This episode takes a closer look at how society shapes the way we think about health and wellness. The conversation explores the influence of social media, culture, and the medical world on what people see as “healthy,” and how those messages can affect confidence and mental well-being.

Website: Social Science and Humanities Department at LCC

Welcome to the Sociological POV. This podcast emerged from some fascinating discussions in an introductory sociology course at Lansing Community College, where we attempt to gain insight into other people's perspectives, the good, the bad, and the world around us. We hope to mirror that concept with this podcast as we welcome a range of voices from diverse backgrounds to share their thoughts on a current event or topic that matters. So with that said, let's get into it and start gaining perspective.

Hi, everybody. We're back with the Sociological pov. Today we're talking about health, and it's Eliza here again. And we've also got Charlie Isaiah.

Bella, nice. We're glad to have him here with us. First thing we're going to talk about is who or what determines what. What is bad or good for our bodies.

What do you guys think?

I think that the determination of what is good or bad for our bodies comes from a lot of different places.

I think specifically in our Western culture, a lot of it comes from science right now and what our doctors are saying or any sort of health professional. I think a lot of it can also come from our ancestors.

Maybe what our parents taught us is healthy, maybe our grandparents, maybe just people in our familial ties altogether, kind of what they think is healthy kind of gets passed down to what we think is healthy now.

Nice.

Yeah, I definitely agree that there are a lot of influences, but I also think that right now, social media plays a big factor. I can think of a ton of instances where I've seen influencers speaking on healthy practices. What to eat.

Maybe not science involved, whatever their circumstances might be, but I can definitely see that influencing people.

It's interesting because I think a lot of those videos use science. Like, they'll say, oh, there's evidence for this. There's. But it's. You're.

You're saying the videos don't necessarily have the evidence, even though they might present it as such.

I mean, I don't know a lot.

Yeah.

About what's healthy, like, scientifically, but I see a bunch of contrasting opinions, like, okay. Opposite ends of the spectrum with, like, tons of people. It seems to me agreeing with either end. So I feel like social media plays a big part.

Interesting.

I'd say it's more so a mix of our current social media and how that sort of drains in from our current medical institution.

For me, personally, my perception of what was healthy and what isn't healthy had always come from my family, which just came from their own experience with health. But as I get older, I'm starting to see like just generally commercializing that usually just comes from the medical institution.

And that sort of trickles down to social media. People kind of assert what is healthy and what isn't based on. Yeah, mostly just formulaic standards. Yeah.

You mentioned commercials. What do you guys think about pharmaceutical commercials? How do they affect you?

I feel like they're unfair.

Why?

So I feel like they're unfair because in a pharmaceutical commercial, like, maybe they're advertising some kind of medication for, like, depression or like a chronic illness.

And then you see people, like, running in fields with their kids, like going to fairs, that sort of thing, but with the conditions that they are saying will be helped by the medication. Like, it's just unrealistic. And I think that people get unrealistic ideas of the results that they'll get from the medication.

And I don't think that's fair to people.

Yeah, it does present a dream world.

Yeah.

I agree with what you have to say. And I think a lot of times I'm a little off put by those kinds of commercials.

Just kind of thinking that at the end of every single commercial that has to do with anything pharmaceutical always says, check with your doctor first. So it makes me think that maybe these commercials aren't out there to help people, but make these companies money.

Because if I need to check with my doctor regardless, why can't my doctor prescribe these medications to me directly or tell me what medications I need to be taking for my health problems? Why do I need to watch it in between a football game or an episode of tv?

Interesting. Yeah. And it seems like your doctor would be well and should be well informed on what drugs would be best for you.

Yeah, that's how it feels.

I think it brandifies it a little bit, but majority, I think that it mostly paints a picture of, oh, if you have this condition, if you don't treat it in this certain way, like, it paints it as sort of like just the ideal way. Like the ideal way to get treatment. Like, hey, look, they're playing in a field. These people are happy. These people are kissing.

If you get this treatment, that could be you. Yeah, yeah, that. That kind of thing.

And if you just like. I know some of them aren't necessarily like, would cause you to die. These illnesses, you know, like psoriasis ones, so maybe a skin rash.

It's like, if you don't get treated, you will be different from these people. You won't fit into this group. So it's kind of, again, like you're.

