Unit 2 Final Draft: Food Promotion through Social Media that Causes Eating Disorders

Evie Althkefati

Professor Edelson

English 1121 O450

3/30/2022

Food Promotion through Social Media that Causes Eating Disorders

Social media use has many negative implications on its users, and one of the negative implications is that it contributes to eating disorders and extreme diets. Young people are among the groups of individuals that end up being affected as the result of accessing social media. “Children as young as 13 were targeted within 24 hours of creating an account with harmful content, including material related to eating disorders, extreme diets, sexualized imagery, body shaming, self-harm and suicide” (Daniels). Therefore, to an extent, poor eating habits come about as the result of individuals opting to follow the suggestions being given by social media concerning the food they need to eat. As the different social media platforms advertise the different foods, the focus is on profit generation and not on the health of populations. As a result, people’s health is compromised as they utilize the different food products they see in the social media platforms. As the paper reviews the different food products promoted through social media and how they contribute to eating disorders, it explains how social media promotes eating disorders.

Using evidence-based research, this paper gives an explanation of why the different social media platforms offer specific advertisements. Whereas this will look at general advertisements, it will be essential in understanding why the social media platforms advertise specific foods that lead to the deterioration of individuals’ health instead of advertising foods that would be considered healthy to individuals. After that, the paper describes the different foods that the different social media platforms promote through advertisements and explain how these foods contribute to eating disorders. It is necessary for individuals to care about this information as it informs them of the possible manipulations that social media has on them and those around them. By being aware of this, one will not be easy to check out a food joint because it was suggested by a given social media platform, but they will instead be keen with the information they receive over the internet and check out their eating habits. 

The primary way in which social media makes profits is through advertisements (McFarlane). The amount of money that these platforms make from advertisements is sufficient enough to enable them to run while giving free services to the general public. For this reason, the platforms promote advertisements that make them more money, even though there is a compromise on individuals’ health. Having the companies that have made the platform advertise is not the only way that these negative ads are promoted. The other way in which this happens is having influential figures mention specific products as ways of advertising them. “Companies pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to have their products mentioned in social media posts by influencers with a large following” (Carter). Hence, there are different ways that social media promotes specific ideas that are driven towards profit generation. Those that follow these advertisements end up engaging in activities that turn out negative for them.

A type of food that results in significant reaction among individuals on social media is food that contains saturated fats (Pancer, and Philp). Compared to other healthier types of foods, saturated fats on social media look more appealing. Examples of foods with saturated fats that social media promotes include butter, cheese, meats, and oils. These foods are known to give juicy, chewy, and creamy sensory experiences. Therefore, as individuals see them and imagine the sensory experience they will get from them, they end up engaging in conversations about them, and this is how the foods end up being promoted as foods that individuals take.

The more appealing the advertisement of food, the more the views it will get. Therefore, there ends up being a significant focus on these  foods with saturated fats because they are more appealing to individuals, and as a result, there is more exposure to them than to healthy foods. These are the types of food on display when the different parties are advertising specific food joints. The advertisers know that with the appeal they give to people to check out these foods, they are likely to have more individuals checking out these joints as they look out for the specific food types. However, as much as people will check out the foods with saturated fats and have the different sellers increase their profits, those who consume these foods will have their health negatively affected as they develop eating disorders.

Eating disorders are “characterized by eating, exercise, and body weight or shape becoming an unhealthy preoccupation of someone’s life” (Eating Disorders Victoria). In essence, they come about due to a change in eating patterns, and they affect those who have patterns that are not beneficial to them. When the different foods with saturated fats are shared among individuals on social media, they become appealing, and as a result, encourage individuals to change their feeding habits as they focus more on taking sweet, juicy, chewy, and creamy foods instead of foods that would promote their health. 

