MFP article photos depressing
Replies
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Sunnybeaches105, no need for the snark. I'm sure you understand my point. Fit is what I WANT to see. What's being depicted is, as I said, advanced athletes and ultra-thin models. That's not typical of MFP users, and certainly not motivating for new users such as myself.
And as in the example I listed above, the images often don't even match the motivating articles. Look at some of the articles specifically directed at fitness beginners, and you will see the same type of photos of ADVANCED athletes.
There is a serious disconnect here which the editorial board should consider.0 -
Well here's the thing- just because you don't like it doesn't mean that everyone will dislike it. All types of marketing and advertising use fit females as click bait so people read their article.
It sounds like your taking it personally and you shouldn't.
I unsubscribed to mfp emails and blogs because they are useless to me . so if you don't like what you are seeing, just click unsubscribe. But the cold hard facts are that even if you unsubscribe to mfp emails, you will surely still see this type of marketing or advertising elsewhere.0 -
So, MFP should use pictures of people not in good physical shape, to show people what their goals should be?
I love seeing the pics of what I'm aiming for. That's encouraging. Show me what I am already would make me think,"All done now!"0 -
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Thorsmom01, Thank you for your input. The community forum is helpful as a sounding board and I appreciate your opinion. You are right in that I should not take it personally and that I can unsubscribe to the emails at any time. It's a shame about the emails though, as the articles themselves can be very helpful.
I realize not everyone will agree with me, and I do not expect that. I am putting forth a point of view that I have not seen here before. If many/any posters feel the same way, we likely would have previously seen this complaint.
As for being exposed to these types of images in marketing and advertising elsewhere – – well, of course. ;-)
But informative articles written for the benefit of already-signed-up members should not be treated as marketing or advertising. The articles are part of the service. While no one article can appeal to every user, it would be nice to see an inclusive range of images to reflect a variety of members. I've read a number of the blog entries and have yet to see a model that breaks the mold.0 -
coreyreichle wrote: »So, MFP should use pictures of people not in good physical shape, to show people what their goals should be?
I love seeing the pics of what I'm aiming for. That's encouraging. Show me what I am already would make me think,"All done now!"
Corey, I completely agree with your second paragraph. You speak for me there. :-)
As for the first paragraph, that is in no way what I am suggesting. If you fully read the original post, you would have seen this question: "Can we never see a healthy woman that is more in line with the body type of a typical MFP user?"
Perhaps the fault is mine in not stressing that strongly enough -- but I did specify "HEALTHY WOMAN." There are HEALTHY WOMEN here of a variety of ages and body types. It would be nice to see some of them, too.
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coreyreichle wrote: »
Seriously? That's what you took away from my post?
Please read my response to your first post--and please don't misrepresent the original post.
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Sunnybeaches105, no need for the snark. I'm sure you understand my point. Fit is what I WANT to see. What's being depicted is, as I said, advanced athletes and ultra-thin models. That's not typical of MFP users, and certainly not motivating for new users such as myself.
And as in the example I listed above, the images often don't even match the motivating articles. Look at some of the articles specifically directed at fitness beginners, and you will see the same type of photos of ADVANCED athletes.
There is a serious disconnect here which the editorial board should consider.
No need to complain about fit models either. I find fit models and atheletes motivating. I'll add that I think people's impression of what is "thin" or "in shape" have been seriously skewed over the last 20 years and not in the direction you are saying.0 -
Why is a size 2 or 4 not healthy? Why do you assume everyone using MFP is not fit? Some people use this app to GAIN weight. Some are very fit and use it to track calories/macros and stay on track.
Some people are motivated by fit models. Some are not. There's nothing wrong with it either way. But if seeing a normal sized woman in an ad makes you feel so depressed...I don't know. I'm sorry, I don't understand.0 -
Putting aside the issue of motivation and body image, and simply to make an analogy of inclusiveness:
Pretend that the service is specifically for citizens of California and New York. ALL of the photos, though, are of New Yorkers, even for the articles about Californians. Would that make sense? Might some of the Californians begin to feel a little left out? Maybe wonder if they are in the right place? Wouldn't a Californian appreciate it if every once in a while, there was a picture of one of them?
