IS MEDIA TO BLAME FOR THE INCREASE IN EATING DISORDERS?
In 2019, the Butterfly Foundation’s Insights in Body Esteem campaign found 58 per cent of people compared themselves to others on social media and half the surveyed people were extremely dissatisfied with themselves.
The HuffPost UK also reported on a study that found 40 per cent of females felt more self-conscious about their bodies after watching reality tv show Love Island.
Alarmingly, body dissatisfaction is an early warning sign for the development of an eating disorder and yet it doesn’t stop us from sitting down daily to watch reality tv and scroll social media.
To first understand the problem, it is important to break down the stigma that eating disorders only affect certain people, such as models or Hollywood actresses.
Eating disorders are a secret and silent disease. You may not even be aware if someone you know is suffering.
More than one million Australians have an eating disorder and less than a quarter of sufferers seek help and support.
This secrecy and silence can lead to detrimental, harmful results.
Ultimately this is the reason why eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Sufferers feel trapped with no way out.
But can people simply just start eating more and not over exercising?
To put it simply, no. Eating disorders affect people of all different sexes, sizes, cultural identities and ages and the symptoms also vary considerably from person to person.
They are multifaceted with no simple cure.
So then what can be done? And why is the number of sufferers on the rise dramatically this year?
It is no secret this year has been tough.
ReachOut have recorded a 75 per cent increase in people contacting them with body image concerns and Butterfly Foundation have a 116 per cent increase on helpline webchats.
Health and wellness coach and social media personality, Stef Jung, also has an influx of coaching requests this year for eating disorder support.
Talking with Stef on the issue, she speaks with an infectious passion on the importance of the topic. Her caring attitude for her clients and her followers clearly influenced by her personal journey to recovery after dealing with an eating disorder herself.
“It’s easy to control your food and exercise religiously when everything is open and there is no restrictions, but when all of that falls to the wayside and life kind of goes out of control, many people started struggling all of a sudden,” said Stef Jung.
Through working with her clients, Stef realised that despite many people struggling, it can be a blessing in disguise.
“In working with them the realisation was that it was always kind of there, they were just so distracted and so busy that they didn’t even notice,” she said.
Interestingly, this could be the case for many. Despite this year showing a rise in the illness, eating disorders have also been on the rise for years.
The Butterfly Foundation’s annual reports from the last four years show noticeable increases in people reaching out on all their different platforms.
Social media usage has reported the highest increase, going from 58 thousand to 17 million people, making it the main way of reaching people.
Despite the media being used to spread positive messaging and support, it is difficult to deny its ability to cause harm.
In an article published by The Guardian, former Vogue editor Kirstie Clements talked about her experience with models and their drastic change in body shapes in the 1990s.
The late 1980s and early 1990s represented women who were still slim but had natural curves and maintained a healthy, fit body. This then shifted and the ideal woman became someone so thin their body could only be attained through starvation and harmfully strict regimes.
Men were also not exempt during this time with the ideal man being represented by bodybuilders in the late 1980s and very toned, muscular men in the 1990s.
Following this, a South Australian study discovered disordered eating behaviours in men and women, aged 15 and above, doubled between 1995 and 2005.
Women aimed to be thinner and men aimed to be more muscular. Making it harder to deny that the media could be a common denominator.
Warning: Some of the stories used in the following video include disturbing images and text.
Background Source: Photo by Becca Tapert on Unsplash
As the media remains a part of our everyday lives, it is important to understand how to approach the different forms in a way that doesn’t negatively influence ourselves.
Choose to understand that as entertaining and informative as media can be, it is profiting off of people’s disapproval of themselves. It continuously tells us we need to look and act a certain way in order to attract love, approval and follows.
Discussing solutions with Stef Jung, her advice was to engage in “conscious consumption” and become “hyper aware” of your media use.
“Literally go through your instagram and unfollow everyone that doesn’t inspire you and makes you feel bad about yourself,” she said.
So, next time you find yourself scrolling through social media and watching reality tv shows, only to step away and suddenly feel bad about who you are and your life, do something about it.
Don’t let the media determine your happiness and your life story.
If you or anyone you know is experiencing an eating disorder, we encourage you to reach out for support. Butterfly Foundation’s National Helpline is open every day between 8am and 12 midnight AEST -call 1800 334 673, connect via webchat or email support@butterfly.org.au. For urgent support call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Images Sources (not credited on image) -
Slide 3:Streets remain empty in Melbourne following Covid-19 lockdown. Source: Rachel Cary. Stef Jung has created a career around helping people learn self-love and acceptance. Source: https://www.wholesomestef.com/about-wholesomestef
Slide 6: Photo by Ismael Trevino on Unsplash. Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash.
All other images created by Kaylah Baker.
