The Connection Between Social Media And Eating Disorders
Research suggests that over the past 10 years, the prevalence of eating disorders has more than doubled. It’s thought that the misuse of social media may be a contributing factor to the rise in eating disorders. This connection seems to be especially notable in adolescents, who have experienced a rise in both social media use and eating disorder prevalence. Social media users can take steps to limit the negative impact of using these platforms. For individuals who are struggling with mental health challenges or eating disorders associated with social media use, therapy can equip them with the tools they deserve to improve their mental health.
The connection between eating disorders and mental health
Eating disorders can be categorized as behavioral conditions that can impact not only a person’s relationship with food, but also their thoughts and emotions. Someone with an eating disorder is typically preoccupied with food, their weight, anxiety about eating, or the consequences of eating a certain food. Eating disorders often co-occur with various mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and alcohol and substance use disorders.
How might social media contribute to an eating disorder?
The National Eating Disorders Association suggests that there is a clear link between social media consumption and the risk of developing eating disorders, such as binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, and anorexia nervosa. There are a few potential reasons why social media could lead to the development of an eating disorder.
Promoting unrealistic beauty standards
Social media can be seen as a careful curation of content that users want to share with others. With filters and Photoshop, content creators can post picture-perfect images on their social media accounts that don’t portray how they really look.
Even without edits, users can utilize specific poses to hide their stomachs or disguise cellulite on their legs. Users are often exposed to a constant barrage of images that are edited, retouched, or AI-generated. These unattainable beauty standards may entice adolescents and other users to engage in disordered eating in an attempt to attain similar body shapes.
Cyberbullying
Any form of public content can be vulnerable to a barrage of comments from strangers across the globe. Thanks to the anonymity of the internet, many people have no problem with criticizing others to the point of being hateful. Some comments may even encourage others to engage in self-harm or suicidal ideation. A user can face criticism for their appearance, food choices, or other factors associated with their body image.
Misinformation
Research shows that social media impacts users in different ways
The impact of social media use can vary, and age and gender are usually two of the biggest risk factors. For teenage girls, social media and eating disorders can go hand in hand. Young women who already have body image concerns and a high BMI are typically most at risk of being negatively impacted by what they see on social media.
Female social media users are often exposed to “thinspiration,” which encourages a slim body type, while male users are frequently exposed to “fitspiration,” which encourages a muscular body type.
However, social media may not be all bad. For transgender and non-binary people, using social media can improve body image and overall mental health. Facebook groups and Reddit communities can function as spaces to gather with others who share similar backgrounds, which may be especially liberating for young adults who experience a sense of isolation in their physical communities.
Certain social media platforms may have a stronger association with eating disorders
Platforms that focus on photo- and video-specific content are generally more likely to contribute to eating disorders. Teenage girls have identified Instagram and TikTok as the two apps that have most contributed to poor body image.
Social media platforms may also approach disordered eating in different ways. YouTube typically allows users to search for eating disorder content, although it does include an eating disorder helpline banner at the top of search results for some phrases related to the topic. While some videos related to eating disorders are available on TikTok, a search for “anorexia” prompts a display of the phone number for the National Eating Disorders Association.
Social media can function as an echo chamber
Social media algorithms are typically designed to funnel similar content to users. Researchers at USC Viterbi’s Information Sciences Institute used machine learning tools to evaluate patterns in tweets relating to diet and weight loss, then used hashtags from those tweets to identify related online communities. When they analyzed the conversations that community members were having, they found that many communities were acting as echo chambers. Users often interacted with one another, but rarely with others outside of their groups.
Even when platforms work to remove harmful content, users may devise strategies to get around filters and continue to engage in conversations about the best way to drop a few more pounds. They might use creative, insider hashtags or form group chats on Snapchat and Discord.
A rising social media trend: Orthorexia
Orthorexia nervosa generally involves an obsession with nutrition and related restrictive behaviors, often including overexercising.
