The Impact of Social Media on Eating Disorders
The media has long been attributed to glorifying diet culture and eating disorders, but in the age of COVID and the rise in social media consumption, potentially harmful or triggering content is growing without control. Instagram and Facebook have recently been criticized for their insufficiency in blocking accounts promoting extreme dieting and eating disorders.
To test this sentiment, Senator Richard Blumenthal’s staff created an account registered as a 13-year-old girl and proceeded to follow some dieting and pro-eating disorder accounts. The algorithm began almost exclusively recommending the account should follow more and more extreme dieting accounts, highlighting the algorithm’s problematic effects.
While Instagram declares the platform does not allow content that promotes or encourages eating disorders, it is evident this content exists and can worsen mental health and body image for users. Chelsea Kronengold, the Associate Director of Communications at the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), shared that the NEDA has worked with social media platforms, including Instagram, to update their policies, but there is not enough human power vetting the influx of content. She shared that if one potentially triggering hashtag gets blocked, another one pops up almost instantly. If social media platforms can’t remove or block all potentially triggering content, NEDA suggests the platforms also have self-care tips and strategies in place and educate users on media literacy.
On the other hand, pro-recovery accounts have grown on social media, allowing those in eating disorder recovery to connect with others throughout their experience and share tips and encouragement. Kronengold urged social media platforms to push out content from pro-recovery influencers in marginalized bodies, sharing that many people still believe eating disorders can only affect young, white, thin girls. Caroline Adams Miller, Author of My Name is Caroline and Positively Caroline, shared this notion, stating, "So many people still believe eating disorders are a choice or that they only affect rich white women. We can't make any progress until people better understand the true depth of this illness and the many forces that cause us to become self-destructive with our bodies and lives."
The stigma surrounding eating disorders does not end there. Despite being the 2nd deadliest mental health condition, surpassed by Opioid Use Disorder, many myths and misconceptions still exist around eating disorders. Lisa Murano from The National Alliance for Eating Disorders (The Alliance) said, “Far too often, when national mental health awareness campaigns take place, eating disorders aren’t invited to be part of the conversation. People are prematurely dying due to the stigma and misunderstanding many folks have about eating disorders. But it doesn’t have to be this way! We’ve got our work cut out for us, but The Alliance is prepared to meet the need.”