One of the eating disorders that these social media platforms contribute to is bulimia nervosa. The disorder is one in which individuals tend to eat unusually large amounts of food at specific periods (Legg). During episodes in which individuals eat large amounts of food, they can eat to the point that they start feeling pain because they are full. When one is having an episode of binge eating, they feel that they cannot stop eating, and they go on eating without controlling the amount of food they are taking in. This type of disorder is common when individuals find specific foods that they consider sweet, even though they would try to avoid them under normal circumstances, such as foods with saturated fats. When individuals see such foods on social media platforms, they get cravings for them, and as a result, they look for them to satisfy their cravings. Since these foods are sweet, individuals end up eating them in large amounts without feeling like they have control over them, and this is how the eating disorder is promoted through social media.

The other eating disorder promoted by these foods is binge eating disorder. The disorder is almost similar to bulimia nervosa. It involves individuals eating much food within a short period in which they do not have control over the food. Unlike bulimia nervosa where individuals try to compensate for their calories intake after having episodes where they have eaten a lot of food, binge eating disorder does not have cases in which individuals try to undertake processes of this compensation. Still, social media platforms encourage binge eating by showcasing the sweet foods, in this case, those having saturated fats, and they entice individuals to eat them in large quantities. 

Being aware of the possibilities of having social media influence the type of food an individual takes and its ability to encourage eating disorders helps individuals become cautious whenever they see an advertisement or social media post that relates to food intake. This knowledge helps individuals understand that the different posts on social media are there to bring about manipulation to cause them to purchase the different food products. Therefore, they will not be quick to go and purchase food or check out an eating joint because they saw it on social media. As a result, individuals will easily avoid unhealthy eating habits, and  they will also avoid developing eating disorders.

The use of social media has many negative implications, and one of them is contributing to eating disorders through the promotion of specific foods. Social media primarily makes money through advertisements, and this gives them the ability to offer free services to individuals and still be able to have their activities running. Since advertisements are the primary source of revenue for the platforms, there is less consideration of what the advertisements are or the effect they have on the social media users. When this happens, the social media platforms end up encouraging individuals to engage in any negative actions as long as it gives the platforms an income. The foods that are promoted on social media are primarily foods with saturated fats, as they tend to be juicy, chewy, and creamy. They include butter, cheese, meats, and oils. Since they are more attractive than other food types, they are advertised on different social media platforms, even though they do not promote health. These foods promote eating disorders, which include bulimia nervosa and binge eating. Since they are sweet foods, the social media posts encourage individuals to eat them in large quantities, and this is how they develop the different eating disorders. Being aware of such manipulation before accessing the different social media platforms helps individuals understand the importance of avoiding such foods and the resultant eating disorders.

Works Cited

Carter, Shawn M. “Social Media May Be Making You Overspend—And It’S Not Just Because Of The Ads”. CNBC, 2018, https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/15/social-media-may-make-you-overspend-and-its-not-just-because-of-ads.html. Accessed 31 Mar 2022.

Daniels, Nicole. “How Does Social Media Affect Your Mental Health?”. The New York Times, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/01/learning/how-does-social-media-affect-your-mental-health.html. Accessed 31 Mar 2022.

Eating Disorders Victoria. “Classifying Eating Disorders”. Eating Disorders Victoria, 2022, https://www.eatingdisorders.org.au/eating-disorders/what-is-an-eating-disorder/classifying-eating-disorders/.

Legg, Timothy. “Learn About 6 Common Types Of Eating Disorders And Their Symptoms.”. Healthline, 2019, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/common-eating-disorders#bulimia. 

McFarlane, Greg. “How Facebook (Meta), Twitter, Social Media Make Money From You”. Investopedia, 2021, https://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/032114/how-facebook-twitter-social-media-make-money-you-twtr-lnkd-fb-goog.aspx. 

Pancer, Ethan, and Matthew Philp. “#Foodporn: People Are More Attracted To Social Media Content Showcasing Fatty Foods”. The Conversation, 2021, https://theconversation.com/foodporn-people-are-more-attracted-to-social-media-content-showcasing-fatty-foods-160221.