Social Media’s Influence on Eating Disorders and Body Image
Social media is one of the most widely consumed forms of virtual networking. While social media can serve as an excellent resource for knowledge and inspiration, the constant flood of unrealistic beauty standards on our feeds provides boundless opportunities for appearance comparisons. Social media exacerbates the pressure on body image and can have a significant impact on individuals struggling with body image issues or eating disorders.
by: Imogen Bylinsky
According to the American Psychological Association, the rates of eating disorders have doubled since the 1960s, and people as young as seven are showing symptoms. This is no surprise, as due to growing up in a digital age, and the constant pressure of perfection from influencers and social media can trigger eating disorders, disordered behavior, and overall body issues.
Since the development of social media, it has created an opportunity for an industry of influencers to arise, people who promote a certain lifestyle, brand, or product via their social media platforms. Avid social media users, such as teens, often forget that influencers and their selected, edited, and perfected postings are merely a highlight reel of their lives and leave out the messy and stressful moments. Sadly, many teens fail to adopt this mindset while scrolling through their feeds and forget that their false-glamorous lifestyles are virtually impossible to achieve in reality.
Due to influencers receiving a lot of likes, comments, and attention on their respective platforms, it encourages teens to post things similar to influencers in hopes of receiving the same reactions. This leads to an environment where teens become hyper-fixated on what they post, and how many comments, likes, and following each post may bring. It creates a sense of competitiveness even within friends, on whose post can receive the most likes and comments. By doing so, teens can develop a more skewed body image, by comparing it to influencers and their friends, and basing their self-worth on likes, comments, and followings.
Many dieting brands, such as "Flat Tummy Tea" have targeted influencers to advertise their product because of their teenage following. Flat Tummy Tea is a detox tea advertised to help reduce bloating and "fat" on the stomach in under 4 weeks. What the tea brand and influencers both fail to mention is that Flat Tummy Tea has side effects of cramping, stomach pains, dehydration, and diarrhea
This product uses skinny and “fit” women as their brand face, in order to encourage consumers who want to achieve that ideal to buy their product. This is harmful, as by viewing influencers they admire endorse this product, they can become more conscious about their body shape, and believe this tea can help them achieve the body shape of the influencers.
Alone, social media is not necessarily a cause for eating disorders or disordered eating, but it contributes to the culture of comparing bodies, unhealthy body image, and the stereotypical idea of what a body should look like. To reduce these feelings, it can be important to take breaks from social media, understand your limits, and generally remind yourself that social media is a highlight reel and does not broadcast the necessarily “bad” aspects of it.
To try to combat this negative aspect of social media, I would suggest implementing a social media limit. New updates to certain smart-phone programming have allowed us to be able to set a time constraint on how often we can use apps. I would also suggest unfollowing influencers that lower your self-esteem, although you may be interested in what they post, there will overall be a greater outcome. Most importantly, trying to have open and honest conversations with loved ones about your body image and how it may be affecting you – it’s always good to talk out loud!
Looking for eating disorder treatment programs or services in the New York City area? Learn more about our options at BALANCE eating disorder treatment center here or contact us here.
This post was written by BALANCE blog intern Imogen Bylinsky.
Imogen is a high school student from New York City with a passion for writing and speaking about mental health issues, specifically eating disorders. Growing up, she became increasingly aware of the stigma and hurtful stereotypes associated with eating disorders. She is interested in majoring in Psychology after taking an “abnormal child psychology” course at Brown University. Alongside with BALANCE, she volunteers with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and Project HEAL, an eating disorder organization. She specifically wants to address how eating disorders are portrayed in the media, pop culture, various races/ethnic groups, and gender. She is excited to be writing for the BALANCE blog!