Social Media And Eating Disorders Research Assignment

Social media and eating disorders
Name
Institutional affiliation
Social Media and Eating Disorders
Introduction
Research is vital in all professions and more importantly in the healthcare sector. It comes in handy while controlling the eating disorders that eventually leads to obesity. According to a recently concluded research, the American Medical Association has classified obesity as a disease (Cohen, 2014). It creates room for adaptation and development in the healthcare sector and allows physicians a chance to observe changes. This paper will conduct a critical appraisal based on the critical appraisal skills program better known as CASP. The title of the paper is Kendal, S., Kirk, S., Elvey, R., Catchpole, R. and Pryjmachuk, S. (2016), How a moderated online discussion forum facilitates support for young people with eating disorders. Health Expect. A lot of research articles have been appraised due to the vast amount of information present in the healthcare settings. The critical appraisal of articles provides one with a platform where he/she can filter the articles that were poorly done while at the same time recognizing and acknowledging those with the most significant data.
The title of the article is clear and easy to comprehend. It explains the research without using difficult words or explaining the results of the research. It captures the attention of the audience who will be interested to find out the results attained. An effective title should be straightforward while at the same time providing a basic summary of the content. A title that is written poorly will tend to make the readers uninterested ("Fifteen Steps to Developing an Effective Title", 2007).
The introduction of the paper is presented with the avoidance of jargons that could confuse readers (Lamb, 2007). The author has explained the stage of adolescent and explains that an increment in food consumption is acceptable. The authors continue to state that most young people do not report cases of eating disorders may be for various reasons. This could be because of the various stereotypes developed for eating disorders, or it may be because they fear discrimination. They, however, acknowledge that a majority of teenagers turn into social media for help in such crisis. This is very credible information that has been backed up by several sources. It is in the introduction that the authors have backed up the information from other sources, for instance, the world health organization. These are credible sources that improve the credibility of the paper. This research has also exerted qualitative methods which seem to be the most appropriate for this kind of paper. The researchers try to highlight that most of the teenagers are turning to the internet for advice. They do not use statistics but rather used another approach where they downloaded and analyzed over 400 messages which they claim were sent between August-November 2015. They argue that the internet may, after all, be helpful for teenagers with eating disorders (Kendal, Kirk, Elvey, Catchpole, and Pryjmachuk, 2016).
The researchers have stated the aim and purpose of the study which is to shed light on the significance of social media for children with the eating disorder. They identified an eating disorder charity that provided them with an online discussion forum, and their main purpose was to facilitate communication between the researchers and the teens who were seeking moral support or advice in relation to eating disorders. They mostly concentrated on the messages that were posted instead of the people posting them. Users were participated in the research through a clear set of guidelines set for them for the duration of the investigation. This is very effective because people have to give their consent to participate in such research (Witte, 2006). Failure to which can lead to invasion of privacy that is while publishing the information without the person’s interest and this eventually lead to a bad story. People have the right to know the purpose of the information they are sharing before they can just give it out.
The authors have also highlighted the role that television plays in promoting thinness. In television, they always display the most beautiful models and actors with the ideal weight. This in a sense promotes thinness. This can be supported by the fact most teenagers admire and aspire to become what they see on the television. Constantly showing these images on the television will encourage the children from overeating. Critics have argued that this point does not make sense since the television is constantly glorifying food (Early, 2002). According to a recently concluded research, the food industry has made food irresistible, and this is through advertising campaigns that make people want to eat more and more. It has also made food irresistible by adding sugars and other chemicals which make people want to take another bite even after they are full (Stein, 2017). This is possible because they have control over the manufacturing process. However, this can be addressed if doctors and health specialists are allowed to oversee the manufacturing process.
The authors argue that the internet provides support for people with eating disorder. It is impor...