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Amanda Eldridge

Idil Kurtulan

ENC2135

28 April 2023

Social Media’s Effect on Users’ Fitness Behavior, Eating Habits, and Body Image

Before the early 2000s, the world had never experienced anything even remotely close to

social media. The ability to streamline data and images across the globe with the click of a finger

increases what information people are exposed to. The development of these complex online

networks in the last two decades has drastically altered how people receive and perceive

information, including content regarding ideal body and beauty standards. Things posted on

social media have the ability to reach millions of viewers in just minutes, which is why it has

such a drastic impact on society. Social media use has been growing alongside a similar

skyrocket in mental health and personal wellness concerns, leaving experts wondering if the two

are correlated. Much research has been done on this topic, and strong correlations present strong

theories. They indicate that the development of social media has had a negative impact on users’

eating habits and body images, including development of issues such as body dysmorphia and

eating disorders but possibly a more positive impact on users’ fitness behavior, relating to an

increase in consistency of exercise. In order to formulate a researched opinion on this topic, I

will be looking into studies comparing social media use, especially among its most popular

demographic, adolescents, and their corresponding fitness/exercise behaviors, their eating habits,

and their body image.

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These themes- fitness, eating, and mental health- have gained a significant amount of

attention over the last few decades, right alongside the growth of social media as a societal norm.

One possible explanation for this correlation is the development of unrealistic standards. With

the development of social media platforms has also arisen the development of unrealistic beauty

and body standards. The “ideal” beauty standard has developed since the origin of social media,

involving thin bodies, curves, and flawless skin among women, and muscular, dominant features

among men. Photoshopped, airbrushed, thinned, edited photos of influencers have become

plastered over every webpage. If peoples’ content can get millions and millions of views with a

couple clicks, they naturally want to look “perfect.” When one logs onto any social media

platform, they can instantly see unrealistic, edited influencers showing off their “perfect” bodies,

giving “what I eat in a day” tutorials that don’t even remotely meet the daily nutritional needs of

a toddler. These false mediums of information have the ability to reach millions of people in

mere seconds, which is incredibly harmful to anyone suffering from or developing body image

or self esteem issues. Numerous studies have been done about correlations between social media

use and the development of unhealthy eating habits, and the data speaks for itself, revealing

concerning correlations. Heavy social media users, in both volume OR frequency, had a 95%

higher chance of showing eating disorder risk signs compared to low or non social media users.

(Sidani, Shensa, Hoffman, Hanmer, & Primack). Eating disorders are a group of diseases that

consume the lives of almost 3% of our population, with this number continuously growing, and

the fact that the ever-growing social media platforms are a large contributing factor creates a

huge worry for not only now, but for the future of society’s eating habits. Social media has the

ability to influence 95% of users’ eating habits, yet it continues to rise in popularity. As social

media continues to grow in prevalence among societies all over the world, increasing its number
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of users annually, the risk of eating disorder development also rises. An additional interesting

piece of data showed that regardless of gender, after scrolling through social media feeds and

then being presented with food, people swayed towards much smaller portions than people who

were not shown social media posts. (Pink, Lim, Sim, & Cheon). If simply scrolling through a

feed and viewing Instagram-perfected posts is enough to make users immediately decrease their

portion sizes, the long term toll of this constant comparison could be extremely detrimental.

Comparing oneself to social media influencers and then decreasing portion sizes as an attempt to

achieve the “ideal body” is nothing short of the development of disordered eating. These

comparisons are the root of eating disorder development- beginning with online comparisons,

then choosing smaller portions due to images seen on social media, and then the total control of

food over one’s life. With the constant increase of social media use and the spread of “ideal”

body and beauty standards, experts can only predict that the 3% of the population suffering from

eating disorders will continuously rise. As a person who has been very heavily influenced by

social media, I see these correlations strongly in my own life. At the young age of nine years old,

I was diagnosed with two eating disorders. As I developed through my teenage years with these

diseases, I realized how much of a contributing factor social media was. I could log onto

Instagram and instantly see the perfect, ideal body standard plastered all over. This would in turn

give me anxiety about my own body image, and do nothing but worsen my eating disorders.

In addition to concerning eating habits, the development of mental health disorders is

very prevalent among social media users. A large proportion of the 4.5+ million social media

users worldwide consists of teenage girls, who are hit especially hard by its effects. Teenage

females are not only the largest demographic of social media users, they are also the most easily

swayed and convinced group of users. It was found that the widely used social media platform
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Instagram worsened the concept of body image for one third of teenage girls in 2021 (Sharp &

Gerrard). Body image is a huge contributing factor in mental health disorders, relating to

depression, body and food anxiety, and eating disorders. One third is a huge percent of female

adolescents to be negatively affected by one single app, as the teenage years are already a time of

immense stress that social media only contributes to. Soon after this data was released, Instagram

made an update to “hide like counts,” but experts believe this will do little to help the body

image crisis (Sharp & Gerrard). It is extremely common for people, especially girls and women,

to view influencers on social media and then compare what they see to their own bodies. These

comparisons are the root of body image issues and the negative perception of one’s own body.