Saying, I think kind of ostracized from society at that point.

Y what do you guys think it says about our culture that those kind of commercials are so. And it sounds like social media too are so prominent in our lives. Just the health and drug use, pharmaceutical drug use.

I think in our culture recently I've noticed that a lot of times health and aesthetics are kind of tied into the same thing and that it's hard to differentiate between the two now because of a lot of gym culture, a lot of just mental health, wellness culture. You know, you see people on social media promoting a certain body type.

Maybe if they go to the gym a lot, you want to look a certain way and they're saying this is the healthiest way to be, but you don't know what their actual health is. Like you just kind of think they're healthy based off of the way that they look.

Which I don't think is a very good determination of how well someone is doing internally.

That's a good point. Yeah.

Well, for those sort of things, I think that mostly what's being advertised is like the goal of self improvement and I think it sound like it's a achievable status thing. Something to be achieved for the sake of like social comeuppance instead of, you know, actual self improvement to improve the person's life. Mm, yeah.

Like progress for the sake of progress.

Yes.

Yeah, I definitely agree with all of that. I just think it's really strange how medications and like certain health practices are being sold to us. Like you have to pay to be healthy.

I think in western culture you have to pay to do anything for sure. But health in general, like it definitely contributes to social stratification.

Obviously some people aren't going to be able to afford to achieve certain aesthetics or goals which ostracizes them from society.

Well, even the beliefs that go with it, like you were saying of how you look or I keep thinking coming back to long life, like we assume that a 70 year long life is what you should have. And it's like that wasn't the norm for most of human history.

And I'm not saying, you know, we shouldn't strive for that, but it's interesting because that sets this goal of like, you know, achieve this and you do that through following our expectations, using these drugs or like sounds like social media has all kinds of suggestions on how to do that.

I guess it does kind of show a little. Aside from what we talked about last time, where the progress of being unwell or treating it being unwell. Sort of.

Yeah, sort of a Lesser version of how aging is perceived.

Mm, yes.

Yeah. You're kind of perceived as either innately lesser undesirable.

Yeah. Something that.

Something that instantly has to be fixed or is an abnormality, Things like that.

Yes. Physical health is the ideal. And right now that is like kind of a fit body. Right. You want to be exercising. I know that's really big right now.

Using protein supplements and all kind. Right. I mean, these are really popular right now. It's not just a normal. You know, you get a plate of food, there's all these additives kind of.

I guess that comes with capitalism.

And.

Yeah, I think it's really interesting how going back to the social media stuff, you see an influencer who lives their life a certain way and maybe looks a certain way, and then you want to emulate their lifestyle to try and achieve that same look. I think it's really interesting how accessible all of that stuff is to anyone.

Like, you can go on social media, see someone, you're like, wow, they look so good. They're doing this. Let me do that. And it's just like it contrasts so much with maybe another person on social media.

So obviously they're doing something that works for them, but people want to try and apply it to themselves to attain that same look or, I guess, lifestyle.

Yeah, it makes me think too.

Like, it sounds like you're saying connect with that person is maybe it's more than just I want to look like that person, but I want to have a connection with somebody, and that kind of goes even deeper. Like the group thing we talk about sometimes, like, people want to be a part of a group. I use this protein supplement also or something like that.

Yeah, it's exactly like that. Like, followers, just follower culture. It's so interesting. Like, subscribers, like, subscribing to their meal plan, their.

Their workouts, brand their clothes.

There's a lot of material stuff that comes with this. Sounds like the idea of being healthy.

Yeah, for sure.

Sometimes I feel like the idea of being healthy is kind of being sold to us in a Western society. And I think that these influencers or gym rats that you see all over social media kind of perpetuate that in a way.

I think a lot of them kind of get wrapped into making money out of it, and that's why some of them will continue to do it.

And, I mean, I've seen a lot of stories of people becoming unhealthy because of the way that they're eating too much protein, taking too many supplements, going to the gym way too Much like exerting their body to fit an aesthetic and sell an aesthetic. And I think it's kind of crazy because it started off so small, but now it's so globalized because of social media.

Like, at first it might have just been an ad in a magazine telling you to go get a gym membership, but now it's. Every time you open your phone, you're probably going to see someone pushing some type of workout supplement.

