Introduction
For this paper, the influence of social media usage and visual social networks on eating habits, particularly, disordered eating, will be discussed. In addition, a separate technique for solving the mentioned issue will be described and provided as a potential recommendation. Emotional intelligence can be considered as a methodology for minimizing the negative impact of social media on eating behavior through the promotion of education and self-improvement.
The Influence of Social Media on Disordered Eating
Disordered eating refers to a wide range of irregular eating practices that, on their own, do not constitute a disordered eating classification. The term “disordered eating” describes a set of actions that are frequent in eating disorders. Dysfunctional eating can be defined as a shift in eating habits brought on by other mental illnesses or by variables that are typically thought to be unconnected to mental illness. Dysfunctional eating is linked to a number of problems in children and adolescents (Qutteina et al. 59). Perceived parental and peer influence, nuclear family dynamics, body mass index, self-esteem, competitiveness, drug use, and involvement in sports that emphasize leanness are among these variables (Qutteina et al. 60). Constrained eating, compulsive eating, and irregular or rigid food habits are all examples of unhealthy eating, but it is noted that dieting is one of the most frequent.
The impact of social media on disordered eating should be studied due to the severity of the issue. With rising prevalence rate estimates, disordered eating is generally considered to be a worldwide problem (Qutteina et al. 60). Disordered eating is characterized by irregular and excessive eating-related habits that have negative physical and emotional consequences. Binge eating, severe restriction, regular fasting, dieting, and purging are examples of these practices. The media has been blamed for a significant part of the global epidemic of eating disorder symptoms (Qutteina et al. 60). The sociocultural paradigm can be emphasized as a popular hypothesis for explaining the link between social media, entertainment, and disordered eating. Individuals who are exposed to perfect body ideals in society, as per sociocultural concepts, assimilate these visuals and create unrealistic and exaggerated body image standards. Inability to achieve these desirable body images can lead to worries regarding body form, unhappiness with one’s appearance, and disordered eating habits.
The preponderance of investigations on the connection between entertainment and disordered eating concentrate on traditional media channels, including television and social networks. The exploratory examination identified a strong pattern of a link between social media use and abnormal eating practices and behaviors, demonstrating that these associations emerge at a younger than previously explored age (Wilksch et al. 96). The rising popularity and expanded usage of social media in recent years have invented different avenues for people to be exposed to unattainable beauty standards on a more widespread, diverse, and long-term basis (Wilksch et al. 96). Moreover, many social media platforms provide interactive and personalized elements that may increase their user impact (Qutteina et al. 60). Widely used social media sites, for instance, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter, enable people to view the accounts and posts of friends and celebrities, increasing exposure to their words and photographs.
Popular celebrities influence the interaction between entertainment and physical image problems, which in return mediates problematic eating, therefore, such exposure is concerning. Via unfavorable physical appearance judgments, recent research has discovered links between social media involvement and appearance anxiety (Qutteina et al. 60). In an investigation of female undergraduate students in the United States of America, those who had a stronger emotional attachment to and use of Facebook in their personal lives were considerably more probable to have problematic eating when making unfavorable physical appearance assessments (Qutteina et al. 60). Therefore, social media can negatively influence eating behavior among young people in various ways.
In terms of the connection between emotional intelligence and the influence of social media on disordered eating, it is feasible to highlight several aspects. Eating disorders are neuropsychiatric conditions that have a detrimental influence on an individual’s physical and mental well-being (Zhang et al.). Emotional intelligence is believed to be linked to disordered eating patterns in a negative way (Zhang et al.). It is required to investigate age, gender, area, emotional intelligence paradigm, and category of disordered eating habits in order to better understand the association between emotional intelligence and abnormal eating conduct (Zhang et al.). Generally, the findings support the link between emotional maturity and disordered eating habits, implying that those with greater emotional intelligence are less inclined to participate in such activities (Zhang et al.). Thus, it can be stated that improvements in emotional intelligence can lead to a reduced level of inadequate eating patterns.
In fact, it is possible to state that emotional intelligence can be proposed as a potential recommendation for the creation of a solution to the problem of the negative influence of social media on disordered eating. In case a person is emotionally and mentally developed, meaning that he is able to control his feelings and consequently actions and opinions, then he would be able to avoid psychological manipulations presented in media. These manipulations, for example, the image of a perfect body and physical standards, which are related to eating habits, will be ignored by an individual who possesses emotional intelligence skills. This methodology can be suggested as a practical priority since an elaboration of a technological solution is costly, and this idea will hardly cover all aspects of the discussed issue, which include social, psychological, and technological. Hence, the promotion of emotional intelligence techniques will assist individuals in responding to the visual effects that are created by social media sites.
The capacity to sense, use, comprehend, regulate, and handle emotions is the most common definition of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is considered to be the general capacity to recognize and control one’s own emotions as well as those of others. Individuals with a high degree of emotional intelligence are able to understand their inner and others’ emotions, as well as use emotional data to drive their thoughts and actions. Moreover, they can distinguish between different sentiments and identify them properly, as well as modify emotions to fit their surroundings. Emotions assist cognition and comprehension, according to specific ability theories. Emotions, for instance, can intersect with reasoning to help people make informed decisions. An individual that is more emotionally receptive to important situations will pay attention to the most important areas of his or her lifestyle. Knowing how to include or remove emotions from cognition based on different contexts and scenarios is another element of emotional enablement. This is subsequently linked to emotional logic and comprehension in reaction to the humans, environment, and events that one meets on a daily basis.
Conclusion
To conclude, due to the seriousness of the problem, the influence of social media on disordered eating should be investigated. Disordered eating is currently widely regarded as a global concern, owing to increased prevalence rate estimates. A major portion of the global epidemic of eating disorder symptoms has been attributed to the media. In essence, emotional intelligence may be presented as a viable proposal for the development of a solution to the problem of social media’s detrimental impact on disordered eating.
Works Cited
Qutteina, Yara, et al. “Relationship between Social Media Use and Disordered Eating Behavior among Female University Students in Qatar.” Journal of Health and Social Sciences, vol. 4, no. 1, 2019, pp. 59-72.
Wilksch, Simon M., et al. “The Relationship between Social Media Use and Disordered Eating in Young Adolescents.” International Journal of Eating Disorders, vol. 53, no. 1, 2019, pp. 96–106.
Zhang, Juan, et al. “The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Eating Disorders or Disordered Eating Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis.” Personality and Individual Differences, vol. 185, 2022, p. 111239.