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Joshuah Mills
Professor Fran Voltz
UWRT 1102 - 30
29 September 2014
EIP Proposal: Trending Our Health
We live in an age where media is an integral part of our culture; connectivity by media
has helped to fuel our society's great advancement in the past few decades and contributes to, and
even controls in some cases, our lifestyles. Near limitless knowledge is at our fingertips and is
usually a mere tap on a screen, click of a mouse, or press of a button away. Unfortunately, even
the most trustworthy of these sources are often trusted far more than they should be, and
regardless of the fact that information can be so easily falsified through these mediums, it has
become commonplace for our society to accept as fact anything we learn from the media. It is
unpreventable that certain trends take hold of peoples' attention and gains popularity, but just
how dangerous are these trends when they are focused on our health? If it is common to find
misinforming information through media then it goes without argument that popular health
trends can be equally misleading and possibly even hazardous to the health of its followers.
Moreover, how has the media shaped our society's view on health and could certain parties use
health trends to affect our health? The media already places a great deal of influence on our
society as a whole; if it has this capability, then it can certainly be used to help or even harm our
physical well being.
Today, more than ever, a vast amount of people tend to be to at least some extent focused
on their health. While countless methods of maintaining a healthy lifestyle have been made
more available, problematic health issues have also arisen alongside these advancements. Some

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well-known examples of these issues include increased obesity rates largely due to the unnatural
makeup of what has become easily accessible foods and the impact these unnatural substances
have on growth and development of youth. Both of these share in the fact that the media has
over-sensationalized these as issues, and as a result society has become well aware of them.
Interestingly, health related topics like these seem to be becoming popular in news and social
media. We constantly see the next best diet or greatest new health supplements being advertized
through the media, but at same time we consistently see "health officials" debate over why these
methods should or should not be used. How are the audiences of these reports expected to
determine which of these sources are trustworthy?
My research to study popular media's impact on our health will likely include the answers
to the following questions: What incidents have occurred from misrepresentation in the media
that have shown to be especially damaging to public health and have these incidents proven to be
damaging enough to give cause for public concern? How has the media's influence over health
choices made by the general public contradicted advice and direction from healthcare
professionals, and how have media generated health trends affected the opinions of these
healthcare professionals directly? We know that media companies have been largely centralized
in the past few decades, so who is in control or is capable of controlling these health trends, and
have these companies been shown to use health scares or benefits to gain profit? Also, how has
what our culture defines as healthy practices changed since the expansion of media, and how
might have these controlling companies influenced these changes? Finally, do any regulations or
penalties exist to help prevent, but not control, misdirection or misrepresentation of health
products or practices in the media?

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While studies that have been conducted extensively into the overall topic of the media's
affect on health trends may not be countless in number, the answers to these questions can likely
be found in the reports and articles of the incidents themselves. Arguments of both sides,
supporting and negating, health trends could give definition to the effect of these trends.
Additionally, comparing past health practices that occurred before and after being reported on by
media could define how much of an impact the media has had on these practices. However, the
difficulty of using opinionated pieces is determining which side of the argument is correct, which
may prove to be a challenging aspect of answering these questions.
The overall topic of media's influence and impact on our health is likely broad enough to
find substantial resources to build upon. Should researching for this topic prove it to be far too
broad however, there are several, more in depth sub-topics that would prove to fit the same
argument. Some of these sub-topics might include specific forms of media such as television
news, social media, or internet news. All of these would fit the aforementioned questions and
substantial supportive pieces would likely still be available.
Because most of us look toward media for one aspect or another, we are all affected, even
if only in a small way, by these sources either directly or indirectly. The media has an impact
with almost everyone in today's society, and in granting media sources this much control over
aspects of our lives we need to take great care in what we decide to accept as trustworthy,
especially in the case of our physical wellbeing. The danger of health trends is that because they
are fueled by our health-focused society popularization of these trends occur quickly, and while
they might not all be harmful and in most cases beneficial, false and misinformed information is
undoubtedly present to create risks for our health. Therefore, this topic should incite a great
amount of awareness, if not concern, for how we place our trust in media.