Kirsten Moses
December 8th 2017
When she woke up, dread filled her body. Another day spent as an inpatient for Anorexia
Nervosa might just kill her, or so she thinks. Breakfast is in a half hour and it’s mandatory with
the “you don’t leave until you’re done” rule and the bathrooms are locked for two hours after
every meal to prevent purging. After breakfast, is free time which usually includes talking to a
therapist about how you feel and trying to distract from all unwelcome thoughts. Phones are
strictly banned and no contact with social media is allowed because any picture could trigger the
symptoms of anorexia and recovery is the end goal. To be discharged you must reach the weight
the doctors and nurses set for you. Life at an institute like this does not contain much joy if any
at all. When you are discharged, it is best to stay away from social media because any picture of
a model or another girl with anorexia can send you right back to where you started. Anorexia is
glamorized by a lot of the world when in actuality it is an extremely miserable mental sickness.
The media is not aiding in recovery for these girls whatsoever.
In 2010, Instagram made its appearance on the screens of the iPhone. As the iPhone became
more accessible, so did Instagram. Instagram has been used for a number for things including a
platform for model agencies and celebrities. While Instagram has had positive effects, it causes a
lot of issues when it comes to body image. Girls who are struggling with poor body image are
able to be in community with one another. From January 2013 to September 2017, the amount of
active Instagram users increased from 90 million to 800 million.1Instagram has become
extremely more available in the past seven years.
Social media has a negative impact on body image and only increases the number or girls
with eating disorders, self harm issues, or suicidal thoughts.
Social media has greatly contributed to the rise of eating disorders. Before social media there
was no way to be in a community of people who are also affected by eating disorders. But now,
through social media hashtags such as #ana, #thinsperation, and #eatingdisorder, girls struggling
with eating disorders can give each other tips on how to skip the next meal, how much water to
drink before they’re weighed at the doctors, and how to purge after eating “too much.” Under the
hashtags listed earlier, there are pictures of malnourished skeleton like girls with captions like,
“Will I ever be skinny?”and “another day of fasting.”
Through social media like Instagram, girls see pictures of super models whose already
“perfect” bodies have been edited in every way possible.Wanting to look just like them, they
begin to skip meals, binge and purge, and fast for long periods of time. This makes them frail,
miserable, and empty. In order to feel beautiful, they try to conform to social media’s image of
