of watching television commercials is enough to change the way a young person views their body shape. Body shapes and size are therefore affected by observing unrealistic body images through television. Various studies have also shown that young people especially girls are taught by the media to derive confidence in how sexy they look rather than on their character and what they have achieved.
One’s physical image is thus reduced to sexual attractiveness. The standards set by the media which depict young teenagers are unrealistic to achieve. This creates a condition where both the young and aged people who are affected develop negative thinking to a point where they cannot think cognitively apart from having wrong beliefs on ideal standards that they think they can achieve. Again, this shows the big role played by the media in influencing eating disorders. (Eating disorders, n.d.)
By looking at the outlined trend, it is clear that the media needs to do something to reverse the mentality it has instilled in people that has brought about eating disorders. Since the media has played a big role in influencing eating disorders among people, the same people should work hard to correct this misinformation. Many people do not realize that they have an eating disorder. Many of them view their ways of eating as normal. The media need to educate people on the different types of eating disorders. This will not only make people realize the dangers of eating disorders, but it will also teach people how to differentiate between reality and fantasy. (National institute of mental health, 2009)
Although there are many types of eating disorders, the media only focuses on two types. These two are bulimia and anorexia. The reason why the media focuses on these two is that they are the most common among people. People with these eating disorders have difficulty during meals and spent most of their time worrying about the effect of food on their bodies. This makes them undergo a period of emotional stress. There are several different symptoms, which a person with eating disorders can experience although they differ from person to person. Research done in this field shows that bulimia is given less media attention making it to be ignored by many people. (Cemanovic, n.d.)
The media should be at the forefront in educating people on the dangers of eating disorders. This will in turn see people making informed choices on the nature of the food they eat. The media should also be made to correct the misinformation it has created in the public regarding the attainment of true beauty. Issues like smoking cigarettes to remain slim are things that misguide people and hence should not be in the public domain. (Eating disorders, n.d.)
Conclusion
The media plays a crucial role in influencing the choices people take in life. This makes it an important tool for conveying important information to society. For a long time now, the media has been presenting malnourished models terming them as a true representation of beauty. In a bid to look beautiful, many people have been in a mad rush to attain this ‘ideal’ figure presented by the media. This has led to eating disorders among many people in the community.
Since people believe the media over every other mode of transmitting news, the same media is the only one responsible for correcting the wrong impression given out to people that have caused eating disorders in society. This should be done as a matter of urgency since many people especially the young are abandoning the right eating patterns in favor of the Media’s creation.
Reference List
Beauty at any cost. (n.d.). A YWCA report on the consequences of America’s beauty obsession on women &girls. Web.
Cemanovic, J. (n.d.). The effect of media on the skinny side of eating disorders. Web.
Eating disorders. (n.d.). Web.
National Institute of mental health. (2009). Eating disorders. Web.