This is not new...for decades our society has been focused on twig thin models and telling young women they're fat if they're not 100 lbs or less. Eating disorders are rampant for a variety of reasons, but it's true that a lot of young girls in the States think they're fat when they actually are not. These ads not only encourage this line of thought but also take money from healthy people because if you have a centimeter of fat around your stomach, you are ugly and worthless and need to spend money for this ridiculous diet that translates into starvation. With photographs of rock hard abs only hours of personal training a day will provide, or skinny girls surrounded by attractive men, of course young women will get tricked!
The most infuriating part for me is where these ads are located: myspace and facebook. Both websites encourage young people to create a profile (isn't the limit for facebook only 13?) and help them connect to one another. Both sites brag about all the good they do for certain causes and for people in general, yet every goddamn page is lined with ads picturing beautiful young women pulling skin from their arm, claiming it to be fat, and expressing how some diet will help them lose this fat. WE ALL ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE FAT ON OUR BODIES! How can these sites claim to do so much good for young people, to be great resources and social utilities, when they constantly harass these young, impressionable kids for being normal and beautiful, tell them lies and encourage them to spend their money on unhealthy diets? If facebook is so socially conscious, why don't they only have ads about politics, environmental causes, ways to volunteer, or even just some dumb ad for Delia's or Old Navy? Don't tell me facebook doesn't have enough money to function without all these diet ads.
It's just bullshit. I wish companies and corporations, particularly those geared toward young people and those that claim to be positive for young people, would actually live up to what they claim. How is it right for them to say they do such good work for our society when they're constantly spreading lies about what is healthy and what is beautiful? Any man you ask will say some pale, bony, weak, skinny girl is not nearly as attractive as an energetic, strong, curvy girl, yet all these images attack us every day.
If facebook and myspace truly cared, they would not allow these ads on their sites. Turns out they're just two more shitty businesses that crave power and money, rather than real and honest companies that truly support young people.
Please don't let these ridiculous ads trick you. But to be honest, it's not you I'm worried about, as most people reading my blog are older, smart individuals who can see straight through bullshit. It's the self-conscious, confused, angsty 15-year-olds who use facebook everyday, want to be beautiful and don't know the first thing about healthy eating. These ads are actually powerful in the lives of teenagers and it's truly a fucking shame.
Examples:
I opened facebook, entered my name and password and was taken to my homepage (there are no ads at all on the homepages). I then clicked the "Friends" tab. A page appeared where all my friends were listed, and running along the side were these two ads:
The Supermodel Diet?
Hottest New Diet
I then clicked the photo of my first friend in the list and was taken to her profile. Running along the side was the same ad as above (the supermodel diet) and another ad for a salon. I'm not complaining about the salon ad, just using this brief time on facebook as an example of my complaint.
So what do we do? Do we write letters? Form events on these sites regarding the advertisements? Boycott?
Let me know your suggestions. And in the meantime, please educate any young person you know about healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle. Letting them know the truth will hopefully go further than false advertising. And enjoy some milk and cookies, would ya?
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