The Link Between Social Media Use and Eating Disorders
The Link Between Social Media Use & Eating Disorders
By Meret Flessenkamper, MA
Master’s Level Clinical Psychology Practicum Student
We live in a time where social media is everywhere – and if you are a parent of a child these days, you may still remember when we did not have social media growing up. Adolescents reportedly use social media platforms such as YouTube (85%), Instagram (72%), Snapchat (69%), and Facebook (51%). How can we navigate social media platforms as a family and make sure our children are not negatively impacted in their development? One area of concern is social media as an influence on the development of eating disorders in adolescence, which has been well studied.
As adolescents undergo the bodily changes that accompany puberty, their nutritional needs increase. On top of that, in adolescence, body image starts to play a more important role. Rapid bodily changes and the importance of body-image can result in the development of an eating disorder. There is evidence that eating disorders have a genetic component, which may put some teenagers at a higher risk of developing an eating disorder than others.
Social media use may be another potential factor that impacts the development of an eating disorder. If teenagers use social media more heavily, eating disorder symptoms tend to be more severe. There is literature on higher social media use and how that tends to come with more eating disordered thoughts. It is not surprising that in undergraduate students, a social media “break” was found to ameliorate eating disorder symptomatology. For eating disorder development, media such as TV and print materials, as well as social media, have resulted in pressure on teenagers’ appearance. This may lead to worse body image, as teens are exposed to unrealistic body types that they compare their own body to.
While social media can be a place of support as you experience an eating disorder, it can also come with a higher risk of being unsatisfied with your body. Additionally, it can result in higher levels of distress and a decreased sense of self-esteem. An adolescent’s body image impacts their sense of self-esteem. That is why content that focuses on appearance on social media, especially unrealistic body shapes or behaviors are putting teens at risk. Appearance-focused social media correlates with negative body image as well as eating concerns. The developmental stage of adolescence can make young people especially vulnerable to these effects.
In a review of the research (by Rodgers & Melioli in 2015), the authors found that there is a relationship between internet use, body image and eating concerns. They mention that there are two ways that lead to eating disorder symptomatology via social media use. One way was related to believing in the ideal thin body and the other way was through social comparison. Relationships with peers play a big role in adolescent development. Teenagers are more aware of how their environment sees them than children. Believing that your peers are judging your appearance may increase the risk of developing an eating disorder in combination with the above processes of internalizing the thin-ideal body and comparing yourself to others.
How to help teens protect themselves against negative social media influence:
Limit the daily time spent on social media
Spend time around people that focus on what you can experience thanks to your human body rather than focusing on you appearance.
Carefully curate the social media you see on your feed and intentionally follow people with different bodies. This may mean following bodies with different abilities, different shapes and sizes, different sexual orientations, different backgrounds and ethnicities. Your brain will learn to appreciate the beauty of different bodies and diversity rather than limiting itself to seeing beauty in a narrower way.
And most importantly, if you suspect the presence of an eating disorder, reach out to a trusted mental health professional to get support. The earlier one starts treating the disorder, the easier it is to get a handle on the symptoms.
References
Anderson, M., & Jiang, J. (2018). Teens, social media & technology. Pew Research Center. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/. Accessed March 30, 2026.
Berk, L. E. (2022). Exploring lifespan development (4th ed.). Sage.
Holland, G., & Tiggemann, M. (2016). A systematic review of the impact of the use of social networking sites on body image and disordered eating outcomes. Body Image, 17, 100–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.02.008
Kendal, S., Kirk, S., & Elvey, R. (2017). How a moderated online discussion forum facilitates support for young people with eating disorders. Health Expectations. 20, 1, 98-111. doi: 10.1111/hex.12439
Levine, M. P., & Murnen, S. K. (2009). Everybody knows that mass media are/are not a cause of eating disorders: a critical review of evidence for a causal link between media, negative body image, and disordered eating in females. Journal of Social Clinical Psychology;28(1):9–42.
Rodgers, R. F. (2016). The relationship between body image concerns, eating disorders and internet use, Part II: An integrated theoretical model. Adolescent Research Review, 1(2), 121–137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40894-015-0017-5
Rosen D. S. (2003). Eating disorders in children and young adolescents: etiology, classification, clinical features, and treatment. Adolescent medicine (Philadelphia, Pa.), 14(1), 49–59.
Sidani, J. E., Shensa, A., Hoffman, B., Hanmer, J., & Primack, B. A. (2016). The association between social media use and eating concerns among US young adults. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116(9), 1465–1472. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.jand.2016.03.021
Trafford, A. M., Carr, M.J., & Ashcroft, D. M. (2023). Temporal trends in eating disorder and self-harm incidence rates among adolescents and young adults in the UK in the 2 years since onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based study. The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health. 7, 8, 544-554. doi: 10.1016/s2352-4642(23)00126-8
Wilksch, S. M., O’Shea, A., Ho, P., Byrne, S., & Wade, T. D. (2020). The relationship between social media use and disordered eating in young adolescents. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 53(1), 96–106. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23198
If you have any questions concerning care at Mala or would like to reach out for another reason, we’d love to hear from you.
Until next time,
The Mala Child & Family Institute Team