On the surface, orthorexia may seem like a positive thing. What could be wrong with wanting to prioritize nutritious eating habits and avoid junk food? However, people with this disorder usually engage in healthy eating to an extreme. Their limited eating habits and restrictive behaviors can result in malnourishment and a poor quality of life.
Orthorexia can even damage relationships, as individuals may spend large amounts of time preparing foods, exercising, fixating on their eating habits during conversations with other people, or avoiding social opportunities due to a lack of “approved” foods being available.
How to prevent social media from negatively impacting your body image
You don’t have to completely eliminate social media use from your life in order to safeguard your body image.
High social media literacy
Being mindful about the realities– and fantasies– of social media can help you view content through a more mindful lens. High social media literacy may equip you to interact with online content in a healthier and more constructive way.
Researchers have identified a few key pillars of social media literacy:
- Accessing media and technology tools skillfully
- Analyzing and evaluating online messages
- Creating content
- Reflecting on your own online conduct
- Interacting in online communities to share knowledge and help solve problems
The second pillar – evaluating online messages – can be critical to protecting your body image and discouraging eating disorders. Consider how certain content leads you to feel and what kind of behavior it encourages. When you come across posts that glorify overly thin ideals or encourage food restriction, hide them and work to reshape the content your algorithm is showing you.
Body appreciation
Having a positive view of your body can reduce the impact of harmful online content, and body appreciation tends to be associated with better mental health overall. People with high body appreciation are usually more likely to reject appearance ideals like “thinspiration” and “fitspiration” and embrace the unique characteristics of their own bodies.
You can promote stronger body appreciation in yourself by engaging in physical activities that help you become attuned with your body, such as dance and yoga. Exercise and going for walks in nature can also help you sense you are more at home in your body and thankful for all you can do with it.
Parents can implement strategies to limit social media’s impact on body image
Adolescents can be especially vulnerable to the impact of social media on their body image. They also tend to comprise a large share of patients with eating disorders. Approximately 40% of cases occur among teenagers between the ages of 15 to 19. Parents can take steps to encourage the healthy use of social media and reduce the negative impact it can have on body image.
Limit children’s time on social media
Limiting social media use can act as both a proactive and reactive solution. Less time on social media can prevent adolescents from being exposed to harmful messages and images that encourage eating disorders. High school students who use social media for more than two hours a day are about 1.6 times more likely to experience body image issues than students who spend less time using social media.
For individuals who have poor body image or an eating disorder, it may be even more critical to limit social media use, as decreasing the use of social media can decrease eating disorder symptoms.
Seek professional support
As questions are raised about the addictive properties of platforms like Facebook and Instagram, it’s become clear that the allure of social media can be strong. Even if individuals want to reduce the control that social media seems to have over their minds, it may be difficult to develop the willpower to do so. Therapy can be a powerful tool to reshape unhelpful thought processes and discourage the negative impacts of social media on body image.
Sometimes, it may be difficult for individuals to carve time out of their schedules to attend therapy. Many school and work schedules offer little flexibility, and individuals may have to wait weeks or months for an in-person therapy slot that aligns with their own availability. With online therapy, users can schedule sessions at the time that’s most convenient for them. Platforms like BetterHelp can provide access to thousands of therapists, making it easier to find a professional with whom you connect.
Online therapy can effectively treat various mental health conditions. A 2021 study examined the effects of web-based cognitive behavioral therapy in treating individuals with eating disorders. Researchers found that the treatment generally resulted in long-term reductions in eating disorder psychopathology and body dissatisfaction. Participants also typically experienced lasting improvements in their physical health, mental health, and social functioning.
Takeaway
How is social media affecting eating disorders?
A growing body of research indicates that social media use may be related to body image concerns and eating disorder pathology. “The social media diet,” a 2023 review and cross-sectional study of 50 research papers on the topic published by PLOS Global Public Health, investigates this connection. Its findings suggest that social media usage has links to body image issues, eating disorder symptoms, disordered eating behaviors, and poor mental health. It indicates that this is a global public health issue that requires prevention strategies to address.
