Social Media and Eating Disorders
As a child of the 80’s, my experience of media and eating disorders is profoundly different from youth today. And yet, as someone who experienced the onset of an eating disorder at a young age, I can say with absolute certainty that the media was a contributing factor. What I was exposed to visually, verbally and subconsciously, affected how I felt about myself and my body, and led to dangerous comparisons and unrealistic ideals.
I know I am not alone in this. At The Holistic ED Recovery Center, we see individuals every single day who reflect the same sentiments and concerns.
A thought I often have, as I work with youth eating disorder recovery each day, is thank goodness I didn’t have social media (or internet!) when I was a kid. I can see so clearly in clinical practice, how that exacerbates the eating disorder, body ideals, comparisons, bullying, nutrition confusion, fitness and food extremes, and so much more. Quite frankly, how could there not be a connection between social media and eating disorders.
But what does the data say?
While there is no one single cause of eating disorders, disordered eating and body dissatisfaction, there is a clear connection in research that media is a contributing factor to eating disorders, and specifically photo and video based media activities. I have yet to meet a teenager who doesn’t use one or more of these platforms throughout the day, every day (Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, etc.), and often rely heavily on them as a crucial part of their social life. So that said, let’s look at a few (of many) studies regarding the connection between social media usage and eating disorders.
Studies on social media and eating disorders:
1,765 young adults aged 19-32 were randomly selected for this study on the association between social media and eating concerns. Compared to the participants with the lowest usage, those with the highest social media usage demonstrated significantly greater odds of having eating concerns and a clear connection between high social media usage and eating concerns.
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5003636/)
Existing literature was reviewed regarding the effects of highly visual social media on the development of eating disorders and disordered eating in adolescents and young adults. A clear connection was found between the use of unregulated and profit driven social media platforms and eating disorders in that they increased risk of eating disorders.
(https://jeatdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40337-023-00898-6)
This study conducted an online survey of social media users who were following health foods accounts and found that higher Instagram use was connected to a greater tendency towards Orthorexia.
There is a clear connection between social media and eating disorders. Media in general is very influential for people providing visual context for body ideals and is a breeding ground for pursuing “perfection” and unhealthy comparisons. The clients we see in youth eating disorder recovery each day have reported using social media to learn what to eat and what not to eat, to find restrictive meal plans and recipes, to get body “inspiration” (from mostly very edited and altered images), to find fitness plans and motivation, and as a way to see how their peers are eating and exercising and what their bodies look like campratively. While this reflection is anecdotal, I believe it to be very accurate to many individuals' social media experience.
Regular and frequent social media usage can lead to:
Body dissatisfaction and objectification:
We post and see pictures on social media, many of which are altered. These pictures are subject to likes and comments, and we tend to get more or less followers based on these images which objectify our bodies. Appearance focused content idealizes thin body types, and we take pictures of ourselves and then view and compare that to others. This can only increase body dissatisfaction, which can lead to eating disorders and disordered eating patterns. Furthermore, because more images we now see on social media are heavily altered and edited, we are comparing ourselves to something not quite real and certainly not naturally attainable.
Triggers for a new or existing eating disorder:
Social media can not only be a contributing factor to eating disorders and disordered eating (as seen in the examples of studies above), but can also be very triggering to someone in eating disorder recovery. Some of the most triggering content I have observed on social media and heard from clients we see at The Holistic ED Recovery Center are “What I Eat in a Day” posts, before and after pictures (weight loss and fitness journeys), weight loss posts and how to’s, and restrictive diets from the guise of “health” (things to remove to be healthier). There are also very triggering keywords accessible online where communities perpetuating eating disorders and supporting one another within their eating disorder exist.
Cyberbullying:
Cyberbullying uses technology to harass, threaten, embarrass or target another individual. Social media is a major source of cyberbullying and negatively affects the individual's mental, physical, emotional and behavioral wellbeing, including contributing to eating disorders. We have seen so many youth who have been bullied online and how this has very negatively affected their self worth, body image, self esteem and relationship with food and body.
How can you minimize your risk?
Be Mindful of Motive:
When consuming any form of media, it is always important to stay mindful who is paying for it, and what their motive is. Are they trying to sell you a food product? Promote a line of clothing? Sell you a fitness membership? Is the post sponsored by a brand that may influence what you are seeing and how it is being displayed? It is so important to think critically here. Everything can be skewed, altered and edited and motive certainly plays a role.
Mute or Unfollow Triggering Accounts:
Protect yourself and your space. Mute or unfollow any accounts that are triggering to you or feel harmful to you, whether they are friends, family, influencers, businesses or professionals. Try to be more intentional with what content you are choosing to consume. And yes, of course, algorithms will play a role in what we see when scrolling, but what we click into, and what accounts we follow, also affect this as well. Just like we protect our space, and who we do or don’t let into our home, it can be helpful to think of the accounts that we do or don’t follow as an extension to this.
Limit Screen Time:
Studies show that the more time we spend on social media, the more exposed we are to potentially harmful content, and the more vulnerable we become to being negatively influenced by them (body image and eating concerns). I really believe that we all benefit from boundaries around social media (and honestly our phone usage in general). Creating space in your day (for example when you wake up, a period of time before sleep, etc.) can make a big difference in reducing your screen time, setting healthy boundaries with social media, and creating space for other more supportive activities.
Whether it is with food, relationships or yes, social media… I always like to think that with knowledge we can use the power of this knowledge wisely. How can you be part of the solution? Can you post unedited and authentic images of self? Can you embrace imperfections and celebrate what makes us most human? Post positive and inspirational content and give others supportive comments? Can you report bullying that you see?
And as always, if you or a loved one is struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating, please reach out for support. We are always happy to offer you a free call, free resources and a space for you to share what you are experiencing and learn more about what support is available to you.
