Facebook Use May Increase Eating Disorders In College Women

Facebook use has been found to increase eating disorders in college-aged women. A new study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health has discovered that when frequent Facebook users compare their bodies to their friends’ bodies, they were more prone to engage in risky dieting behaviors.

The study surveyed 128 college-aged women and measured their disordered eating. The women were asked about their personal views on their weight and shape, diet pill usage, fasting, and vomiting after meals. Each woman’s Facebook usage was also surveyed, including the amount of time spent on the site each day, the number of Facebook friends, and whether the women compared their bodies to their friends’ posted Facebook pictures.

In a recent interview with WRALTechWire, Stephanie Zerwas, PhD, senior author of the study, made a statement as to the purpose of the study.

“We really wanted to examine how each college woman used Facebook when posting pictures online. Is she thinking, ‘I’m posting this picture to share a fun moment with my friends’ or is she thinking ‘I want to post this picture to compare how my body looks to my friends’ bodies.'”

The results showed that women who had a greater emotional connection to Facebook engaged in more physical appearance comparisons, online “fat talk,” and disordered eating patterns.

However, the study also showed that if the women did not use Facebook to compare their own bodies to that of their friends, frequent Facebook use was actually associated with a decrease in concern about body shape or weight, and in turn, fewer risky dieting behaviors.

“I think that Facebook could be an amazing tool to nurture social support and connections with friends and families. And if you’re getting that kind of social support from the site, you might be less likely to be worried about your body size. But if you’re using it as a measuring stick to measure how your body appears in pictures compared to your friend’s body, Facebook could also be used a tool to foster dangerous dieting behavior.”

This is not the first time a study has linked frequent Facebook use to an increased risk of eating disorders. A 2014 study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders also found a significant association between Facebook use and eating disorder levels in two large samples of college-aged women. In addition, how women use Facebook was also associated with a higher incidence of eating disorders. The women reported engaging more in appearance-focused behaviors, such as untagging Facebook photographs of themselves that they deemed unflattering in order to minimize opportunities to become the target of downward social comparison.

Facebook was founded in 2004. As of March 2015, Facebook has more the 936 million daily active users, 58 percent of which are women.

[Image via Chris Jackson/Getty Images]