Nonattachment to self mediates the relationship between Instagram engagement and orthorexia nervosa amongst Australian university students

Instagram is a popular social media platform with two billion active users every month. Despite its entertainment and social benefits, research has associated Instagram use with adverse mental and physical health outcomes. Recently, Instagram use has been associated with the maladaptive eating practice, orthorexia nervosa. Orthorexia nervosa refers to an unhealthy pre-occupation with the quality of food, rather than quantity, and has been associated with the prolific 'clean eating' movement trending on Instagram. The aim of the present study was to examine how Instagram engagement relates to symptoms of orthorexia nervosa, and whether one's contingent sense of self may help explain this relationship. Specifically, the study investigated if 'nonattachment to self', which indicates a more flexible and less contingent relationship with self-related thoughts and feelings, may mediate the relationship between Instagram engagement and orthorexia nervosa. Results from a cross-sectional study of 299 Australian undergraduate students (48 male, 247 female, 4 nonbinary) aged 18 to 84 (M = 29.57, SD = 11.91) revealed higher levels of Instagram engagement were associated with higher levels of orthorexia nervosa symptoms and a more rigid and fixed self-concept. Furthermore, nonattachment to self was found to mediate the relationship between Instagram engagement and orthorexia nervosa. The findings suggest a positive relationship between Instagram engagement and orthorexia nervosa symptoms, and that this relationship is partially attributed to the extent to which individuals fixate on their self-concept needing to be a certain way.