Eating disorders – malaise in postmodern culture

Abstract

With a multifactorial etiology, eating disorders are characterized by a serious change in eating behavior and in the body, being complex psychic defenses present in postmodern culture, which is considered as the era of emptiness and which propagates that people have more value who have a thin body. The present work sought to reflect on the portion that belongs to the dictates of postmodern culture in the causation of eating disorders, considering the virtual tools available in contemporary times as subjective conditions by which symptoms appear and lead to mistaken ways for people to defend themselves from psychic emptiness. instituted. With the advancement of the media and the development of the internet, blogs and online pages, in the early 2000s virtual communities “pro-ana” and “pro-mia” emerged, known for being advocates of behaviors characteristic of the disorders. anorexia and bulimia, considering these as lifestyles. Even with the advances and changes that have occurred on the pages of virtual relationships, it is still possible to find profiles that present themselves as pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia, revealing themselves as a problem of postmodern culture, established and lived by real people. However, contrary to expectations that these pages act as triggers and maintainers of behaviors characteristic of eating disorders, it is important to point out that, in general, those who seek these virtual communities already have a predisposition to behaviors characteristic of eating disorders and perceive these spaces as possible support network.