Eating Disorders and the Media

Today's society is undeniably marked by cultural norms and ideals. The question is, however, does the mass media's depiction of this norm cause harmful behavior in its population? Researchers have shown that there is a bias in the way television targets children in advertising (Ogletree, S., Williams, S., Raffeld, P., Mason, B., Fricke, K., 1990) and that this media influence over people has always been observable (Miles, M., 1995). This targeting of audience members serves the purpose …

…always the exception to the rule. The problem could lie in the media's willingness to subject the audience to any means necessary in order to turn them into consumers or in individual's inability to see the harm they are inflicting upon themselves with or without blaming the mass media for the epidemic. Either way, I think that treatment should be implemented in all identified cases rather that hoping the person will stop on their own.