Facebook Can Be Just As Damaging To Self Esteem as "Gossip Girl"

Pop culture and mass media have long been thought to trigger negative body image, unhealthy attitudes, and even eating disorders in adolescents; teenage girls typically being the most vulnerable.

Because of this, many parents try to monitor or at least stay aware of what their daughters are watching on TV or in movies in an effort to curb any destructive behavior early.

But a new study from the University of Haifa suggests the more time adolescent girls spend on social networking sites, like Facebook, the risk of them developing a negative body image and eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia, and extreme dieting increases.

The researchers -- Prof. Yael Latzer, Prof. Ruth Katz, and Zohar Spivak of the Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences at the University of Haifa -- set out to examine the effects of two factors on the development of eating disorders in young girls: exposure to the media and self-empowerment.

Eating disorders include a wide spectrum of abnormal mental and behavioral conducts related to food and body weight, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

A group of 248 girls ages 12 through 19 (average age: 14.8) took part in the survey. The girls were asked to provide information about their Internet and television viewing habits.

Regarding television, the girls were asked to give the number of popular shows related to extreme standards of physical image (the “Barbie” model) they watched.

The girls also filled out questionnaires examining their approach to losing weight, bulimia, physical satisfaction or dissatisfaction, their general outlook on eating, and their sense of personal empowerment.

The results showed the more time girls spend on Facebook, the more they suffered from bulimia, anorexia, physical dissatisfaction, negative physical self-image, negative approach to eating and more of an urge to be on a weight-loss diet.

Extensive online exposure to fashion and music content showed similar tendencies, but manifested in fewer types of eating disorders.

As such, the more the exposure to fashion content on the Internet, the higher a girl’s chances of developing anorexia.

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A similar direct link was found between watching TV shows depicting glamorous characters and lifestyles (like “Gossip Girl”) and eating disorders in adolescent girls.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the study found girls who reported feeling empowered and good about their bodies were less likely to develop eating disorders.

But the source of girls’ empowerment might be surprising to some.

The study revealed girls whose parents were involved in their media usage; who knew what they were viewing and reading and where they were surfing on the web; who watched, surfed or read along with them; and who conducted cooperative and critical discussions with their daughters about the content of their surfing habits, were more likely to feel empowered and less likely to develop eating disorders.

On the other hand, parents who were not involved in their daughters’ media exposure, who were not aware of the content that their daughters were consuming, or who simply limited or prohibited to certain online content, were more likely to have daughters vulnerable to various eating problems and negative body image.

According to the researchers, future research on eating disorders lies in an understanding of how parenting decisions can have an effect on a teen girl’s sense of empowerment and enforcing that sense of empowerment is a means to strengthening body image.

“This study has shown that a parent has potential ability to prevent dangerous behavioral disorders and negative eating behavior in particular,” the researchers wrote.