Loading...
The Relationship Between Social Media Usage, Self-esteem, And Eating Habits
Alhalees, Khulood
Alhalees, Khulood
Citations
Altmetric:
Type
Supervisor
Subject
Date
Collections
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Abstract
The wide use of social media platforms brought significant changes in communication and social interactions, specifically among young adults. While these platforms offer many benefits for connections and sharing Information, they also could pose risks to user's mental and physical well-being. This study is designed to determine whether there is a group difference between those who spend more time on screens than others in terms of their self-esteem, Orthorexia (obsession with healthy eating), and Healthy eating habits among adult males and females living in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It also aimed to understand how social media use and the content it contains can influence users to undertake unhealthy weight-loss techniques. A review of the literature shows a significant relationship between the use of social media and disordered eating patterns, with frequent usage of social networking sites associated with a higher risk of these behaviors. Additionally, excessive social media use has been linked to low self-esteem. However, research findings on the relationship between self-esteem and disordered eating behaviors have been mixed. To address the gap in this paper, this study uses a quantitative approach, employing online surveys to collect data from 80 participants. The surveys measure participants' orthorexia (obsession with healthy eating) using ORTO-15, healthy eating habits using the Binge Eating Scale, and self-esteem using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The analysis includes Pearson's correlation coefficient to examine the relationships between the study variables and independent samples t-tests. The results showed a significant correlation between binge eating, self-esteem, and orthorexia scales. As for the results of the independent samples t-test, it showed that there was no group differences between low and high social media users in terms of their self-esteem and orthorexia habits, however, a group differences were observed between low and high social media users in terms of their healthy eating habits, with low social media users exhibiting higher healthy eating behaviors and less binge eating tendencies. Additionally, the paper showed that people could be influenced by social media influencers to use the promoting self-injectable weight loss medications without a prescription, which could lead to harmful side effects. Overall, this study emphasizes how important it is to address the relationships that exist between social media, self-esteem, and eating habits in promoting the well-being of individuals. To reduce the potential risks connected with excessive social media use, future research should investigate the procedures through the way social media influences behavior in more detail along with developing appropriate interventions.