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Social Media and BED: What impacts those who suffer?
Contributor: Leigh Bell, BA, writer for Eating Disorder Hope
If you’ve been on Facebook, you’ve probably sized yourself up to another “friend.” They dress better, have a bigger house, drive an expensive car, and one of the most common, a better body.
It’s human nature, so don’t feel badly.
On the other hand, you’ve likely been uplifted by a post, comment, picture, or video on Facebook, too. It’s not all bad.
Social media has dual effects on people with binge eating disorder (BED) and other eating disorders. Little research exists specifically on BED and social media, but studies are showing social media can belittle our body images and self-esteem, which may lead to disordered eating, including overeating.
BED is defined by recurrent, persistent episodes of binge eating – consuming unusually large amounts of food beyond fullness – without compensatory behaviors, like purging. BED is the most common eating disorder in the United States, where about 3.5% of women and 2% of men have the illness.
Several studies show Facebook and other social-media outlets predict increased dissatisfaction with one’s body and are associated with higher risk of an eating disorder. The thin-ideal content on social media forums, such as Facebook, makes people negatively compare their appearance with that of others, according to one study.
One study looked at a randomly selected group of college females after four weeks of maladaptive Facebook usage, which basically means the students were comparing themselves with other people on Facebook. This usage significantly predicted increases in bulimic symptoms and episodes of overeating approximately four weeks later, researchers found.
However, another study of college women’s relationship with Facebook found the social media juggernaut may help prevent disordered eating. Students were less likely to struggle with disordered eating if using Facebook but not comparing themselves with others on the site. Conversely, both online physical appearance comparison and online fat-talk were associated with greater disordered eating.
We’re still learning about BED, which affects about 2% of men and 3.5% of women, but we do know some risk factors for the illness. People are vulnerable to BED if they had adverse childhood experiences – especially if centered on weight and/or body size – parental depression, and repeated exposure to negative comments and/or teasing about shape, weight, eating, and physical appearance.
While teasing and negativity about such things were limited to face-to-face, or even phone interactions, today it can happen online day and night before millions of people on social media.
Community Discussion – Share your thoughts here!
What has been your experience with social media and disordered eating? Do you notice increased awareness of your body image after viewing social media?
About the Author:
Leigh Bell holds a Bachelor of Arts in English with minors in Creative Writing and French from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She is a published author, journalist with 15 years of experience, and a recipient of the Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism. Leigh is recovered from a near-fatal, decade-long battle with anorexia and the mother of three young, rambunctious children.
References
- Cohen, R., & Blaszczynski, A. (2015). Comparative effects of Facebook and conventional media on body image dissatisfaction. Journal of Eating Disorders, 3, 23.
- Smith, A.R., Hames, J.L., Joiner, T.E. Jr. (2013). Status update: maladaptive Facebook usage predicts increases in body dissatisfaction and bulimic symptoms. Journal of Affective Disorders 149(1-3), 235-40.
- Walker, M., Thornton, L., De Choudhury, M., Teevan, J., Bulik, C.M., Levinson, C.A., Zerwas, S. (2015) Facebook us and disordered eating in college-aged women. Journal of Adolescent Health, 57(2), 157-63.
- Hudson, J.I., Hiripi, E., Pope, H.G. Jr., Kessler, R.C. (2007) The prevalence and correlates of eating disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Biological Psychiatry, 61(3), 348-358.
- Fairburn, C.G., Doll, H.A., Welch, S.L., Hay, P.J., Davies, B.A., O’Connor, M.E. (1998) Risk factors for binge eating disorder: A community-based, case-control study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 55(5), 425-432.
The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer a discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals. We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.
Last Updated & Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on September 21, 2015. Published on EatingDisorderHope.com
