Topic: I will be researching how the depiction of the “ideal” body on social media led people to develop eating disorders and how eating disorders affect a person’s not only physical but also mental state.
Research Questions:
- How have various social influencers perpetuated unrealistic body standards?
- Do eating disorders arise from body dysmorphia?
- What leads a person to develop eating disorders?
- Is eating disorder a mental or physical illness?
[I think questions 3 & 4 are a little to big. Also, they have concrete answers that we can easily find with a Google search. Rather than using them to guide your topic, maybe think about using these questions to help you present some background information in your introduction section of the essay]
Reference Entry #1
Jessica F. Saunders, MS,1,* and Asia A. Eaton, PhD1 , (2018). Snaps, Selfies, and Shares: How Three Popular Social Media Platforms Contribute to the Sociocultural Model of Disordered Eating Among Young Women. Libertpub.com. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/cyber.2017.0713
Interesting Quotes and Paraphrases of Key Points
According to Sanders and Eaton(2018), “Cultivation theory posits that increased media exposure causes people to believe that the ideals portrayed in media exist in the real world,26 and gratifications and uses theory describes the needs that drive individuals to seek out mass media.27 Based on these theories, exposure to the thin ideal and other harmful norms around appearance through SNS will convince individuals that these are appropriate realworld standards, leading to objectified body consciousness and social comparisons” (p. 344).
Reason for Selecting this Quote: This quote explained the correlation between social media and eating disorders. [I suggest paraphrasing this. We generally don’t quote large passages when we can use our own words instead]
I want to paraphrase the following paragraph because it will help readers understand how social media is linked to eating disorders.
Along with social comparisons, the expanded sociocultural model of disordered eating identifies body surveillance, or the tendency to over-focus on appearance attributes,as a social–cognitive factor linking sociocultural pressures to disordered eating. By adopting an observer perspective and internalizing messages regarding the malleability of one’s body, self-objectification primarily manifests behaviorally through body surveillance. Women who are concentrated on their appearance are also more observant of how they compare with other women; thus, body surveillance tendencies predict disordered eating tendencies, and this relationship is linked by appearance-related comparisons.
Paraphrase of this Quote: Overly observing or focusing on certain body parts have been found to have a connection with the development of eating disorders as it leads women to compare themselves to the “ideal” body types, leading them to take certain actions to achieve their desired body type.
Summary of Main Ideas
According to Saunders and Eaton, Social Networking Systems such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook have an association to the development of eating disorders (e.g.. anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, etc.) among adolescent women. They conducted a research where participants were asked 4 question free response questions about their relationship with SNS to examine its effect and possible correlation to eating disorders. The results supported the research’s claim of the correlation of how representation and glorification of the “ideal” body type can lead individuals to compare their body to the ones they see online. [Nice job with this summary!]
Response/Analysis
I agree with the claims of this research as it holds statistical evidence. [Remember, in analysis writing we avoid agree/disagree statements so that we can stay objective] Moreover, comparing your body to what you see on the internet can have an offsetting effect on your mental health. What you see on the internet has been taking from a certain angle and lighting along with possible photoshopping to make it seem that way. The depiction of the body on the internet is unrealistic itself from the beginning/ And, seeing such “perfect” bodies can lead individuals to resort to becoming insecure and having lower self esteem about their body. This leads them to developing unhealthy eating habits such as restricting or overeating to achieve the “ideal” body. While, some develop such eating habits to cope with the emotions they experience from having a lower self esteem. However, it is important to mention that eating disorders cannot be tied down just there reasons, people develop them for many other reasons. [Very strong analysis! Great work!]
Reference Entry #2
Weir, K. (2016, April). New insights on eating disorders. Monitor on Psychology, 47(4). http://www.apa.org/monitor/2016/04/eating-disorders
Interesting Quotes and Paraphrases of Key Points
Quote: “Even medical definitions of eating disorders have often focused on external factors, including cultural pressures, parents’ attitudes toward weight and diet, and stressful or traumatic events that might trigger disordered eating habits.”
Reason for Selecting this Quote: I chose this quote because it helps diminish people’s general perception of eating disorders and give readers an opportunity to think more about the other various reasons that one might develop an eating disorder
I want to paraphrase the following paragraph because it will help readers understand how people with anorexia respond to people with bulimia.
“An important piece of the altered reward system seems to be dopamine, the neurotransmitter that motivates us to cut a second helping of that chocolate cake. Dopamine activity is altered in both bulimia and anorexia — but in opposite ways, according to research by Guido Frank, MD, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.”
Paraphrase: According to the research by research by Guido Frank, MD, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, an individual with bulimia responds differently to eating a certain food psychology as opposed to someone with bulimia. For instance, anorexic individuals tend to produce more dopamine during eating than individuals with bulimia, leading anorexic people to have control over what they are eating while people with bulimia tend to be more numb throughout their whole experience.
Summary of Main Ideas
This article gives an overall description of bulimia and anorexia. The author also explains how the psychological thought process when eating differs for a person with normal eating habits compared to one with eating disorders, debunking the misconception of how eating disorders only arise from the society and environment. Moreover, the author also talks about the negative effects these eating disorders can have on a person’s both physical and mental health. For instance, people with anorexia are sometimes at risk of dying from overly restricting their food intake. [This seems like it might be a good source for giving general background information.]
Response/Analysis
This article gives a basic overall description of the two main eating disorders I will be focusing on. I will use this article to connect how comparing your body to the “ideal” body types can take a mental toll on a person. Moreover, I can use quotes from this website to explain how a person changes their psychological thinking about food, leading them to develop an unhealthy relationship with eating in general. [Great! This will be a good ouse of this source.]
