Mass media and eating disordersTeam Ethnix: Myisha McCoy, Dai Tran, Logan Flaherty, Andrea Martin, Luke Beach, Tyler Makovicka, Sontara Barr-PooleEffects of mass mediaMass media acts as an extremely influential in the lives of all people within American society. From physical appearance to food intake, the role of the mass media has a lasting impact on American culture. The media is used to convey messages and at the same time establish and promote growing trends and norms. Effects of the mass media, continued. As a country that struggles to gradually achieve a healthy body image, members of society are incredibly demanding of results at an instant rate. People are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their favorite look, even if it means taking drastic measures. Of which, the development of eating disorders is highly prevalent. Does it focus primarily on primary or secondary socialization? The impact of mass media on the development and continuation of eating disorders is considered secondary socialization. Ideas come from public opinion and influences outside the primary group, so family opinions are often ignored due to their degree of invalidity. The ideal body image that people want to represent in the eyes of the public is very important because society tends to judge physical appearance before anything else. Individuals who struggle with eating disorders, such as anorexia, believe that they constantly need to be thin to have a presentable body in the eyes of society. Is there a specific population it is aimed at? Although mass media are available to all participants in a society, some tools used for advertising are clearly aimed at people who identify ...... middle of paper ...... this agent of socialization today? The effect of media on personal self-perception is a debate that has long been discussed. While there are some neat arguments that the mass media is purely evil and deceptive, the question that should be asked is: Is the media really responsible for these ideologies? Problems and issues, continued. Media is a product of human creation, therefore, it is also a collection of human ideas. Ideas that come from elite members of society in an attempt to persuade non-elites to conform to what the highest level of the hierarchy considers “normal” or, more importantly, what is “preferred.” If this is true, then the media is simply a reflection of what the dominant forces of society find ideal and/or attractive. Perhaps, instead of blaming the media for creating these ideas, it is only responsible for reinforcing them.