Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar 11;18(6):2880.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18062880.

Social Media Use and Body Image Disorders: Association between Frequency of Comparing One's Own Physical Appearance to That of People Being Followed on Social Media and Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness

Barbara Jiotsa  1 , Benjamin Naccache  1 , Mélanie Duval  2 , Bruno Rocher  1 , Marie Grall-Bronnec  1   3
Affiliations

Social Media Use and Body Image Disorders: Association between Frequency of Comparing One's Own Physical Appearance to That of People Being Followed on Social Media and Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness

Barbara Jiotsa et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

(1) Summary: Many studies have evaluated the association between traditional media exposure and the presence of body dissatisfaction and body image disorders. The last decade has borne witness to the rise of social media, predominantly used by teenagers and young adults. This study's main objective was to investigate the association between how often one compares their physical appearance to that of the people they follow on social media, and one's body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness. (2) Method: A sample composed of 1331 subjects aged 15 to 35 (mean age = 24.2), including 1138 subjects recruited from the general population and 193 patients suffering from eating disorders, completed an online questionnaire assessing social media use (followed accounts, selfies posted, image comparison frequency). This questionnaire incorporated two items originating from the Eating Disorder Inventory Scale (Body Dissatisfaction: EDI-BD and Drive for Thinness: EDI-DT). (3) Results: We found an association between the frequency of comparing one's own physical appearance to that of people followed on social media and body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness. Interestingly, the level of education was a confounding factor in this relationship, while BMI was not. (4) Discussion: The widespread use of social media in teenagers and young adults could increase body dissatisfaction as well as their drive for thinness, therefore rendering them more vulnerable to eating disorders. We should consequently take this social evolution into account, including it in general population prevention programs and in patients' specific treatment plans.

Keywords: body dissatisfaction; body image disorders; drive for thinness; eating disorders; selfies; social comparisons; social media; teenagers.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of subjects’ inclusion.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Blowers L.C., Loxton N.J., Grady-Flesser M., Occhipinti S., Dawe S. The relationship between sociocultural pressure to be thin and body dissatisfaction in preadolescent girls. Eat. Behav. 2003;4:229–244. doi: 10.1016/S1471-0153(03)00018-7. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Anschutz D., van Strien T., Engels R. Exposure to slim images in mass media: Television commercials as reminders of restriction in restrained eaters. Health Psychol. 2008;27:401–408. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.27.4.401. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Laure P., Binsinger C., Friser A., Ambard M., Girault S. L’estime de soi et l’anxiété sont-elles prédictives de la consommation de substances psychoactives par les préadolescents? Psychotropes. 2005;11:73–90. doi: 10.3917/psyt.111.0073. - DOI
    1. Stice E., Shaw H.E. Role of body dissatisfaction in the onset and maintenance of eating pathology: A synthesis of research findings. J. Psychosom. Res. 2002;53:985–993. doi: 10.1016/S0022-3999(02)00488-9. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gorwood P., Blanchet-Collet C., Chartrel N., Duclos J., Dechelotte P., Hanachi M., Fetissov S., Godart N., Melchior J.C., Ramoz N., et al. New insights in anorexia nervosa. Front. Neurosci. 2016;10:256. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00256. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources