Study: Facebook Use Linked to Eating Disorders Among College Women

Researchers at Florida State University learned that female students who use Facebook frequently are more likely to claim an eating disorder, and those who browsed for just 20 minutes reported more body dissatisfaction than others.

Reports Dana Liebelson at Mother Jones:

“Young people I work [with] say that overall, social-media platforms like Facebook have a negative impact on their body image,” says Claire Mysko, who heads youth outreach at the National Eating Disorders Association, which advises both Facebook and Tumblr on these issues. “This is largely due to the way that social media fuels comparison and the pressure to present a ‘perfect’ version of yourself.” (Their eating disorder hotline is: 1-800-931-2237)

In the first part of the study, 960 female college students, who received course credit for their participation, took a standard eating disorder test that asked them to agree or disagree with statements such as, “I give too much time and thought to food.” The survey also asked the women how much time they spent on Facebook. The researchers noted that there was “a small but significant positive correlation” between duration of Facebook use and disordered eating among this group.

In the second part of the study, 84 college women from the first study who said they used Facebook regularly—and represented a random cross-section of eating habits—were then asked to get on a computer. Part of the group spent 20 minutes surfing their Facebook accounts, as they normally would. The other part spent 20 minutes on Wikipedia researching the ocelot, a type of rainforest cat, and watching a YouTube video about them. Both groups of students were told not to browse other websites. After they were done, they were then given a second set of questions regarding their eating habits and Facebook use.

Read more here.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.