Diets… Calorie counting… Eating disorders… All were foreign words to the Viti Levu residents. Pre-1995 Viti Levu, the main island in Fiji, was immune to the effects of the mass media. The Fiji experiment revealed how the introduction of television led to a shift in attitudes, behaviours and values within the Vitu Levu community.
This famous naturalistic experiment studied teenage girls, age 17 on average, to see if the introduction of television in Fiji led to disordered eating. Before television, the plump, curvaceous, wholesome look was what was considered attractive. When weight was lost, it was a cause for concern, not euphoric delight. Eating disorders were unheard of within this community at that time. After the introduction of television, however, a different, more worrying trend took hold of the adolescents who took part in this experiment.
Depression is a disorder more prevalent in industrialized countries rather than developing ones. Therefore, the cultural context of disorders is important to take into account. In Fiji, after the introduction of television, depression increased sharply. The study took place from 1995 to 1998 to monitor changes in ideals, values, beliefs as well as behavior patterns at the onset of the introduction of television as well as several years after it had been introduced. In 1995, Dr. Becker and her colleagues surveyed 63 Fijian secondary school girls. This was when TV had only just been introduced. In 1998, the researchers surveyed a different group of 65 girls from the same school who had the same characteristics as the first group, such as age and weight.
Below are the results of what they found:
- In 1998 15% of girls said they had induced vomiting to control their weight compared to 3% in 1995
- In 1998 29% scored highly on an eating-disorder-risk test compared to 13% in 1995
- In 1998 69% of girls said that at some point they had been on a diet
- In 1998 83% said that they felt TV had influenced their friends or themselves to be more conscious about body shape or weight
- In 1998 40% said that their desire to eat less or lose weight was a way of improving career prospects
- In 1998 30% said that television characters were their role models concerning career and work issues
- In 1998 heavy TV viewers (defined as those who watch TV more than 3 nights a week) were 50% more likely to describe themselves as fat and 30% more likely than light TV viewers to go on a diet
Although the media is unlikely to be the sole reason for the changes in beliefs, attitudes and behaviours of Fijian girls, it appears to have contributed to disordered eating and negative self-images. After the introduction of television, Fijian girls wanted to look and act like the characters on shows like 90210. They would copy their hairstyles, behaviours and fashion to look like them. More worryingly were the extreme diets, exercise regimens, and in some cases induced vomiting, that came with the desire to emulate the thinness of the newfound role-models.
This experiment implies that the changes in Fijian ideals were in some part due to the introduction of mass media. Before television, the long standing Fijian traditions protected young girls and inoculated them against the pernicious effect of the mass media. After its introduction, however, they were just as vulnerable as anyone living in an industrialized society to its effects. A few years were all it took to jettison the old customs, values and ideals and replace them with new and unhealthy ones.
References:
Goode, E. (May 20, 1999). Study Finds TV Alters Fiji Girls’ View of Body. The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2013, from http://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/20/world/study-finds-tv-alters-fiji-girls-view-of-body.html
Becker, E., A., Burwell, A., R., Herzog, B., D., Hamburg, P., Gilman, E., S. (2002). Eating behaviours and attitudes following prolonged exposure to television among ethnic Fijian adolescent girls. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 180, 509-514. doi 10.1192/bjp.180.6.509
Image Credit: https://www.dietasimples.com.br/disturbios-alimentares-os-perigos-da-anorexia-e-bulimia/
