Body Esteem as Mediator between Social Media Addiction and Eating Behaviors among Young Adults

Excessive use of social media and overindulgence of young adults on it has led to high risk eating behaviors. Viewing idealized body images of extremely thin and toned figures on social media increases body dissatisfaction, leading to eating disturbances. Body esteem is individual’s perception and thoughts about his body, weight and appearance. That perception can either be positive or negative. Although, now a days, the number of young adults using social media is growing day by day, but little emphasis was given to issues of eating behaviors occurring in them. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to examine the impact of social media addiction on eating behaviors among young adults. In addition, mediating role of body esteem was also studied. A cross-sectional survey design was employed. A sample of 400 university students was collected through purposive sampling technique. Hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that social media addiction was the most significant and strongest positive predictor of worse eating behaviors whereas body esteem (i.e., appearance, weight and attribution) was negative predictor of worse eating behaviors. Body esteem significantly mediated the relationship between social media addiction and worse eating behaviors. Understanding the role of social media addiction on eating behaviors would help researchers in creating awareness regarding the role of social media addiction and its impact on individual eating behaviors.