Alexis Nobes
Mr. Johnson
ENG3UE
13 July 2018
Does society’s promotion of thinness cause anorexia and other
eating disorders among teens?
Every year more and more people are joining social media, the model agency and media, and
every year more and more people are suffering from eating disorders. But why, why are people
especially teens getting eating disorders? There are many reasons but the biggest is society’s
promotion of thinness everywhere. Girls and boys all around the world experience some sort of
promotion of thinness as it is all around us. It gets them to think that “thinner is better” and that
is what is making them experience eating disorders.
Everywhere on social media people are posting pictures of them in there bathing suits or in tight
clothing showing off their “perfect figure”. Girls and guys look up to them and want to look like
them. They want to be as skinny as them and have the six pack like them and the muscles and
more. But not everyone is born with that type of body, so they will try to workout, but its not
working. So then they will go on a diet and slowly they will start eating less and less and less,
until they are not eating anymore or they will eat but then throw up afterwards. Now the innocent
girl or boy who just wanted to like like the skinny girl or the skinny muscular guy in the picture
is now dealing with an eating disorder which is hurting them. A study in 2011 from the
University of Haifa examined 248 teenage girls from the ages of 12-19 and discovered that the
more social media they were exposed to, the higher the chance of them getting an eating disorder
was. Another study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh school of Medicine, revealed that
“young adults who use social media are more likely to develop negative body images and eating
disorders…”. The slogan “skinny is better” is put out in social media everyday. Kids who think
there bodies fine, who don’t even think about their body, will go on social media and right after
they will have negative body images. That’s how it starts. Then when you finally realize it your
in the hospital because you fainted because you weren’t eating.
Sometimes girls are born with the skinny bodies. Sometimes the men have the nice skinny bodies
with the right muscles. But it will never be good enough because there is always going to be
someone saying they are not skinny enough. Is that because of media or social media, or is their
another reason? Some people are born with the right bodies so they will post pictures and...
