Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (SOURCE)

The Relationship between Social Media, Body Image, and Disordered Eating

Previous research indicates a negative relationship between social media and body image. Other research has investigated the relationship between social media and disordered eating. Even more research has studied the relationship between disordered eating and body image. However, not many studies have been completed regarding the relationship between these three aspects. The current study’s goal is to investigate the relationship between the three aspects as well as determine if their relationship predicts the body types that the participants find to be preferable for people they view on social media. Participants will be recruited to take an online self-report survey via personal contact, social media, and undergraduate classrooms. We anticipate that we will find that those who do not have a strong desire to belong will be less active on social media and have a better body image than those who have a strong desire to belong. We also anticipate finding that social media has a negative impact on the body image and eating behaviors of the participants. The last finding that we anticipate is that participants will rank thin or average body types as more valuable than bigger body types.