Extent of the Media’s Influence Essay Sample
The research inquiry of this Psychology Extended Essay is “What is the Extent of the Media’s Influence Sing Eating Disorders? ” To farther look into this inquiry. I researched what the media is and what it does. how people are affected by the media and many different surveies and experiments. Through the usage of several beginnings. largely on-line and experiments. I was able to larn precisely what the media does to perchance be considered an influence on the development of eating upsets. I was able to happen a battalion of experiments and surveies make up one’s minding whether or non adult females are really influenced by what the media has to state about organic structure image. While typing this paper. I realized that. of class. the media was non the lone contributing factor because non everyone was affected by what it says. By look intoing each of the experiments and on-line resources. I was able to make a decision. The decision for this essay is that “not every adult male and adult female develops an eating upset but the 1s that do can be influenced by many different factors. non merely the media. ” I. besides. found that equals. household and personal organic structure dissatisfaction are all major lending factors every bit good as the media. Word Count: 203
Table of Contentss
Introduction……………………………………………………………… . 3
The Media Influences Eating Disorders. Fact or Fiction? ……………………… . 5
Experiments and Studies………………………………………………… . . 7
A Personal Interview with an Eating Disorder Victim……………………10
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………13
Works Cited……………………………………………………………… . . 14
Introduction
In this coevals. telecasting. world telecasting and magazines are one of the chief focal points of many work forces and adult females in this state. All of these are illustrations of the media. which is this coevalss mean of communicating. Since this coevals is drastically immersed in the media. it influences practically every individual in this state. The media chiefly presents histrions. actresses and theoretical accounts from all over. Models are normally highly thin work forces and adult females ; thinner than your mean work forces and adult females. Since theoretical accounts are invariably discussed in the media about how beautiful they are and how everyone can merely pray to look like them. eating upsets throughout many work forces and adult females have become an issue. There are an estimated 10 million females and 1 million males that are fighting in their ain organic structures due to an eating upset such as anorexia nervosa or binge-eating syndrome ( The National Eating Disorder Association ) . What is their ground for holding this eating upset? What made them experience so uncomfortable in their organic structure that made them develop these eating upsets?
The focus inquiry of this drawn-out essay will be:
What Is the Extent of the Media’s Influence Sing Eating Disorders? There are two chief types of eating upsets: Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. Anorexia Nervosa is “a psychiatric upset characterized by an unrealistic fright of weight addition. self-starvation. and conspicuous deformation of organic structure image” ( Medical-Dictionary. The Free Dictionary ) . Bulimia Nervosa is a psychiatric upset in which the individual “consumes big sums of nutrient ( orgy ) and so seek to free themselves of the nutrient and Calories ( purging ) by fasting. inordinate exercising. purging. or utilizing laxatives” ( Medical-Dictionary. The Free Dictionary ) . Womans are more likely to develop an eating upset than work forces but work forces still do develop them.
When person gets an feeding upset it is difficult non to fault the media for doing this individual to go so uncomfortable with their organic structure that they feel the demand to lose weight in an unhealthy manner because the media has made the ideal organic structure image for adult females dilutant and dilutant since World War II ( Teen Health and the Media ) . Ask any adult female and she will state you that the ideal organic structure image in this coevals is highly thin. Although everyone is exposed to the media. non everyone develops an eating upset. There has been an inordinate sum of arguments about whether or non the media influences work forces and adult females to develop an feeding upset. With that being said. does the media really play a function in eating upsets? Some say yes. some say no. it depends.
The Media Influences Eating Disorders. Fact or Fiction?
The media has become an indispensable portion of work forces and women’s lives for old ages. dating all the manner back to before World War II in the late 1930’s. It was said to be that the media during this clip injected “values and ethical motives into society” ( Jade ) . In today’s society. there are several different types of societal groups. Some of the societal groups may be effected by the media and how they portray the perfect adult female and some may non be effected because they may “reject the messages that are non consistent with the values of that group” ( Jade ) . There are besides several different types of people in this universe. some of whom have really low self-pride or assurance and are hence affected more by what the media says than others with a higher self-pride. The media “contributes to a toxic environment in which eating upsets may be more likely to happen. This is because of the “Damaging Paradox” of modern society in which the media promotes. ” ( Jade ) . While this is go oning. the environment is besides supplying people with an array of nutrient that is high in Calories and in fat and the media is coercing work forces and adult females to eat the merchandises and as a consequence. they are going heavier and heavier ( Jade ) .
