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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1464172

Problematic Internet use and its relationship with eating disorders

Provisionally accepted
Claudia Ruiz-Centeno Claudia Ruiz-Centeno 1Raquel Cueto Galán Raquel Cueto Galán 1*José Miguel Pena-Andreu José Miguel Pena-Andreu 1Andres Fontalba-Navas Andres Fontalba-Navas 1,2
  • 1 University of Malaga, Málaga, Spain
  • 2 Antequera Hospital, Antequera, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Problematic Internet use has been associated with eating disorders. An increasing number of young adults are using social media, and a variety of content promoting anorexia and bulimia (pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia) has been identified. The aim of this study is to qualitatively analyze this content to understand how it affects individuals with eating disorders or those at risk. Content selection was carried out through non-random intentional sampling and based on the following criteria: the most prominent content on each platform in terms of the number of interactions, created within less than 5 years old, and displaying pro-ana and/or pro-mia content in English or Spanish. In total, 6 digital platforms were analyzed, including 57 resources (videos, images, blog entries, chat messages, PDF files, and group descriptions). The discourse was analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The analyzed content includes numerous tips and tricks promoting eating disorders. Additionally, a widespread positive sentiment towards low weight and thinness was observed, while negative sentiments were associated with eating, gaining weight, etc. It has been demonstrated that self-esteem in adolescents and young adults can be affected by social media use, leading to body dissatisfaction that may result in increased use of these platforms with access to pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia content, which can contribute to the development of these disorders. The continuous variation and removal of this content, and the health problems it poses, requires further study of these digital resources and how users access them, in order to establish preventive measures to ensure health in the future. Con formato: Español (España) Con formato: Español (España) Con formato: Superíndice Con formato: Español (España) Eliminado: people 40 Eliminado: .

    Keywords: problematic internet use, Social Media, Eating Disorders, Anorexia, bulimia eating disorders

    Received: 13 Jul 2024; Accepted: 07 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Ruiz-Centeno, Cueto Galán, Pena-Andreu and Fontalba-Navas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Raquel Cueto Galán, University of Malaga, Málaga, Spain

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.