Harmful or Helpful? A Comparative Analysis of News Depictions Concerning New Media and Eating Disorders

Abstract

Amid a landscape of technological change and growing concerns about the prevalence of eating disorders, news coverage has increasingly highlighted the impact of new media technologies on these conditions. In this qualitative study, using mixed methods of data analysis, we examined how new media technologies were depicted in news coverage regarding eating disorders in the United States and the United Kingdom between 2010 and 2019. In both countries, depictions of new media as harmful were more likely when articles referenced the Internet, predominantly due to the emphasis on pro-eating disorders and unrealistic beauty ideals among these stories. New media were depicted as helpful, particularly when articles referenced social media, as these platforms were portrayed as facilitating eating disorder online activism and recovery. We show how news coverage of these technologies changed over time as news stories, especially in the United States, moved away from the pessimistic coverage of the early 2010s to a more nuanced picture.