Motives for using social networking sites: a uses & gratifications perspective amongst people with eating disorder symptoms

Alexandra E Dingemans; Jolanda Veldhuis; Irene Lähde

doi:10.1186/s40337-023-00946-1

Motives for using social networking sites: a uses & gratifications perspective amongst people with eating disorder symptoms

J Eat Disord. 2023 Dec 19;11(1):231. doi: 10.1186/s40337-023-00946-1.

Authors

Alexandra E Dingemans¹, Jolanda Veldhuis², Irene Lähde³

Affiliations

¹ Rivierduinen Eating Disorders Ursula, P.O. Box 405, 2300 AK, Leiden, The Netherlands. a.dingemans@rivierduinen.nl.
² Department of Communication Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
³ Rivierduinen Eating Disorders Ursula, P.O. Box 405, 2300 AK, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Abstract

Studies investigating motives for social networking sites (SNS) use amongst people with eating disorder (ED) symptoms are scarce. The uses and gratifications theory states that people actively select media content to gratify their individual needs and this may help to explain why individuals with eating disorder symptoms choose to expose themselves to specific media content and how they choose to respond. Some evidence exists that readiness to change may be a factor related to SNS use patterns in this population. The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential relationship between readiness to change ED cognitions/behaviors and SNS use motives in individuals with current or past ED symptoms, employing a uses and gratifications theory perspective. Participants were recruited from ED recovery websites; 103 individuals (16-55 years old) provided complete data. As hypothesized, ED symptom severity was inversely associated with readiness to change and time spent on (specific) SNS was not associated with ED symptom severity. The results of hierarchical regression analyses further suggested that if individuals felt less capable of overcoming their dysfunctional cognitions/behaviors about their body/eating (i.e., were less ready to change), they were more likely to be motivated to use SNSs for the purpose of impressing others and reputation management. The clinical implication is that high amounts of SNS use may not necessarily be harmful for people with EDs or recovering from EDs, whereas using SNSs for the purposes of impression management could potentially be related to being less ready to recover.

Keywords: Eating disorders; Readiness to change; Social networking sites; Uses and gratifications theory.

Plain language summary

People who feel they are capable of overcoming their dysfunctional cognitions and/or behaviours about their body and/or eating, are less likely to use social networking sites for impression management purposes. Motives for social media use like popularity, self-presentation, and social expectations may potentially hinder recovery form an eating disorder. Clinicians should discuss motives of SNS use with their clients, rather than total amount of screen time, to help prevent any negative media effects.