Something along those lines kind of related to that. What do you guys think the connection is between physical health and mental health in our culture? Do we connect the two often or are they separate?

I think they're definitely connected in our culture. Recently, I don't think that's been the norm for several years, but recently I definitely have seen an emphasis on mental health.

Just even at our school here at lcc, like, there's more flexibility with maybe you didn't get something done on time.

Whatever your situation is, like, if you express that you're struggling in that way, people are going to be more lenient than they were maybe even 10 years ago. Like, I can think of times, like talking to my parents, grandparents, being like, oh, yeah, like mental health day, stuff like that.

Obviously that's completely foreign. Yeah, just in my personal experience, I've definitely seen that.

I'd say I agree for sure with you, Charlie. I think that a lot of people are realizing that it is very directly correlated, your mental state and the state of your body.

I think even there's been leaps and bounds and scientific fields that, you know, if you're under a lot of stress, pressure, depression, that kind of things, it really affects the way that your body functions. And not only that, but it can affect the way that you take care of yourself.

And I think that plays a big role in how you stay healthy, is taking care of yourself. And if your mental health isn't up to par, it's very hard to do that. I think that that's interesting to think about as well.

I agree.

But on the other side, I feel like there's a bit of a rising culture that's a bit to the opposite of that, where it probably fits more into that gym rat type of thing.

But I'm starting to see more and more people kind of correlate their mental stability, like how mentally strong they're, how much they're able to mentally endure things, to how much they can lift and how much they can push themselves.

I've definitely seen that.

Yeah, like a sort of like a comparative thing, like, oh, I can tough this out more than you can.

Yeah.

I can do this better than you can. I'm stronger than you in that type of different way. It's.

It's less of a connective benefit thing, and it becomes a bit more of a competition of just like, who's the.

Strongest again, like, how much can I withstand.

Yeah.

Physically and mentally.

Yeah. Yeah.

Interesting.

But I feel like that also showcases our Western culture, like a capitalistic culture, where it's everybody versus everybody.

Yeah.

And it even shows in our health, which I don't think is a great way for it to show, but I think that definitely shows there as well. Like, how can I be healthier than you? How can I lift more than you? How can I study better than you? All those kinds of things.

Mostly just seeing. Well, I think I can encapsulate that as a single phrase of, like, people saying, I want this more than you do. I want it more than you do.

I think people boil it down to a lot of work ethic and determination and say that maybe lifting more helps them have a better work ethic or determination mindset.

Yeah.

Interesting. Those are strong values in this culture, of course. Work ethic and then health. Would you guys connect that then with social status?

It sounds like that's how you get to those values and show that you've obtained those values. Do we associate that with your social status? I mean, I'm sure we do this in other ways as well. We talk about it in class as cultural capital.

Like, doing these things and being good at them gives you cultural capital. Going to the gym regularly and showing that you're losing weight or eating the right kind of food is cultural capital. And it gives with that.

It can give you social status. It can propel you to a different, potentially even different socioeconomic status if you interact with the right groups.

I definitely agree with that. Just to kind of bring it back to the influencer thing.

I think you can see examples of maybe just regular people showing their, I don't know, off their body or, like, their style or whatever, and then being, like, gaining followers, which allows them to gain more money, and then moving up more social classes, which maybe makes them less relatable to their followers, but they're making more money because of how they look and how they have been able to cultivate that capital that everybody else wants.

I agree with what both of you guys have to say. I think that any form of social capital or social status can be gained by having something that people desire.

And I think a lot of people desire to look a certain way or to feel a certain way, you know, nobody wants to be sad.

So maybe if your mental health is better and you look a certain way, or at least if that's what you're portraying to maybe your followers or to your friends and people want that, like, that definitely improves your social status, I think, and can eventually improve your social capital.

And yeah, even just like monetary, like, you can actually make money off of your appearance in this culture right now.

Does it? I mean, so we're talking about individual mobility right now, but it.

Does it pacify the population as a whole to have a culture that is so focused on these ideas of being healthy?

Yeah, absolutely.

I think it does. 100%.

Yeah. How so how does it do that?

