Social Media and Eating Disorders among University Students in Langata Sub-County, Nairobi County-Kenya

With the increase in technology and the proliferation of social media applications in the rise globally with a significant number of that population comprising of university students. Eating habits have also changed among university students, and while researchers have explored many causes of eating disorders, the correlation between social media use and eating disorders has been scantly addressed. This study explored the relationship between social media usage and eating disorders among university students in Langata Sub-county, Nairobi, Kenya. With the rise of social media usage, students increasingly turn to these platforms for academic, social, entertainment and information purposes, often replacing traditional face-to-face interactions. The study aimed to examine three key aspects of social media usage: frequency, forms, and functions, and how they relate to eating disorders. The objectives were to determine the relationship between the frequency of social media use, the specific platforms used, and their functions, alongside proposing strategies to mitigate the social media usage among university students to minimize eating disorders. Grounded in Social Comparison Theory and Uses and Gratification Theory, the study adopted a mixed-methods approach through a sequential explanatory research design. This study targeted 14,081 university students, with a sample size of 282. Quantitative data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed descriptively and inferentially using SPSS version 26, while qualitative data was collected using interview guides and analyzed thematically. Results obtained for Not at all showed a weak, non-significant negative correlation (-.123, p = .059), Less than 1 Hour gave negative correlation (-.194, p = .003,1 to 3 Hours showed a weak positive and significant correlation (.020, p = .767), 3 to 5 Hours gave a significant positive correlation (.230, p = .000) and More than 5 Hours gave a moderate positive correlation (.457, p < .001). All the four platforms showed a significant correlation-Twitter(X) (r=.578, p=.000), Facebook (r=.518, p=.000), Instagram (r=.485, p=.000) and TikTok (r=.428, p=.000). The functions also revealed positive associations- social use (p=.559, p<.001), academic use (p=.652, p<.001), informative use (p=.707, p<.001) and entertainment use (p=.707, p<.001). The students were resilient with a mean score ranging from 2.78 to 3.10 out of the possible 5.00. While some students actively sought ways to cope with social media challenges others struggled with adaptability. The findings highlighted the need for targeted interventions to enhance resilience and promote healthy social media habits.