THE EFFECTS OF QUARANTINE ON VARIOUS TEEN'S BODY IMAGES
By Arya Hanumara
Social Effects Head
President
Co-Editor In Chief
[ALL DATA COLLECTED FROM TEENS IN SAN DIEGO (VIA INSTAGRAM)]
What do teens really think?
“Look pretty, but don’t smile too hard.” “Suck your stomach in when talking to people.” “Don’t let people see you cry.” “Stop trying too hard.” “Nobody is as ugly as you.”
These quotes, all from various teens across California, represent the true nature behind various teen’s relationships with their bodies, whether it be due to external influence, or even self-encapsulated emotion and feeling. There is this untouched upon void in the media, where it's almost as if people are afraid to even briefly mention ideas like eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and even forms of self-abuse, all common issues pulsing throughout subsequent teen communities throughout America. Although the idea of being in quarantine is in no hand the sole beholder of blame in the evident spike of body image issues, it can, however, serve as an accurate force in creating various tensions between teens and their external image perceptions.
40 percent of teens in the city of San Diego, report that they have incrementally felt worse and worse about their bodies upon this period of isolation. 20 percent of this group are recovering Bulimics, each stating that their eating disorders are “starting up again,” leading to a plethora of results, consisting of self-induced vomiting, abuse of laxatives, and various unhealthy diet trends. This article will bridge together the evident disconnect between the body image issues prevalent in teens today, and their breeding ground, the quarantine induced by COVID-19.
Can Productivity Be A Bad Thing?
To explain Quarantine’s effects on body image issues, it is best to take into consideration society's idea of productivity, and describe the “ideal,” teen’s response to this time of uncharted uncertainty. Our society as a whole is heavily influenced by the idea of productivity. From an early age, kids are exposed to a variety of activities, sports, music, academics, and these, can morph into either hobbies, or detestable means of wasting time, all completely dependent on the eye of the person directly in contact. There is this sense of always needing to be somewhere, and do something, even further translating to the compulsive relationship between productiveness, and racing time. This has been the largest conflict with most people during the quarantine, as a large percent of the United States’ workers feel that although they are unhappy with various forms of work, they are even more restless with the mere idea of sitting around all day. This has influenced certain teens to expose themselves more on various forms of media, downloading apps like Tik Tok, surfing through Instagram, and constantly snapping people. Within a majority of a population, in this case, utilizing the teen community as an example, there are always going to be exceptions, but it is not the role of these people, to try and make others feel upset for their lack of productivity, and even progress. Certain examples that directly translate to the exponentially increasing body image issues in quarantine, can be but are not limited to, chronicles of exercise, various diets, and even the opposite, the glorification of binge eating, and self-induced laziness. There are these two extreme sides of the argument, but nobody really represents the middle. There is no evident bridge between the two contradicting ideas and influences of society. This goes as far as alienating a majority of teens from their peers, constantly building up various anxieties towards seeing their classmates and friends, when the schools possibly reopen.
The False Nature of Glory
Additionally, the mere act of a teen with severe body image issues, staring at videos of people exercising and glorifying starving one’s self, and further witnessing wars in video comments, consisting of fat-shaming, and even death threats can be reason enough to feel bad about themselves. I mean, if one were to stare at a skinny kid doing a workout, and get unjustifiably, severely fat-shamed, and embarrassed by various entities on the internet, why else would someone, even just a few pounds heavier, not put themselves in that context. And with the quarantine, these videos have morphed with the idea of productivity, and further created this gaping aperture between teens and the representation of teens in the media.
Why Speak, When You Don't Really Know?
There is also this heavy anxiety that most teens have about weight gain. There are several people who can eat as much as they want, and not even gain a pound, but ultimately, these people are further respected, and for no absolute reason. To see everybody on this planet, still believing in Northern European beauty ideals, places additional pressure on people a part of minority cultures, thinking that they have to change how they look, to fit within this category. Even fashion icons, like, Marylin Monroe, would be considered plus size in comparison with models today. F0r most teens, watching others eat an excessive amount, can psychologically mess with their mind, maybe even inducing various cravings, and further exploiting this dependency they might have on food. And with this sense of strong persuasion, comes the need to erase all traces of food in the body, most commonly linked with eating disorders like Bulimia, and Anorexia. Even if people say that they are struggling with these disorders, there is a clear lack of understanding and empathy for all witnesses, even convincing themselves that, “it’s for the better,” as they “help people lose weight.”
To have a society completely base their beauty ideas and standards on Northern Europe, and further explore the need for young teens to change themselves, starve themselves, and even throw up after every single piece of food enters their mouth, is not gonna encourage a healthy lifestyle, it's just going to mess up the minds of young adults, creating a society that will seem as if respected, but will truly make all people miserable. And with this quarantine, there will be an even further increase in eating disorders and body image issues, but it is our role as America’s youth, to provide a voice for these teens, and create a safe space, so that they do not have to be afraid to let others know of their struggles. Together, we can create a world where everyone is happier, and it all starts with you reading this article.
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