Social Media and the Prevalence of Body Dysmorphic Disorder Symptoms in Adolescents Situated in the UAE

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is a psychiatric condition characterized by the obsession of an individual on their appearance, affecting their psyche, leading to excessive discomfort. BDD, although a large issue globally, remains under/misdiagnosed, commonly mistaken for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) (Phillips). This paper aims to study the relationship between social media and the prevalence of BDD for adolescents in the UAE. A cross sectional survey was conducted with 41 adolescents (ages 16-18, predominantly male) in the UAE to assess the effect of social media on BDD symptoms. The survey assessed social media usage, participantss satisfaction based on different body features (height, weight, torso, muscle tone, etc.), whether participants were likely to get help, etc. The findings depicted that an increased time spent on rumination of perceived flaws led to an increased likeness of comparing oneself with others on social media. Additionally, participants who spent more than 3 hours per day on social media were more likely to report a somewhat negative effect when asked how exposure to social media affected their psyche, compared to those with lower times spent on social media. Furthermore, participants who spend a longer time thinking about perceived flaws are more likely to avoid real life situations. To conclude, increased social media usage was positively correlated with the self-reported severity of Body dysmorphic disorder symptoms to a certain extent. Although the sample displayed BDD tendencies such as frequent rumination (repetitive thoughts on perceived flaws), behavioral impairment such as social avoidance could not be seen, suggesting that the severity of the symptoms was subclinical at most.