The main risk factors for the development of an eating disorder are body dissatisfaction and

disordered eating, both of which social media has been proven to negatively influence. In a

primary study conducted among students, it was found that a vast 92.2% of social media users

wished to have the body of someone they saw online, 29.7% were actively at risk for developing

an eating disorder, and 52.2% experienced anxiety and lowered self esteem after simply using

social media (Pasquali, Mendes, Theodoro, & da Silva). These statistics show the prevalence of

the butterfly effect rippling out from social media use. Users first see an “ideal” body on social

media, then wish to obtain this body, then experience low self esteem because they don’t look

like the people they view on social media, and finally develop concerning eating habits and

potentially an eating disorder or other harmful mental health concerns. Low self esteem and

anxiety are mental health concerns that already plague societies around the world, and social

media is increasing these factors for over half of the user population.

While social media use has been proven to have a positive correlation with the

development of concerning eating habits and the decline of mental health, these online networks
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do have benefits to consider. Studies have shown a more positive outcome when it comes to

social media use and users’ fitness behavior. As technology has become more ingrained in

society, people have become less active and more sedentary. This is not only bad for an

individual’s mental health and goals, but physical inactivity also increases the risk of many

diseases, some of which are the leading cause of death among the United States population. A

research study done about the relationship between social media comparisons and fitness activity

revealed that when users viewed fitness content online that they believed to be more advanced

and “better” in general than what they themself could do, it actually improved one’s self efficacy

of their own fitness and motivated them to participate in physical activity (Kim). This is

important because when embarking on a fitness journey, it is essential to be confident in one’s

abilities in order to be dedicated and remain consistent. By being a platform where users can get

inspired to work out, social media actually benefits the fight against the growing physical

inactivity crisis. Extreme levels of inactivity lead to obesity and many other diseases, and fitness

content on social media has the power to combat this issue. During the COVID-19 pandemic

when the majority of communication was done online, there was a surge in fitness apps and

workout plans presented online. A study on these apps showed that when they were advertised

heavily on social media as “easy to use,” and “reliable,” people had a much higher likelihood of

downloading these apps. The most interesting part of the study was that not only did social

media advertising make people more likely to download these fitness apps, it also made them

more likely to stick to the plans and retain their goals while using them. (Madhumitha &

Lekshmi). Social media makes otherwise difficult to obtain fitness content and instruction much,

much more readily available, which in turn increases users’ participation. Instead of needing to

go out of one’s way and search for expensive, complicated fitness and exercise programs, social
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media has made it possible for potentially inactive people to gain the information online to begin

and maintain a workout plan. In my own life, while recovering from my eating disorders, I got

involved in a very healthy and inspiring workout program due to social media. I found workout

tutorials from influencers online, and proceeded to follow these and formulate my own exercise

programs. In the big picture, the fitness content I experienced through social media had a large

contributing factor in the recovery of my eating disorders.

The development of social media has a negative impact on users’ eating habits and body

images, but possibly a more positive impact on users’ fitness behavior. These correlations have

been proven through numerous peer-reviewed research studies comparing social media users and

their resulting body image, eating habits, and fitness behaviors. Increased social media use

prompts users to choose smaller portion sizes when eating, which leads to a plethora of other

unhealthy eating habits. Increased social media use also leads to comparisons of one’s own body

to “ideal bodies'' seen online, which is linked to mental health issues and a frighteningly high

likelihood of developing an eating disorder. Social media use has an inverse relationship with

fitness behaviors of users- apps and online programs make fitness content easier to obtain and

use, and have shown to increase retention to exercise among users. When someone sees inspiring

fitness content online, it has been proven to increase one’s own self-confidence and efficacy

regarding exercise and users’ actual fitness habits. There are so many factors to take into account

when deciding if social media is “bad” or “good” for those who use it, as I have determined that

social media can have negative effects on some factors like eating habits and body image, but

positive effects on others, like fitness behaviors and physical activity.

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References

Kim, HM. (2022). Social comparison of fitness social media postings by fitness app

users. Computers in Human Behavior(131). Retrieved from

https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000759737000019.

Madhumitha, T., & Lekshmi, RS. (2022). The Influence of Social Media on the adoption

and continuous use of health fitness mobile apps during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ethiopian Journal of Health Development, 36(1), 1-8. Retrieved from

https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000789993700001.

Pasquali, LV., Mendes, KG., Theodoro, H., & da Silva, ACP. (August 2022). Body

dissatisfaction, eating behavior and the use of social media in undergraduate life course

students. Rbone-Rivesta Journal of Obesity and Weight Loss, 16(103), 132-841.

Retrieved from

https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000893274500019.

Pink, AE., Lim, PXH., Sim, AY., & Cheon, BK. (August 2022). THE EFFECTS OF

ACUTE SOCIAL MEDIA EXPOSURE ON BODY DISSATISFACTION AND

EATING BEHAVIOR OF MALE AND FEMALE STUDENTS. Journal of Social and

Clinical Psychology, 41(4), 365-397. Retrieved from

https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000836998900003.

Sharp, G., & Gerrard, Y. (June 2022). The body image "problem" on social media: Novel

directions for the field. Body Image, 41, 267-271. Retrieved from

https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000794048200025.
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Sidani, JE., Shensa, A., Hoffman, B., Hanmer, J., & Primack, BA. (September 2016). The

Association between Social Media Use and Eating Concerns among US Young Adults.

Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116(9), 1465-1472. Retrieved from

https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000382478300013.