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A pilot evaluation of a social media literacy intervention to reduce risk factors for eating disorders

Siân A. McLean, Eleanor H. Wertheim, Jennifer Masters, Susan J. Paxton

By,

Laura Bialek

McLean SA, Wertheim EH, Masters J, Paxton SJ. A pilot evaluation of a social media literacy intervention to reduce risk factors for eating disorders. Int J Eat Disord. 2017;50:847–851. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22708

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Introduction:

☆Purposes:

To help teach teenage girls how to build resilience to the negative effects of using social media
To improve how teenage girls feel about themselves by moving them away from the constant comparisons to social media
To see how interventions assist with the negative effects of social media
To see if social media literacy is potentially a useful way to prevent eating disorders

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Review of Literature:

De Vries, D. A., Peter, J., de Graaf, H., & Nikken, P. (2016). Adolescents’ social network site use, peer appearance-related feedback, and body dissatisfaction: Testing a mediation model. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45, 211–224.
Perloff, R. M. (2014). Social media effects on young women’s body image concerns: Theoretical perspectives and an agenda for research. Sex Roles, 71, 363–377.
Rodgers, R. F. (2016). The relationship between body image concerns, eating disorders and Internet use, part II: An integrated theoretical model. Adolescent Research Review, 1, 121–137.
McLean, S. A., Wertheim, E. H., Marques, M. D., & Paxton, S. J. (2016b). Dismantling prevention: Comparison of outcomes following media literacy and appearance comparison modules in a randomised controlled trial. Journal of Health Psychology, 16, 396–403.

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Hypothesis and Problem:

Problem

-Women spend too much time on social media

Hypothesis

-If time can be taken away from social media, then the negative effects of social media can be decreased.

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Method:

☆Use a three-lesson social media literacy intervention.

Body image (body esteem–weight)
Disordered eating (dietary restraint)
Media literacy (realism scepticism)

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Results:

As hypothesized, significant group by time interaction effects indicating differences between groups from baseline to post-program were observed for body esteem and dietary restraint

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Conclusion:

WIth a a combined media literacy— “peer influence approach can help address the unique context of social media in which peer interactions and a highly visual, readily accessible, format create appearance pressures for young people.”
The greater use of social media increase the development of risk factors such as eating disorders, body image problems, poor view of appearance ideals, desire for the perfect body and prohibiting food intake.

Findings:

When social media time is decreased:

a reduction in dietary restraint was observed
improvements in body esteem
Improvement in realism scepticism

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Picture cited:

Healthy Girl Cartoon Images, Stock Photos & Vectors. Shutterstock. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2022, from https://www.shutterstock.com/search/healthy+girl+cartoon

Premium vector: Worried concerned girl cartoon character looking at her phone screen. Freepik. (2020, December 21). Retrieved January 17, 2022, from https://www.freepik.com/premium-vector/worried-concerned-girl-cartoon-character-looking-her-phone-screen_11760819.htm

White, L., Lucy WhiteLucy White is a Digital Media Executive by profession and also love to write about social media. She is also interested in research related to facts and figures about social media., & Battikhi, D. F. (2020, July 23). Most severe negative effects of social media. Relation Advisors. Retrieved January 17, 2022, from https://relationadvisors.com/severe-negative-effects-of-social-media/