A Quantitative Study to Assess the Association Between Social Media and Anorexia Nervosa Among University Students

Abstract

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an extreme and potentially fatal eating disorder with extreme fear of weight gain, distorted body image, and a restrictive eating pattern. Social media platforms have fundamentally changed how individuals, especially young adults, view their body image while carrying out self-comparisons. Although there are various studies on this, but on the western population, there is still limited research on the topic of anorexia nervosa in non-western populations that lack overwhelming gaps in the knowledge of its determinants. This research aims to investigate the association between social media platforms and anorexia nervosa development within Pakistani young adults. This research explores the relationship between content exposure on Instagram and TikTok, and Snapchat, and its effects on eating behaviours, combined with body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. This study has 2 objectives: To assess the usage of social media on the prevalence of anorexia nervosa among young adults and to determine the extent of social media contributes to the risks of developing anorexia nervosa. A quantitative cross-sectional approach was adopted for this study, having 134 participants between the ages of 18 and 25 years who were recruited from different universities in Islamabad. The validated questionnaires, such as EAT and SMAS, were used to collect data. Descriptive and correlational analysis was done. Results indicated that 85.1% of participants were at risk for anorexia nervosa, and 47.8% fell within high levels of social media addiction. Chi-square analysis revealed a statistically significant association between social media addiction categories and anorexia risk (p <0.05), suggesting that higher levels of social media addiction correspond to greater anorexia-related attitudes. These findings indicate that social media addiction is a meaningful predictor of anorexia nervosa risk among young adults, emphasizing the need for preventive strategies such as digital literacy training, responsible content regulation, and campus-based mental health interventions. The study contributes to the growing body of literature linking excessive social media use to eating disorders in developing countries. Future research should employ longitudinal designs and explore mediators such as self-esteem and body dissatisfaction.