According to the number of adults with eating disorders in the United States in 2008-2012, by age group (out of 1,000) on Statista, there were eleven thousand people aged between eighteen to twenty-five year olds diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. There were four thousand other people in the same age range who had been diagnosed with bulimia nervosa. What's interesting is that there were twenty-six thousand people in the United States who had been diagnosed with one or more eating disorders. What is the cause of these disorders? Some have blamed magazines and Photoshop, as seen in the 2012 Daily Telegraph headline, "My anorexia fueled by celebrity magazines: Victim calls for ban on airbrushed photographs." Is Photoshopping images really the cause of all these eating disorder statistics? Photoshop is not responsible for other factors, such as genetics, temperament, trauma, etc. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay There are numerous articles on eating disorders that point out that Photoshop is responsible for the rise of eating disorders. According to the Huffington Post Magazine in the article titled "Is Photoshop Destroying America's Body Image?" author Vivian Diller, Ph.D., noted that Kate Winslet and Brad Pitt announced that Photoshop is destroying America's body image. Diller also writes, "While most people dream of magically removing pounds and wrinkles... more and more people see Photoshop as dangerous territory." Why? Because many women claim that media, such as commercials, weight loss ads, magazines, reality shows, or even billboards, are what lead them to the conclusion that they are no longer satisfied with their bodies or have very low self-esteem. Women feel like they have to meet these standards because it's the "new" cool. (Diller) Just because women “claim” that the media and Photoshop give them “low self-esteem,” does that mean it's true? Carrie Arnold, an eating disorder specialist, did her own research and concluded that distorted images of celebrities are not the main cause of eating disorders. The article "Altered Fashion Magazine Photographs Contribute to Unrealistic Body Images" asked Carrie Arnold what she thought about Photoshop. His response was: “Show me the proof. What does Photoshop have to do with it? Studies conducted by the AMA do not link Photoshop to diagnosable eating disorders, as indicated by the DSM-IV. 1.,” said Arnold. The DSM-IV stands for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It is used to classify psychiatric diagnoses such as anorexia, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, etc. . (“Diagnostics and Statistics…”) Arnold compared the Photoshop/eating disorder claim to the false idea that sanitizer ads somehow promote OCD “Altered Fashion magazine photographs contribute images of unrealistic body shapes" says that condemning Photoshop will have little impact on America's view of beauty. Beauty has grown in recent years and continues to change. Getting rid of Photoshop will do little to change the way women see their bodies. However, some things have emerged to get rid of Photoshop on billboards, magazines and photographs. What has been advocated is the idea of inventing something that stops Photoshop. The idea that the researchers had was to use warning labels. Warning labels have been shown to reducethe attractiveness of a product because in most cases warning labels are used to avoid what is stated on the warning labels. (Counteract the slim body of the media…) An example of this would be a bottle of Tylenol warning the customer that the pills contain acetaminophen and can cause liver damage if too many pills are taken. The reaction of people no longer wanting something after reading a warning label is called reactance theory. Reactance theory is when a person feels the need to restore their freedom because they feel that after reading the warning label it is limited. With this theory people could simply ignore the warning label, so it would be pointless to have a warning label. People would feel limited and rebel against the label. In the case of warning labels on photos, customers would try to resemble the models even more than before pictures without warning labels. This problem is more likely in teenagers because they are in the developmental stage of their life. Therefore, warning labels may not work at all, but make the problem even worse. (Countering the subtle body of the media...) Another idea was put forward along with the warning labels. Information labels may work more for the adolescent group than warning labels. An example of this would be what nutrition labels look like. Nutrition labels are easy to read, right where you can see them, and straight to the point. This would mean that an information label on an image would contain information about the model and where the body was Photoshopped. According to Bushman in the article “Counteracting Media's Thin-Body…” an information label would be more effective than a warning label because it would not cause reactance theory as explained before. (Countering the thin body of the media…) Even if people are coming up with ideas to stop Photoshop from being blamed, there is no reason to do so because Photoshop is not a major cause of eating disorders. A diagnosable eating disorder, as mentioned before, is not something that comes on suddenly and then goes away in less than two weeks. (“What causes a…”) A diagnosable eating disorder is someone who meets the criteria for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS). Although a person can still have physical problems without meeting the criteria according to the DSM-IV. (“Diagnosed with eating disorders…”) There are many ways a woman feels insecure about her body. One of the main ways eating disorders are usually caused is genetics. Genetics may be a major factor in increasing the risk of an eating disorder. The research found that people had a 90 and 85 percent chance of developing an eating disorder if mutations were found in the two different genes ESRRA and HDAC4. (“Researchers Find Genes…”) If a former family member had an eating disorder, the person with the same genetics is more likely to develop an eating disorder. This means that eating disorders are hereditary. (“What causes an eating disorder?”) Genetics can also influence temperament. If people have the same genes that contribute to eating disorders, this may also be linked to some particular personality traits, such as obsessive thinking, emotional instability and hypersensitivity, impulsivity, perfectionism, rigidity and l excessive persistence. These are common characteristics found in individuals with eating disorders. One of..
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