Social networks and eating disorders in students of a private university in Lima

• Anny Milagros Hurtado Montes

  Universidad Privada del Norte, Lima-Perú

  Author

• Yulissa Ore Basurto

  Universidad Privada del Norte, Lima-Perú

  Author

• Jorge Alberto Flores Morales

  Universidad Privada del Norte, Lima-Perú

  Author

Social networks constitute an essential means of social interaction, allowing communication and connection between people to be maintained in increasingly globalized digital environments. In this context, young people are the most frequent users and are susceptible to being influenced and misinformed, especially regarding body image, leading to eating disorders that are not only physical but also psychological. The objective of this research was to determine the relationship between social media and eating disorders (EDs) in students at a private university. The methodology was quantitative, with a non-experimental, cross-sectional, correlational design. The sample consisted of 200 university students in their final two years of study, and Spearman’s rho non-parametric statistical test was used. The overall result indicates a positive, weak to moderate correlation of 0.341 between the two variables, which is highly significant and not due to chance. It is concluded that social networks and eating disorders, along with their dimensions, are related and directly associated, with young users being prone to be influenced by body image models that are not in accordance with reality, based on a false aesthetic and social acceptance.

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