Social media communities provide welcome support in times of need, but they also come under criticism for the behaviours and thinking they may fuel. In the case of people recovering from an eating disorder and their use of popular photo-sharing phone app Instagram, those lines can be blurred.
The Instagram eating disorder recovery community consists of people who use the platform to connect with others, record their progress, share experiences or seek advice.
Every experience of an eating disorder is different and this is a highly vulnerable population that can see Instagram engagement as an alternative to professional treatment.
In what is thought to be the first study of its kind, UNE Psychology Masters graduate Emily Au sought to better understand how this group engages with Instagram and whether their online community provided hope or harm. Her findings, published in the international journal Eating Behaviors, reveal it’s a little of both.
Some 163 international Instagram users recovering from disordered eating reported that they looked to social media for hope, validation and support, often after they had tried – unsuccessfully – to receive professional help. Finding others like them, with whom they could voice their struggles, find inspiration and share learning, was considered helpful for their recovery.
However, there was also a downside.
“Every experience of an eating disorder is different and this is a highly vulnerable population that can see Instagram engagement as an alternative to professional treatment,” Emily says.
“People can make suggestions online for things that help one person, but which may put others at risk. These sites are not curated and anybody can go on and post anything or say anything.”
Social media has been widely criticised for promoting impossible body standards and detrimental comparisons.
Participants in the study commonly compared themselves to others in terms of the severity of their eating disorder, their meals, appearance and progress.
Indeed, study respondents reported that online engagement with the community carries risks of triggering content, misinformation, online bullying, and inadequate representations of the diverse range of eating disorders and body types.
Emily cautions that Instagram engagement is no substitute for professional help for the recovery community.
“Participants in the study commonly compared themselves to others in terms of the severity of their eating disorder, their meals, appearance and progress. This may exacerbate distress or maintain disordered eating,” Emily says.
“While 27.9% indicated they had never sought professional help, many had been told by their GPs or psychologists that they either didn’t pass the threshold of an eating disorder or help was unavailable due to high demand. It seems there is a group that may be less severe, that is clearly aware they have eating problems and wants treatment but has been unable to access it.”
Emily, who is now working as a registered psychologist in Canberra, says those who responded to her survey represented a diversity of genders, ethnicities and eating disorder presentations, including potential cases of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder.
“My findings are just as valuable for health professionals, who need to understand what support people are looking for and the need for improved access to professional treatment,” she says. “Is there a way we can offer some online support that is moderated and provided by professional organisations?”