Once they become heavier. their anxiousness degree peep and this is where eating upsets begin to develop. A plaything. made in 1959 by an American plaything company named Mattel. Inc. . known as the Barbie doll became a really popular plaything for immature misss. Still do this twenty-four hours it is a popular plaything for immature misss between the ages of 5-15. Barbie dolls are chiefly advertised on telecasting which can be considered as the media. Young girls around 11 or 12 Begin to recognize what the ideal image is for a adult female. It is believed that “Barbie encourages misss to be mercenary and image obsessed” ( Bee ) . Not all immature misss go this manner. but some do and that is when eating upsets may develop and go a job. The mean ages where eating upsets began to develop are between 11-24 and misss whom are between 11 and 18 are extremely exposed to the media. including manner or beauty related magazines and world telecasting shows. During this clip. “the exposure to ideal images coincides with a period in their life where dignity and self-efficacy is in decline” ( Jade ) .
Between these ages is when misss hit pubescence which makes their organic structure image fragile because they begin to compare themselves to society. A miss starts to diet because of the messages from the media and sometimes leads to eating upsets. It is said to be that “eighty-three per centum of adolescent misss read manner magazines for an norm of 4. 3 hours per week” ( Spettigue and Henderson ) . In magazines today and before there is a battalion of ads for new dieting merchandises. diet nutrients and other things in that class ; all of which causes an addition of desiring to be thinner like all the beautiful adult females in that specific magazine or the actresses on the telecasting show they are watching. Besides. on telecasting shows. whether it be a sketch or an original show. the “overweight characters are typically portrayed as lazy. … or the “bad guy” . while thin adult females and pumped up work forces are the successful. popular. sexy and powerful ones” ( The Media ) . How is one supposed to cognize that it is non ever about visual aspect when the media invariably seems to state otherwise?
There is a 2nd point of view on this statement of whether or non the media influences work forces and adult females to develop eating upsets and that is “although the media does present several hazard factors. they do non straight do eating disorders” ( Television Link to Eating Disorders ) . The media. on telecasting. advertises a battalion of commercials for fast nutrient eating houses and in these commercials. celebrated scraggy famous persons are advancing these eating houses and stating the people to eat at that place because they enjoy it so much. In world though. these famous persons do non really eat at that place because they want to keep their scraggy form ; therefore the media is being blamed with false advertizements. Although there is a 2nd point of view on this statement of whether or non the media influences work forces and adult females to develop eating upsets and that is “although the media does present several hazard factors. they do non straight do eating disorders” ( Television Link to Eating Disorders ) .
Besides. because the media advertises diet programs and fast nutrient eating houses. the media “may both tip and reflect our cultural compulsion with how we look and what we put into our oral cavities. ” but this does non state that the media is the direct cause of broken feeding ( Television Link to Eating Disorders ) . In add-on to this. some work forces and adult females may be holding a hard clip in their life and the media may lend a little sum. Although at the same clip one might be covering with drug maltreatment. alcohol addiction. depression and maltreatment from household members or a partner this “leaves them open to an eating upset and they will still stop up in the same topographic point regardless of telecasting or magazines” ( The Media ) . The inquiry is. does the media influence people to develop an eating upset? Experiments and Surveies
One of the first surveies by Garner. Garfinkel. Shwartz and Thompson conducted in 1980. focused on Playboy centrefolds. Miss America Contestants and manner theoretical accounts documenting the increasing tenuity of all of them between the 1950ss and 1890ss ( Spettigue and Henderson ) . Another survey was done in 1980 by Garner et Al. around the same clip that demonstrated that although the ideal beauty people are diminishing their weight. the weight of the general population of adult females in America has well increased ( Spettigue and Henderson ) . This. of class created a disagreement between organic structure images from the media and the typical American adult females. As said before. there has been an addition in the sum of advertizements in magazines for diet merchandises. diet nutrients and other things in that nature but a survey in 1992 by Anderson AE and DFomenico L presented that “women’s magazines contained 10. 5 times as many diet publicities as men’s magazines” ( Spettigue and Henderson ) . This puts force per unit area on adult females more than it does work forces and that is why more adult females develop eating upsets because they feel like they aren’t “good enough” for society. In 1994 Kilbourne conducted a study ; and it asked adolescent misss between 11 and 17 if they could hold 3 charming wants granted to them what they would be.
