The Relationship Between Body Image Concerns, Eating Disorders and Internet Use, Part I: A Review of Empirical Support
Adolescent Res Rev (2016) 1:95–119
DOI 10.1007/s40894-015-0016-6
QUALITATIVE REVIEW
The Relationship Between Body Image Concerns, Eating
Disorders and Internet Use, Part I: A Review of Empirical
Support
Rachel F. Rodgers1,2 • Tiffany Melioli3
Received: 9 September 2015 / Accepted: 28 September 2015 / Published online: 8 October 2015
Ó Springer International Publishing 2015
Abstract Evidence for a relationship between Internet
use and body image and eating concerns has started to
emerge, however, to date, this literature has not been
reviewed. The objective of the present study was, therefore,
to review the literature examining the relationship between
the use of Internet and social media and body image and
eating concerns, and summarize the main findings. Databases were searched for published empirical studies
examining the relationship between body image and eating
concerns and Internet use. Our search identified 67 studies.
The findings indicate the presence of appearance-related
content on Internet and social media, including content
promoting extreme body shapes or behaviors. The results
from qualitative, correlational and experimental studies
overall support the relationship between Internet use and
body image and eating concerns. The studies identified
were grounded in three main theoretical frameworks:
sociocultural, objectification theory, and social identity
theory; however, other more minor frameworks were also
used. The use of Internet, and particularly appearance-focused social media, is associated with heightened body
image and eating concerns. Developmental characteristics
may make adolescents particularly vulnerable to these
effects.
& Rachel F. Rodgers
1
Department of Applied Psychology, Northeastern University,
404 International Village, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston,
MA 02115, USA
2
Laboratoire de Stress Traumatique, Université Paul Sabatier,
Toulouse, France
3
CERPP, Université Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France
Keywords Internet Social media Body image Eating
disorders Adolescents
Introduction
Etiological models of body image and eating concerns have
highlighted the role of the social focus on slenderness and
muscularity in body image and eating concerns, and how
environments that place a greater emphasis on appearance
may increase the risk for these concerns (Basow et al. 2007;
Klump et al. 2002; Thompson et al. 1999). In addition,
research has shown how certain types of interpersonal interactions may also promote the development of body image and
eating concerns (Menzel et al. 2010). Contemporary youth are
increasingly engaged with, and interacting in, an online
environment (Madden et al. 2013); however the effects of this
on body image and eating concerns are not yet clear.
The Internet and social media present a number of characteristics that might theoretically lead them to be associated
with body image and eating concerns. First, they represent a
new form of mass-media, which, similarly to traditional forms
of media (Tiggemann 2003), may therefore contain a high
level of thin-ideal content associated with body image and
eating concerns. Second, the Internet and social media are
highly visual settings and encourage users to create profiles on
various platforms, populated with photographs, in order to
present themselves to other users. The attractiveness of individuals in online profiles has been suggested to influence their
popularity and the amount and type of online interactions
(Jaschinski and Kommers 2012; Peña and Brody 2014), and,
consistent with this, women have been shown to use attractiveness as one of the main criteria for the images they choose
to link to their online profiles (Pempek et al. 2009). This disproportionate reliance on physical appearance in the online
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world (perhaps to an even greater extent than offline) could be
hypothesized to be associated with increased body image and
eating concerns. Finally, the presence of online groups
encouraging extreme weight loss and weight control behaviors such as pro-eating disorders websites may also contribute
to the development or the maintenance of body image concerns and disordered eating (Rodgers et al. 2012). In sum,
Internet and social media use may contribute to body image
and eating concerns via multiple pathways.
In addition, the relationship between the Internet and body
image and eating concerns might be particularly relevant among
adolescents and emerging adults for several reasons. First, this
age group is the most engaged in terms of social media use
(Valkenburg and Peter 2009). Second, the Internet is relevant to
a number of developmental issues that are salient in adolescence, particularly in relation to social development, such as
identity, self-worth, peer relations, and health behaviors
(Subrahmanyam and Greenfield 2008; Subrahmanyam and
Šmahel 2011a, b; Valkenburg and Peter 2009)-aspects that are
also highly relevant for body image and eating concerns. In this
way, social networking has been found to strongly impact
adolescent relationships (Antheunis et al. 2014; Subrahmanyam
and Greenfield 2008), and the Internet has been revealed as an
important space for identity creation among adolescents
(Subrahmanyam et al. 2006, Subrahmanyam and Šmahel
2011b; Valkenburg et al. 2005). Furthermore, consistent with
the aspects of the Internet highlighted above as relevant to the
field of body image and eating concerns, within developmental
psychology, the Internet has been conceptualized as a form of
media, a form of communication, and a cultural tool (Greenfield
and Yan 2006). Thus, there is a strong theoretical background
for a relationship between Internet and social media use and
body image and eating concerns among youth.
Over the last years, an emerging body of work has started
to explore the hypothesized relationships between Internet
and social media use empirically (Brown and Bobkowski
2011; Tiggemann and Slater 2014). However, to date, these
data have not been reviewed. The objective of the present
study was, therefore, to review this literature so as to provide
an overview of the findings to date. While the overarching
aim of the present article is to provide a summary of the
existing data that will inform our understanding of the
impact of Internet use among adolescents, the review is not
constrained to studies among adolescents so as to provide a
more complete picture of the existing data.
Methods
Relevant studies were identified by searching electronic
databases including PsycInfo, ScienceDirect, and Medline,
as well as Google Scholar. No time restraint was placed on
the search at it was expected that most studies would be
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Adolescent Res Rev (2016) 1:95–119
recent. In addition, the reference lists of articles were
scanned for other potentially relevant articles. Key words
used included ‘‘Internet,’’ ‘‘Online,’’ ‘‘Facebook,’’ ‘‘Social
Media,’’ ‘‘Social Network,’’ ‘‘Twitter,’’ ‘‘Body,’’ ‘‘Eating,’’
‘‘Self-objectification’’, (...truncated)