How has the media contributed to the rise of eating disorders?
Although there's no single cause of eating disorders, research suggests that the modern media may often play a role in the pathology of these types of illnesses. For instance, the tripartite influence model theorizes that the development of one's body image is primarily influenced by peers, parents, and the media.
From social networking sites to mass media like TV shows, movies, and magazines, many outlets portray a very narrow, thin ideal in their media images. Studies indicate that these portrayals, along with advertisements for weight-loss related products, may contribute to body shaming and have a negative effect on self-esteem and body satisfaction. This combination does not make a positive association for media consumers and may increase the likelihood of disordered eating pathology among adolescent girls, adolescent boys, young people in general, and other groups.
How does social media affect what you eat?
Social media can affect what you eat in various ways. This may be particularly true for young adolescents, since a Pew Research Center study suggests that nearly half of teens say they use the internet “almost constantly”—mainly consuming social media content—and therefore are potentially exposed to ads and messaging about beauty standards for many hours each day.
This exposure may make individuals more likely to absorb mass-media opinions about what the “ideal” body shape and size is and what eating behaviors are healthy or trendy. This may be why one recent scoping review about social media use across multiple platforms suggests that young girls, young women, and adolescents of all genders with a social media account and significant time spent online each day may be more likely to develop disordered eating behaviours.
How does an eating disorder affect your social life?
In addition to significant physical and mental health impacts, eating disorders can also affect a person's social life. For example, a person experiencing bulimia may engage in excessive exercise in an effort to try and “make up for” binge eating, which could limit the time they have available for maintaining relationships. Or, a person with anorexia might avoid social situations where food may be served, such as birthday parties or dinners with friends, which could contribute to social isolation over time.
How does social media affect students’ eating habits?
Social media can have a significant impact on the eating habits of students and other young people. Public health research on the topic suggests that high social media use could lead to poor self-image, thin-ideal internalization, distorted body ideals, and disordered eating behaviors such as skipping meals in an effort to lose weight.
What triggers eating disorders?
There are thought to be multiple factors that may contribute to the development of an eating disorder. Some examples include genetics, brain structure differences, certain personality traits like perfectionism, and the influence of peers and media.
What most likely causes eating disorders, according to research?
Research suggests that some people may be at higher risk of developing an eating disorder due to genetics. Other factors that may make an eating disorder diagnosis more likely include stressful life experiences, other co-occurring mental health conditions, and high levels of media exposure.
What is the relationship between social media and eating habits?
Research indicates that social media can significantly affect eating habits. Some studies even suggest that high social media use may correlate with the development of disordered eating behaviors and diagnosable eating disorders. For example, one meta-analysis published in the journal J Adolesc Health suggests that some social networking sites are home to directly pro-eating disorder content, which may be particularly dangerous for younger media consumers and represents a potential child health risk.
What are the negative effects of social media on diet?
Due to heavy advertising, photo manipulation, and promotion of comparison, social media can significantly negatively affect women's body image, youth mental health, eating patterns, and overall public health. It may make a person more likely to be concerned about their body weight or shape, which could lead to disordered eating. That's why assessment tools and programs like the Body Project school curricula have been developed: to help young people in particular learn social media literacy, healthy habits, and how to build a positive body image.
How does social media affect body health and body image?
Social media may affect body health and body image in a variety of ways. While it's possible for a person to learn healthy habits by following nutrition-related or body positivity accounts, for example, it seems to be more common for a social networking site to negatively impact body health and body image. For instance, one meta-analytic review indicates that higher levels of social media usage correlate with “lower psychological well-being, decreased self-esteem, increased loneliness, as well as an increase in depressive symptoms,” all of which can impact physical body health. Research suggests a correlation between social media use, negative body image, and self-reported eating disorders as well.
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