The figure one wish out of all the misss was “to lose weight and maintain it off” ( Spettigue and Henderson ) . Another study documented by Kilbourne was inquiring middle aged adult females what they wanted to alter about their lives and a bulk of them said “their weight” ( Spettigue and Henderson ) . The media is non the lone factor that influences work forces and adult females to develop eating upsets. household and equals are besides a little subscriber to a development of broken feeding. Studies show that the manner equals see each other and what they say is really of import to the one being affected with an eating upset. Throughout the adolescent old ages. misss are sometimes teased by their equals or household for their weight. which of class. might take to body dissatisfaction. a survey conducted by Stormer and Thompson in1996 said ( Spettigue and Henderson ) . Besides. in 1994 a survey was conducted by Cattarin and Thompson and “found that badgering predicted clip 2 degrees of organic structure image perturbation and history for six per centum of the overall discrepancy in visual aspect dissatisfaction” ( Spettigue and Henderson ) . Another survey conducted in 1986 by Mitchell found that force per unit area to lose weight by a equal sometimes occurred before that individual developed an eating upset ( Spettigue and Henderson ) . Along with many experiments. restrictions happen.
One restriction of Mitchell’s experiment was “that the grounds for these relationships is correlational. therefore forestalling insouciant statements from being made” ( The Effects of Social Pressure to be Thin on Body Dissatisfaction and Negative Affect ) . Some adult females develop eating upsets due to their ain organic structure dissatisfaction and the media is a bantam subscriber but one time adult females develop this upset. a survey by Thomsen et Al. in 2001 presented that adult females become about dependent to everything the media says and go “addicted” to manner magazines and other things of that nature ( Spettigue and Henderson ) . A battalion of work forces and adult females start dieting when they feel as if they have gained excessively much weight and they have to lose it but dieting is sometimes the first measure that can take to an eating upset. Dieting over a nine-month period tends to take to personify dissatisfaction and force per unit area to go thin. which so can take to broken feeding ( Spettigue and Henderson ) .
The media is non lone telecasting and magazines ; it is besides militants and media literacy. Media literacy is the ability to make the media in a assortment of signifiers. Through this. immature misss learn that what they see may non really be world. they learn that a bulk of the images are constructed to do everything expression more desirable ( Spettigue and Henderson ) . An experiment conducted in 2001 by Posovac et Al. tested college adult females who had organic structure dissatisfaction. Some adult females were told to watch a psychoeducational presentation that incorporated the usage of media literacy and the consequences were that the adult females who watched the presentation were less likely to be affected by media images exposing thin theoretical accounts than the adult females who did non watch the presentation ( Spettigue and Henderson ) . Besides. militants groups and support groups are considered a portion of the media. There is a mass figure of support groups that help work forces and adult females who struggle with an eating upset. There are associations that aid people who have eating upsets receive aid and people donate to these associations so that the unfortunate work forces and adult females are still able to have aid for this job.
Most of these groups or associations are advertised on the cyberspace. in shops who donate to that group and. sometimes. even on telecasting. Although the media does act upon work forces and adult females of all ages to develop an feeding upset because their organic structure does non run into society’s criterions. the media besides helps to forestall and handle people who have or show marks of holding an eating upset.
A Personal Interview with an Eating Disorder Victim
Most people do non recognize the sum of people they see on a day-to-day footing that are fighting with an eating upset and even when they do notice. sometimes those people do non seek aid for their equals. I have a friend. named Brittany. who had a terrible instance of anorexia nervosa. I did non detect it until two months after it had begun. Every clip I tried to speak to her about it she would go violent and did non desire to talk of it. Finally. I went to a counsel counsellor to seek aid and inquire her what I should make about this job. Brittany was my friend ; I could non conceive of seeing her battle like this anymore. I was able to carry Brittany to come talk to the counsel counsellor with me to speak about the issue she has been fighting with. The counsel counsellors told Brittany that she should foremost sit down and hold a one-on-one treatment with me about how and why this battle came approximately. We talked about it and I told her she needed to travel see a head-shrinker about this job and she did. Now 2 old ages subsequently. she is keeping a healthy weight for her tallness and eating on a regular basis. After I chose this subject on eating upsets. I asked to interview her for a mention ; to see why she was non satisfied with her organic structure at the clip. Maine: Hello Brittany. today I will be discoursing your past experience with your eating upset. known as anorexia nervosa. I will non be let go ofing your last name in this paper. merely your first name and are you certain you are all right with discoursing this subject with me today? Bretagne: Yes. I’ll be happy to discourse my eating upset with you today.
