Graduation Year
2026
Document Type
Senior Thesis
Degree
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Primary Major
Nursing
Thesis Advisor
Kendra Hoepper, DNP, APRN, PHP-C
Abstract
Background: Social media is very prevalent in today’s society, particularly in adolescents. This time period is crucial for this age group in terms of developing a sense of purpose and identity. Although social media may keep many of our children entertained, they also can create negative impacts on them and ultimately hinder their overall development both mentally and physically through negative body image and unrealistic self-expectations. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to find the correlation between social media use and the rise of eating disorders in adolescents. Doing so would allow us to find ways to lower the risk of adolescent eating disorders due to social media. Design: An observational cohort study will be conducted between two groups of adolescents: 50 high school students that use social media on a daily basis vs. 50 high school students that do not use social media at all. We will conduct this study over one school year, and at the end of the school year, we will do a final observation on each of the 100 high school students and survey their feelings in regard to their own body image and physical health. Finally, we will compare the results to see how strong of a correlation there is between social media use and eating disorders in this age group. Results: Although this study has not yet been conducted, we expect to see a relatively strong correlation between social media use and the rise of eating disorders in adolescents.