Once they were done with their assigned Internet tasks, the participants completed measurements of their current preoccupation with their weight and shape and how much they wanted to exercise. They also took the eating attitudes test, and answered questions about their typical use of Facebook, and whether the 20 minutes they spent on the social network was normal for them.

Results: Both studies found a correlation between time spent on Facebook and higher disordered eating scores, though in the second the relationship was not statistically significant. (The researchers suggest this may be due to the second experiment’s smaller sample size.)

There were certain Facebook behaviors, though, that were significantly associated with disordered eating: “Participants with greater disordered eating endorsed greater importance of receiving comments on their status and photos, and greater importance of receiving “likes” on their status.” They also untagged themselves more often and tended to compare their photos to those of their female friends.

Implications: This study found a “significant but small” association between Facebook use generally and disordered eating. It seems that with Facebook, as with any tool, it depends on how you use it. The young women in this study were at greater risk when they spent more time untagging photos and comparing their photos to others’, “perhaps in order to remove unflattering photographs and minimize opportunities to become the target of downward social comparison.” Similarly, people who posted to Facebook in the hopes of eliciting positive responses were more at risk. Facebook is just one more place where people can be exposed to unrealistic beauty standards.

“Now, women have a constant and active space to engage in social comparison with peers who may simultaneously portray and reinforce the thin ideal,” the study reads.

The study, "Do You 'Like' My Photo? Facebook Use Maintains Eating Disorder Risk," appeared in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.