Topic > Social Media as a Cause of Body Dissatisfaction and Eating Disorders

Since the Internet was created in 1900, its growth has been exponential. The Internet has become a universal source of information for millions of people (Murphy & Roser, 2017). While body dissatisfaction has been shown to mediate the relationship between exposure to traditional media (TV and magazines) and eating disorders (Stice, Schupak-Neuberg, & Shaw, 1994), little research has been conducted to measure the relationship between Internet use and disordered eating. symptomatology. Some studies have provided the first evidence of the relationship between Internet use and disordered eating behaviors, mediated by body dissatisfaction (Tiggemann & Slater, 2014). These findings are in line with sociocultural theory, which assumes that Western society promotes the thin ideal and that this is represented by the media, family members, and peers (Thompson & Heinberg, 1999). Attempting to look like media models and achieve this ultra-thin physique can lead women to body dissatisfaction, dieting, and ultimately disordered eating (Rodgers, Chabrol & Paxton, 2011). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As mentioned above, objectification theory suggests that society tells women to see themselves as an object and to internalize society's objectifying gaze (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). The media portrays objectifying content and promotes self-objectification in individuals, and research has shown that traditional media is associated with increased self-objectification (Harper & Tiggemann, 2007). Self-objectification is a predictor of disordered eating symptoms (Noll & Fredrickson, 1998), and the use of networking sites has been associated with self-objectification (De Vries & Peter, 2013). Individuals seek to present a desirable image of themselves, they do so by selectively presenting certain aspects of themselves to others, this is suggested by impression management theory (Leary, 1992). This theory hypothesizes that individuals with a higher level of body image avoidance and disordered eating will favor social interactions, as they have greater control over their self-presentations (Caplan, 2007). Furthermore, body image avoidance has been associated with disordered eating behaviors, and experiential body image avoidance has been found to mediate the relationship between body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptoms (Timko et. al., 2014) . These three theories were tested in a study conducted by Melioli, Rodgers, Rodrigues & Chabrol (2015), in which they explored the relationship between Internet use and bulimic symptoms within these theoretical frameworks, and found that l he use of the Internet and social media, in particular, tempts people to become active users by constantly staying connected to their social circle, regularly posting photos and new statuses on different networks. The thought of having your virtual image scrutinized and evaluated by others can increase feelings of self-objectification. Furthermore, the ability to control one's online presentation and selectively present the most positive aspects of oneself can lead to the gradual creation of an “online self,” which may be closer to social or media ideals than the individual is aware of. reality. . Furthermore, this study found that body shame and body image avoidance represent two mechanisms that may explain the association between Internet use and bulimic symptoms. Of the three frameworks, impression management and self-objectification are the ones that”, 2013).