Social Media:
Social Media is a big cause of what ignites eating disorders. Teens are constantly fed this perfect lifestyle when they open their phones are here are some of the reason why.
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How the Social Media Feed Affects Teens
The minute teens press the icon for Instagram they are flooded with images of people living the perfect life. Girls appearing to wear size 2 jeans, driving the nicest car, and eating the most delicious looking meals. The more you scroll, the more you see and you are suddenly are filled with the want for that life. Yet, it’s not real. Those perfect bodies you see are often modified with photoshop. The stunning car that girl drives probably took years for her parents to save up and buy. Yet, with Instagram it creates an illusion and sets an unrealistic beauty standard.
The Need for Likes
“The need for people’s approval is translated into gain “likes” on social media. Most of the people want to give a good impression so they usually only share pictures or videos where they consider themselves to be good looking.”(How Social Media Affects Teen Body Image) When people reel in over 400 likes they feel on top of the world. This is because they get rush from knowing their peers like what they posted and who doesn’t like it when they get approval? Yet, if people don’t get as many likes as they got before they feel sad and disappointed because they seek that approval from their friends. They can feel that there is something wrong with them or their apprence which is where the danger of eating disorders comes in. In a goal There is also a serious sense of competition between peers. Thoughts like “Why didn’t I get as many likes as her?” or “She posted her picture 20 minutes ago and it already has 100 likes, unlike mine!” Instagram realized this and in a new test is going to be removing the likes count from peoples picture so no one, besides the account owner, will be able to see the number of likes they got. A statement was released saying “We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get” (Martin). Although this will not solve all the toxic problems with social media, hopefully it will help reduce the serious competition and tension between children.
The Influencers Influence
We can also look into many other things that ignite and trigger the causes of eating disorders. When teens open Instagram and Facebook they also see their favorite celebrities getting paid to promote some sort of weight loss product that they use. For example, products like: Fit Tea, Teami Blends, Flat Tummy Co, Sugar Bear Hair and more have all been promoted by superstars like the Kardashians, famous Youtubers, etc. This leads kids to believe that if this is what are making these celebrities so skinny, then it must work for them! Yet, often that is not the case, so kids find themselves feeling worse about themselves than before. Kids will starve themselves to reach an unobtainable body goal. Social media creates this vision that everyone lives that happy, successful life yet even some stars have spoken out of their own eating disorders. Demi Lovato spoke out about eating disorders “since being treated for bulimia and anorexia in 2010 (9 Celebrities with Eating Disorders).” Other stars like Elton John, Lady Gaga, Russell Brand, Paula Abdul and many more have also spoken about the dangers of eating disorders and have helped people understand that everything is not as perfect as it seems.
What are some of the symptoms?
There are so many dangers to eating disorders and if you spot any of these symptoms within in you peers here's what you can do. Many people with eating disorder tend to skip meals or go on extreme diets in a goal to lose weight. They will constantly take about their weight or body size in a negative way. They may not like to eat around their peers and they may also have very serious mood swings. There are also some physical signs you can look out for. If your peers mention constantly being cold, dizziness, inability to concentrate, stomach cramps (for girls, not when they are on their period) and fainting, then you should take precaution.
What to do if I think someone is in danger?
The best thing you can do for someone is make sure you tell a trusted adult about your concerns. Don’t question your choices because it is better to be safe than sorry. The person you are checking in on should know that they have someone that cares for them.
The minute teens press the icon for Instagram they are flooded with images of people living the perfect life. Girls appearing to wear size 2 jeans, driving the nicest car, and eating the most delicious looking meals. The more you scroll, the more you see and you are suddenly are filled with the want for that life. Yet, it’s not real. Those perfect bodies you see are often modified with photoshop. The stunning car that girl drives probably took years for her parents to save up and buy. Yet, with Instagram it creates an illusion and sets an unrealistic beauty standard.
The Need for Likes
“The need for people’s approval is translated into gain “likes” on social media. Most of the people want to give a good impression so they usually only share pictures or videos where they consider themselves to be good looking.”(How Social Media Affects Teen Body Image) When people reel in over 400 likes they feel on top of the world. This is because they get rush from knowing their peers like what they posted and who doesn’t like it when they get approval? Yet, if people don’t get as many likes as they got before they feel sad and disappointed because they seek that approval from their friends. They can feel that there is something wrong with them or their apprence which is where the danger of eating disorders comes in. In a goal There is also a serious sense of competition between peers. Thoughts like “Why didn’t I get as many likes as her?” or “She posted her picture 20 minutes ago and it already has 100 likes, unlike mine!” Instagram realized this and in a new test is going to be removing the likes count from peoples picture so no one, besides the account owner, will be able to see the number of likes they got. A statement was released saying “We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get” (Martin). Although this will not solve all the toxic problems with social media, hopefully it will help reduce the serious competition and tension between children.
The Influencers Influence
We can also look into many other things that ignite and trigger the causes of eating disorders. When teens open Instagram and Facebook they also see their favorite celebrities getting paid to promote some sort of weight loss product that they use. For example, products like: Fit Tea, Teami Blends, Flat Tummy Co, Sugar Bear Hair and more have all been promoted by superstars like the Kardashians, famous Youtubers, etc. This leads kids to believe that if this is what are making these celebrities so skinny, then it must work for them! Yet, often that is not the case, so kids find themselves feeling worse about themselves than before. Kids will starve themselves to reach an unobtainable body goal. Social media creates this vision that everyone lives that happy, successful life yet even some stars have spoken out of their own eating disorders. Demi Lovato spoke out about eating disorders “since being treated for bulimia and anorexia in 2010 (9 Celebrities with Eating Disorders).” Other stars like Elton John, Lady Gaga, Russell Brand, Paula Abdul and many more have also spoken about the dangers of eating disorders and have helped people understand that everything is not as perfect as it seems.
What are some of the symptoms?
There are so many dangers to eating disorders and if you spot any of these symptoms within in you peers here's what you can do. Many people with eating disorder tend to skip meals or go on extreme diets in a goal to lose weight. They will constantly take about their weight or body size in a negative way. They may not like to eat around their peers and they may also have very serious mood swings. There are also some physical signs you can look out for. If your peers mention constantly being cold, dizziness, inability to concentrate, stomach cramps (for girls, not when they are on their period) and fainting, then you should take precaution.
What to do if I think someone is in danger?
The best thing you can do for someone is make sure you tell a trusted adult about your concerns. Don’t question your choices because it is better to be safe than sorry. The person you are checking in on should know that they have someone that cares for them.