Could Instagram Contribute To Eating Disorders?

InstaHunk Dan Tai

I often (not always) feature photos from my favorite InstaHunks at the top of my News Round-Ups as a cute way to start out the post; and as it gets shared on social media, offer a bit of enticement for folks to hit the link and read the news items.

I really do want you to read the news items, folks :)

But a recent article from NBC Out delves into how social media, particularly Instagram, might be contributing to eating disorders as the popular accounts on the platform constantly offer ripped, hot guys.

From NBC Out:

Approximately 20 million women and 10 million men in the United States will have an eating disorder at some point in their lives, according to the National Eating Disorder Association. The organization found gay men struggle disproportionately with body image issues and eating disorders: Though they are thought to make up only 5 percent of the national male population, gay men account for 42 percent of men who report having an eating disorder.

Asher Pandjiris is a therapist in New York City who treats LGBTQ people with eating disorders and was also a program director at an eating disorder center. She said high rates of disordered eating in the LGBTQ community are often reactions to the homophobia internalized in youth.

“Queer people often try and prove heteronormativity by having a muscled or thin body,” Pandjiris said. “But it’s almost more insidious that the queer community polices or generates these unattainable standards.”

And research has indeed shown that high frequency of social media usage — particularly image-centric platforms like Instagram — corresponds to body image concerns and eating disorder symptoms in gay men.

The article contrasts a recent post by Grammy Award winner Sam Smith (which I featured here on The Randy Report) with posts by Instagram celeb Max Emerson, who usually appears in some state of nakedness like swim suits or underwear.

View this post on Instagram

In the past if I have ever done a photo shoot with so much as a t-shirt on, I have starved myself for weeks in advance and then picked and prodded at every picture and then normally taken the picture down. Yesterday I decided to fight the fuck back. Reclaim my body and stop trying to change this chest and these hips and these curves that my mum and dad made and love so unconditionally. Some may take this as narcissistic and showing off but if you knew how much courage it took to do this and the body trauma I have experienced as a kid you wouldn’t think those things. Thank you for helping me celebrate my body AS IT IS @ryanpfluger I have never felt safer than I did with you. I’ll always be at war with this bloody mirror but this shoot and this day was a step in the right fucking direction 👅🤘🏼🍑

A post shared by Sam Smith (@samsmith) on Feb 12, 2019 at 10:15am PST

View this post on Instagram

Were so good at skiing that @elevationgayski is taking us to every ski week this season! The first stop is their new location in Tremblant, Quebec! Info at www.elevationgayski.com promo code “max” for event discounts.

A post shared by Max Emerson (@maxisms) on Nov 16, 2018 at 10:02am PST

I know advertising images have been known to make people feel 'less than' so it makes sense that people open to negative body issues could be affected by comparing themselves to these IG accounts.

I've never been critical of myself in checking out the InstaHunks, but, I can see how some might.

I've always seen the photos as inspiration to get my butt to the gym so I can be a 'better' me.

Read the whole article from NBC Out here, and let me know what you think.