Silly analogy, I know, but I'm having trouble trying to express my meaning.0 -
And... Boom! Thread over ^_^... It's for ANYONE. You might also argue that a photo of a young woman is not an appropriate photo for any guy who might be reading the article, but that's not necessarily the case because the very first sentence is the target audience - anyone who is on a weight loss journey.
You sound like you're kind of taking this stuff a little personally...
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Putting aside the issue of motivation and body image, and simply to make an analogy of inclusiveness:
Pretend that the service is specifically for citizens of California and New York. ALL of the photos, though, are of New Yorkers, even for the articles about Californians. Would that make sense? Might some of the Californians begin to feel a little left out? Maybe wonder if they are in the right place? Wouldn't a Californian appreciate it if every once in a while, there was a picture of one of them?
Silly analogy, I know, but I'm having trouble trying to express my meaning.
Here's an analogy for you. Let's put more pictures of "C" students in schools and bring that achievement down! No, no, let's not strive for anything. It makes too many peope uncomfortable.0 -
arditarose wrote: »Why is a size 2 or 4 not healthy? Why do you assume everyone using MFP is not fit? Some people use this app to GAIN weight. Some are very fit and use it to track calories/macros and stay on track.
Some people are motivated by fit models. Some are not. There's nothing wrong with it either way. But if seeing a normal sized woman in an ad makes you feel so depressed...I don't know. I'm sorry, I don't understand.
Did I say a size 2 or size 4 is not healthy?
Did I say that everyone using MFP is not fit?
Did I say seeing "a normal sized woman" in an ad depresses me?
Was I talking about a singular ad?
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arditarose wrote: »Why is a size 2 or 4 not healthy? Why do you assume everyone using MFP is not fit? Some people use this app to GAIN weight. Some are very fit and use it to track calories/macros and stay on track.
Some people are motivated by fit models. Some are not. There's nothing wrong with it either way. But if seeing a normal sized woman in an ad makes you feel so depressed...I don't know. I'm sorry, I don't understand.
Did I say a size 2 or size 4 is not healthy?
Did I say that everyone using MFP is not fit?
Did I say seeing "a normal sized woman" in an ad depresses me?
Was I talking about a singular ad?I Today I saw an article about managing morning chaos. The seated model that we see from behind appears to be very tall and maybe a size 2 or 4. Why? Can we never see a healthy woman that is more in line with the body type of a typical MFP user? I'm pretty sure none of the models featured ever used MFP or faced the struggles that we are trying to overcome. These photos do the opposite of inspiring/ motivating me. They depress me and kind of make me want to give up. No matter how much success I achieve, I can never look like these women. If MFP suggests these reflect how users should look, then I'm in the wrong place. :-(
Yeah you kind of said that, to an extent.
Listen, we all get our motivation from different sources. I'm saying it's okay that this does not motivate you. There's actually a really good podcast about this issue. I'm going to look for it. One sec.0 -
The site is called myfitnesspal. Why wouldn't they use photos of fit people? Attraction sells.
If you are depressed by photos of fit people advertising a fitness site you are possibly being a little too sensitive.
If a used car lot ran an ad do you they'd pull more people in using this perfectly normal looking car
or this sporty one?
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I think the second episode of Shredded by Science Radio "How to Get Motivated to Get in Shape"
http://shreddedbyscience.com/get-motivated/
It's a nice listen and talks quite a bit about balance between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to get fit0 -
arditarose wrote: »I think the second episode of Shredded by Science Radio "How to Get Motivated to Get in Shape"
http://shreddedbyscience.com/get-motivated/
It's a nice listen and talks quite a bit about balance between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to get fit
Thank you, Arditarose. I appreciate your helpfulness. I'll check it out.
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GuitarJerry wrote: »I think it contributes toward unrealistic ideas and goals and causes many of the problems we have in society today. I wish it would stop. Why have pictures at all? Just let the content of the articles sell the idea, and then each person that reads it puts their own interpretation on health. The pictures are non-sense. Many of those models do not run or exercise. They are just skinny 20-somethings with good genetics. It's lame to put pictures like that in the blog posts that are supposed to be about health and helping people on their journey towards making themselves more healthy.
I've never seen a photo in a MFP blog, or email, that shows unrealistic goals. Only realistic ones.0
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