The teenager falls to the floor and gags violently as she lodges her fingers down her throat. A slow burning sensation from the girl's stomach creeps up her body. The teen becomes dizzy and starts to sweat as she firmly thrusts her fingers deeper into her esophagus. The teenager often practices this unhealthy method of self-induced vomiting because she feels it is an easy way to shed a few extra pounds. Television influences unrealistic demands on society, which negatively affects the desires and attitudes of our youth. As television defines popular culture it corrupts the mind of society.
Society believes that to be considered beautiful, one must be thin. Many young women compare themselves to the anorexic models they see on TV. With the increasingly thinner ideal body, women's dissatisfaction with their body images has increased eating disorders significantly. TV commercials send messages telling society what is considered attractive. It is no accident that thinness is promoted as an essential criterion of beauty in television programs. According to a study published in the Toronto Star, one in three preadolescent girls is trying to lose weight and one in 10 of them show symptoms of an eating disorder. The Canadian Medical Association Journal also reported that a small number of the 10 to 14 year old girls surveyed were already involved in binge eating and vomiting, or extreme dieting. Research indicates that exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies are linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women such as fasting, skipping meals, excessive exercise, laxative abuse, and self-induced vomiting. People in society can physically suffer due to the negative influences of television. Many researchers argue that the representation of thin women on television reinforces the conclusion that "physically attractive" means being thin.