I mean, if you're placing so much emphasis on something that is almost entirely determined by your genetics, honestly, like the way your body looks and how you move is almost entirely dependent on your genetics. Like, obviously it can be influenced by different things.

But I think making people strive to attain something that's so difficult takes focus away from other more pressing issues in our society.

I definitely agree with what Charlie has to say.

And not only pressing issues in our society, but you see, people may become obsessed with this idea that if this person looks a certain way, I can look this certain way too. If this person's health is amazing, maybe my health can be amazing too.

And trying to spend a lot of time and effort and money into making that your own reality can be very detrimental to other areas of your life, maybe your education, maybe your relationships socially. I mean, there's a lot of different things that are time consuming.

But I think people wrapped up in their health and the aesthetics of their health, it's going to take a lot of time away from other areas and could ultimately be more detrimental to their health, not only physically, but mentally as well.

It certainly gives the medical system and the beliefs and ideas that come from the medical system a lot of power that we. It seems like we hang on a lot of that.

And yes, it gives individuals some influence and maybe wealth generate wealth, but it definitely gives the medical authority in our culture. And I was going to ask you guys, why. Why does our dominant ideology in this particular culture.

We could generalize it to the Western culture, even focus so much on medicine and health. Why is that such a big thing? I mean, you look, we've talked about many other cultures and health and health care is not such an important focus.

Yeah, I feel like the ultimate goal in our society is prolonging life. I think that could almost be attributed to just generally people being less religious and a fear after death.

I feel like, personally, I feel like if you're doing everything you can to prolong your life, you're delaying what some think comes afterlife.

And I feel like with the increase in technology and resources as a whole, people are becoming less religious and have less reverence or respect for death. And like all of the, I don't know, the things that come with it, funerals, all this. Yeah, all that stuff. Like.

Yeah.

In other cultures, aging is beautiful. Yeah, yeah. Aging's beautiful. And death can be beautiful.

Like, if you have certain ideas of what an afterlife looks like, then death isn't something to be scared of. And I feel like people are definitely scared.

Okay, interesting. So it comes along with secularization and this turning from religious ideology to a more secular one. Yeah.

I think it goes a little hand in hand with, like she said, the fear of decaying, getting worse, dying. And I also do think it fits a little bit more with, like we said, the appearance standard. Yeah. Beauty standard. Beauty standard.

Essentially, people who are healthy, conventionally healthy looking anyway, they just kind of cement more value as a person. They seem more approachable, they seem more stable, successful, responsible people.

So it's associated with being the ideal person. Yeah. Which, you know, kind of going. I think, Bella, you were talking about this like, you can buy those things. This is all. This is capitalism. You.

You can buy these tools, this technology to be able to peer that way, to have that status. Yeah.

I mean, they're kind of selling something for anything appearance wise now. I mean, I see all over, even things like red light masks, therapy.

They want you to wear things while you're sleeping on your face, stuff in your hair. People are like taping their mouths all over the Internet saying that it gives you a better jawline when you sleep.

You know, personally, I'm concerned about getting enough oxygen while I sleep.

Do you think, what do you think it has to do with our wealth relative to the rest of the world?

I think it has a lot to do with kind of our idea of American exceptionalism, specifically in the United States, where we think that we're better than everybody else in a lot of our fields. And not only do we think that, but we want to strive to keep that reputation. And I think, like, prolonging life is.

Could be compared to when we were trying to get to the moon even, where it's like we're seeing it as a competition with other people in the world and we're seeing, oh, who can make being infinitely healthy first? Who can make it the fastest, who can make it the most accessible. And I think we kind of see that instead of addressing other issues maybe.

Yeah. It's almost magical.

Yeah.

That everyone can live so long and then you're achieving it. Or like as we were talking about today, never dying. Yeah. And we have access to the technology, so it changes our ideas about what is possible.

Well, I think that was some great ideas and thoughts. Thank you for joining us and we'll see you next time on the Sociological pov.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You've been listening to the Sociological POV. Thank you for your time. This podcast is featured as a part of LCC Connect, a podcast network developed by Lansing Community College. To listen to this episode on demand or explore other LCC Connect podcasts, visit lccconnect.com. We hope you'll join us again on the Sociological POV, as we explore the good, the bad, and the world around us.