Never before have so many young people eating disorders like now, at fault on social networks?

NBC (USA) on April 29 raised the issue from an expert’s point of view with a general opinion: Never before has eating disorder been as widespread and serious as it is now in teenagers˳

The highest rate of eating disorders of all time

Although NBC’s article concerns young Americans, the warning situation is probably not unfamiliar to many Vietnamese teenagers˳ The most notable of which is the huge harm from social networks˳

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of hospitalizations for eating disorders has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 epidemic, doubling among teenage girls˳

Although most of the children were then able to return to school and play sports, many American experts warn that eating disorders, especially anorexia, are still at a high level˳ best of all time˳

“Children are not doing well right now,” said Melissa Freizinger, deputy director of the eating disorder program at Boston Children’s Hospital (USA), “When the pandemic came and then spread, we did˳ Think everything will be better in 2022˳ Then everything will be better in 2023˳ But it is not,” said Ms˳ Melissa Freizinger˳

Specifically, according to a report by the company Trilliant Health, the number of visits and treatment related to eating disorders has doubled in people under 17 years of age in the past 5 years in the US˳

From 2018 to mid-2022, the number of visits in this age group skyrocketed by 107˳4%, that is, from about 50,000 visits in early 2018 to more than 100,000 visits by mid-2022˳

Notably, the number of cases to be examined for anorexia nervosa increased by 129˳26%, which is also the group with the highest mortality rate among mental illnesses˳

According to experts, the pandemic has increased rates of anxiety and depression, which are also two risk factors for developing or aggravating eating disorder symptoms˳

Melissa Freizinger noted that even after the COVID-19 epidemic has been significantly reduced, the number of teenagers hospitalized with eating disorders is still at an alarming rate˳ More worrying is that the physical and mental symptoms are more severe than in the previous period and the age is also younger˳

Lana Elisha Garrido, 17, was treated for anorexia nervosa at the age of 13 and relapsed in December 2021˳ Lana said during 5 months of intensive treatment in Los Angeles City last year, Lana saw around 20 patients of the same age˳ This is very different from Lana’s 13-year-old admission, when the patients were mostly adults˳

Social media increases eating disorders

Often, strong social ties can become factors that help protect adolescents from the risk of eating disorders˳ However, this changes in 2020, when many places are locked down for COVID-19 and young people are suddenly cut off from those connections˳

However, experts emphasize that it is impossible to separate eating disorders in young people with the influence of social networks˳

According to a survey by the nonprofit Common Sense Media, 84% of teenagers said they were using social media, and the most popular apps were YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok˳

Over the years, many parents have sued social media companies such as TikTok, Meta (which owns Instagram) and Google (which owns YouTube) alleging that their children suffered from eating disorders˳

The Social Media Victims Law Center in Seattle has filed three lawsuits, two against Meta and one against TikTok, alleging they caused girls to develop eating disorders˳

While social media companies all claim to have put in place measures to prevent such negative content, including warning labels or age restrictions, it doesn’t seem to be enough˳

COVID-19 epidemic causes many people to have eating disorders

According to an analysis of data on about 80 hospitals in the US conducted by the Associated Press, since March 2020, the number of patients hospitalized for treatment for eating disorders has increased by 30%˳