Association between social media use, social appearance anxiety, and eating disorder risk in adolescents

This study aimed to examine the relationships between social media use and social appearance anxiety, eating behavior, and eating disorders in adolescents.

In this study, a questionnaire including the social media use scale, social appearance anxiety scale, and eating disorder assessment questionnaire-short form was administered face-to-face to 309 adolescents.

In total, 47.2% of participants were girls and 52.8% were boys, with an average age of 16.0 ± 0.9 years. The most commonly used social media applications are WhatsApp (83.2%) and Instagram (81.2%). The mean social appearance anxiety score of the girls (38.1 ± 16.8) was higher than that of the boys (30.8 ± 13.9). There was a positive relationship between social appearance anxiety and continuity of social media use, as well as the risk of eating disorders (p < 0.05). There was also a positive relationship between social media use continuity and the risk of eating disorders (p < 0.05). The continuous use of social media increased the likelihood of social appearance anxiety (β = 0.963, 95% CI: 0.520-1.406); increased anxiety about social appearance was associated with a higher likelihood of developing an eating disorder (β = 0.068, %95 CI: 0.053-0.083) (p < 0.05).

Increased social media use in adolescents is associated with higher levels of social appearance anxiety and an increased risk of eating disorders. Educating adolescents about social media use may help reduce the incidence of eating disorders.