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Wild Card: Social Media and Eating Disorders

In today's world, social media has become a big part of how we connect and express ourselves online. But did you know it can also affect how we feel about our bodies and our eating habits? Social media is everywhere these days. It's changed how we talk to each other and show ourselves online. But it's not all good. Some people think it's making eating problems worse.

When we scroll through platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook, we often see pictures of people who seem to have perfect bodies. They might be really thin or super muscular, and they always look flawless. Seeing these images all the time can make us feel like our own bodies aren't good enough. We might start to feel bad about how we look, which can lead to something called body dysmorphia. This is when we see ourselves differently than how we really are, and it can make us want to change our eating habits in unhealthy ways.

Another thing social media does is make it easy for us to compare ourselves to others. We see all these amazing pictures of people having fun and looking great, and we start to think our own lives aren't as good. This can really hurt our self-esteem, especially if we're already feeling a bit insecure. Research shows that the more time we spend on social media, the worse we might feel about ourselves. And when we don't feel good about ourselves, we might turn to things like dieting too much, eating too much, or even making ourselves sick to try to change our bodies.

You might have noticed hashtags like #thinspiration or #fitspiration on social media. These are all about showing off fragile bodies or promoting extreme fitness. While it's great to be healthy, these hashtags can sometimes go too far and make people feel like they have to be super skinny or work out all the time to be worth something. This can be dangerous because it can make people develop eating disorders without even realizing it.


Another problem with social media is that it's easy for people to say mean things to each other without having to see the other person's reaction. This is called cyberbullying, and it happens a lot online. People might make fun of someone's weight or give them advice about losing weight when they didn't ask for it. This can make someone feel really bad about themselves, and it might even make their eating disorder worse.


Video Example of body shaming and cyberbullying

We need to be careful about how much time we spend on social media and what we're looking at when we're there. It's important to remember that not everything we see online is real, and it's okay to be different from what we see online. We can also try to be kinder to each other online and think before we say something that might hurt someone else's feelings.

Social media can have a big impact on how we feel about our bodies and our eating habits. It can make us feel bad about ourselves and even lead to eating disorders if we're not careful. But by being mindful of what we're looking at online and how we treat each other, we can help make social media a healthier place for everyone.

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