The complexities and contradictions of Online Eating Disorder Content: A qualitative evidence synthesis of young people’s views and experiences

Eating disorders (ED) continue to be a concern worldwide. Traditional media is seen as contributing to problematic discourses about ideal bodies. However, more recently, concern has grown about content and spaces that are online, and if they increase disordered eating and other ED symptoms.

A qualitative evidence synthesis was conducted to explore young people’s lived experiences of online ED content. Studies were included if they provided findings about views that related online content to body image concerns or eating disorder symptoms from young people from OECD countries aged 11-25 years old (from 2007 onwards).

This article focuses on findings from eight included studies whereby three key themes were identified: Comparing - how online content was used to evaluate others and oneself; Curating - how young people manage this content; and Community - spaces for shared experience and aspirations.

Young people illustrated the complex ‘double-edged’ nature of online spaces, which can offer inclusion but can also be experienced as harmful. The synthesis outlined a lack of supportive offline mental health-promoting spaces as part of the context of young people’s online content use.