How Our Culture Fuels Both Addiction and Disordered Eating

Key points

Diet culture thriving on social media fuels shame, guilt, and anxiety while profiting from insecurity.

Teens who are heavy users of social media face doble the risk of developing eating disorders.

Eating and substance use disorders often co-occur, compounding health and mental risks.

By Jackie Keating, LCSW

It’s Sunday night, and you’re lying in bed, you reach for your phone and scroll through social media in search of a little escape. An influencer pops up with a “what I eat in a day” post—the perfect-looking meals have no carbs, few calories.

Another influencer tries to humorously share their night out partying, and a mom shows how she needs wine to get through the day. Ads for fitness programs fill your feed, promising that "you can fix your life in 3 simple steps!”