Presentation Title
The Association Between Instagram Use and Eating Disorder Pathology
Panel Name
Social Media's Influence on Society
Location
Lecture Center 3B
Start Date
3-5-2019 3:15 PM
End Date
3-5-2019 4:15 PM
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Academic Major
Psychology
Abstract
Recent research indicates a positive correlation between the amount of exposure to mass media and disordered eating (Levine & Murnen, 2009). Social media brings together two impacting factors for eating disorder risk: peers and media. Higher frequency use of social media has been shown to be associated with a higher risk for disordered eating (Mabe, Forney & Keel, 2014). In this study, we examined the association between Instagram use and eating disorder pathology. We hypothesized that individuals with greater Instagram use would report higher levels of eating disorder pathology. As part of a larger study seeking to better understand eating pathology, undergraduate participants (N=624, 70% female) completed surveys about eating pathology and media use. Participant’s ages ranged from 17 to 35 with an average of 18.7 years. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Eating Disorder Examination – Questionnaire, and a single item assessing percent of day spent on Instagram. For analyses, participants were divided into two groups based on the proportion of time they spent using Instagram. Primary users reported spending at least 60% of their time on Instagram and other users reported spending less than 50% of their social media time on Instagram. An independent samples t-test compared total mean scores on the EDE-Q between primary and other users. Results indicated no significant differences between these two groups (t(622)= .534, p = .59). There was no difference in eating disorder pathology between high Instagram and low Instagram users. This shows that social media may not be a direct link to eating pathology, or that our measure did not appropriately capture Instagram usage or type of engagement (i.e. "fitsagrams" or weight-loss Instagram accounts). Social media is growing rapidly in our society and thus remains an important research target. Future research should specifically consider examining differences in the impacts of social media use and attitudes on eating disorder pathology and other negative consequences. Future studies can potentially discover whether it is the media component or social component of social media that has the most prominent negative effect on individuals who are more exposed to it.
Select Where This Work Originated From
Independent Study
First Faculty Advisor
Drew A. Anderson
First Advisor Email
drewa@albany.edu
First Advisor Department
Psychology
Second Faculty Advisor
Christina Scharmer
Second Faculty Advisor Email
cscharmer@albany.edu
Second Advisor Department
Psychology
Third Faculty Advisor
Courtney Breiner
Third Advisor Email
cbreiner@albany.edu
Third Advisor Department
Psychology
The work you will be presenting can best be described as
Finished or mostly finished by conference date
The Association Between Instagram Use and Eating Disorder Pathology
Lecture Center 3B
Recent research indicates a positive correlation between the amount of exposure to mass media and disordered eating (Levine & Murnen, 2009). Social media brings together two impacting factors for eating disorder risk: peers and media. Higher frequency use of social media has been shown to be associated with a higher risk for disordered eating (Mabe, Forney & Keel, 2014). In this study, we examined the association between Instagram use and eating disorder pathology. We hypothesized that individuals with greater Instagram use would report higher levels of eating disorder pathology. As part of a larger study seeking to better understand eating pathology, undergraduate participants (N=624, 70% female) completed surveys about eating pathology and media use. Participant’s ages ranged from 17 to 35 with an average of 18.7 years. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Eating Disorder Examination – Questionnaire, and a single item assessing percent of day spent on Instagram. For analyses, participants were divided into two groups based on the proportion of time they spent using Instagram. Primary users reported spending at least 60% of their time on Instagram and other users reported spending less than 50% of their social media time on Instagram. An independent samples t-test compared total mean scores on the EDE-Q between primary and other users. Results indicated no significant differences between these two groups (t(622)= .534, p = .59). There was no difference in eating disorder pathology between high Instagram and low Instagram users. This shows that social media may not be a direct link to eating pathology, or that our measure did not appropriately capture Instagram usage or type of engagement (i.e. "fitsagrams" or weight-loss Instagram accounts). Social media is growing rapidly in our society and thus remains an important research target. Future research should specifically consider examining differences in the impacts of social media use and attitudes on eating disorder pathology and other negative consequences. Future studies can potentially discover whether it is the media component or social component of social media that has the most prominent negative effect on individuals who are more exposed to it.