Posting edited photos of the self: Increasing eating disorder risk or harmless behavior?
Abstract
Objective: Social media use has been implicated as a correlate and a cause of increased disordered eating (DE), but little is known about the impact of specific aspects of social media use, such as posting edited photos of the self. Utilizing a two‐stage design, the present study sought to determine how posting edited photos relates to DE, as well as anxiety and depression symptoms, in male and female college students. Method: Stage 1 examined concurrent associations between posting edited photos and mental health measures in 2,485 undergraduates (76% female). Stage 2 examined causal associations between posting edited photos and eating disorder (ED) risk factors in 80 undergraduates (93% female) who endorsed posting edited photos in Stage 1 and volunteered for the experimental portion of the study. Results: In Stage 1, those who endorsed posting edited photos (n = 660; 27%) reported greater eating pathology and anxiety than those who did not, but no differences were found for depressive symptoms. In Stage 2, posting edited photos caused increased weight/shape concerns. Posting photos reinforced urges to exercise and restrict food intake and anxiety. Editing photos without posting caused an immediate decrease in weight/shape concerns and a delayed decrease in sadness. Discussion: Results support a consistent and direct link between posting edited photos and ED risk factors, suggesting that this is not a harmless behavior. Future work should explore the cumulative effects of this link to determine how specific uses of social media contribute to clinically meaningful outcomes.
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In experimental research in which adults are able to take and edit selfies, the extent to which the selfie was edited predicts increases in the individual's facial dissatisfaction, and posting an edited selfie on Instagram causes increased weight/shape concerns and the urge to restrict food intake.
“In experimental research in which adults are able to take and edit selfies, the extent to which the selfie was edited predicted increases in the individual's facial dissatisfaction (Tiggemann et al., 2020), and posting an edited selfie on one's Instagram caused increased weight/shape concerns and the urge to restrict food intake (Wick & Keel, 2020).”
From The Perfect Storm: A Developmental-Sociocultural Framework for the Role of Social Media in Adolescent Girls' Body Image Concerns and Mental Health. (2022) · cites this paper as Wick & Keel, 2020
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- Authors
- Wick, M. R., & Keel, P. K.
- Affiliations
- Florida State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Keel, Pamela K.
- Venue
- International Journal of Eating Disorders
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2020-05-05
- Volume
- 53
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 864-872
- ISSN
- 0276-3478 (ISSN-L)
- 1098-108X
- OpenAlex
- W3023157974
- Cited by
- 59
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 2
- FWCI
- 3.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Eating Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Keywords
- social media use, disordered eating, eating disorder risk factors, weight and shape concerns, anxiety, depressive symptoms, university students, gender differences, dietary restriction
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Feeding and Eating Disorders, Body Image, Female, Humans, Male, Photography, Young Adult, Social Media
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