Maine: Great. Not merely will we be discoursing your eating upset but besides your concluding as to why you thought you needed to lose that sum of weight and what pressured you in to developing anorexia nervosa. My first inquiry is. how and when did you develop this eating upset? Bretagne: It was two old ages ago and I was 16 old ages old. I ne’er was a scraggy miss ; I was ever a small heavier than all the other misss in my category. I would wish every dark to be skinny like the other pretty misss in my category. I started with a simple diet and exercised every twenty-four hours for at least an hr. Following thing I knew. I was hardly eating and practically hungering myself. I increased my sum of exercising to 3 hours a twenty-four hours. I was highly thin before I knew it and although it was bad. I couldn’t have been happier with myself. My eating wonts became awful ; there would be a twenty-four hours where I would non eat at all because I was non hungry. Maine: I see. and how tall are you. how much did you weigh before this began and after it was over? Brittany: I am five pes seven and weighed 185 lbs and after all of it was over I was at 115 lbs. which is about 45 lbs under a healthy weight for my tallness. Maine: What made you decide to lose all this weight?
Bretagne: I noticed the other misss in my category were scraggy and all the male childs liked them and non me. So. I thought possibly if I look like them I will acquire more attending. Besides. I love watching world telecasting to cognize what’s hot and what’s non and it seemed to be. that being scraggy was hot. At that point. I knew I had to alter my visual aspect. Maine: Was that the lone grounds you felt compelled to lose all of that weight? Bretagne: Well. I’ve ever been teased about my weight throughout center and high school. It made me experience atrocious. like I wasn’t good plenty. Everywhere I looked. there was a new ad for a diet merchandise or a new exercise system. I realized everyone was seeking to go scraggy. so I figured I HAD to be scraggy. excessively. Plus. I’ve ne’er truly been satisfied with my weight and I was eventually ready to make something about it. Maine: Would you see yourself addicted to losing weight at the clip? Brittany: Yes. I hated my organic structure and one time I started losing weight. I couldn’t stop. It was a atrocious dependence but I didn’t attention. Every clip I got on the graduated table and saw that I lost 5 lbs in the class of 6 yearss. I was angry ; I thought I know I can make better than that and shortly plenty I was losing 10 lbs in 6 yearss. Maine: Wow.
Do you believe the media influenced you the most or was it your equals or yourself? Bretagne: Although I hated my organic structure so much. I knew that it wasn’t merely me who was coercing me to lose weight. The media played a immense function in my eating upset. Every clip I saw theoretical accounts on telecasting or in magazines. I noticed how bantam their waist was. I thought to myself. that’s what is popular and that’s what will acquire you noticed. so I had to lose weight if I wanted to be noticed by everyone. Besides. after being teased all those old ages. I couldn’t bear it one more twelvemonth. it was my senior twelvemonth and I had to look hot. Maine: So. would you state that the media influenced you the most? Bretagne: No. I believe myself and my equals influenced me a small spot more than the media did. Maine: Well. so that is all I have to inquire. Thank you so much for leting me to interview you. it truly helped a batch. Harmonizing to Brittany. the media was the least influential component but that does non intend that it is non the most influential component to person else. Decision
The media is a chief portion of our society and influences a batch of different people in different ways. Peoples are affected by eating upsets every twenty-four hours and the media plays a big function in the development. Although the media is non the lone influence. there are other subscribers that influence certain people into developing an feeding upset. With all the research that has been done. it is safe to state that the media is non the chief influence in the development of broken feeding. Peers and household and what other people think about them is really of import to most people. hence when being teased about one’s weight. that individual may take it to bosom and develop an feeding upset. Besides. when one is unsatisfied with one’s organic structure. one. by and large wants to make something about it. whether it be dieting. exerting or non eating at all. Normally dieting starts and has a opportunity that it will acquire excessively serious and lead to an eating upset. Therefore. non every adult male and adult female develops an eating upset. but the 1s that do can be influenced by many different factors. non merely the media.
