Abstract
Eating disorders are widespread illnesses with significant impact. There is growing concern about how those at risk of eating disorders overuse online resources to their detriment. We conducted a pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining Problematic Usage of the Internet (PUI) and eating disorder and related psychopathology. The meta-analysis comprised n = 32,295 participants, in which PUI was correlated with significant eating disorder general psychopathology Pearson r = 0.22 (s.e. = 0.04, p < 0.001), body dissatisfaction r = 0.16 (s.e. = 0.02, p < 0.001), drive-for-thinness r = 0.16 (s.e. = 0.04, p < 0.001) and dietary restraint r = 0.18 (s.e. = 0.03). Effects were not moderated by gender, PUI facet or study quality. Results are in support of PUI impacting on eating disorder symptoms; males may be equally vulnerable to these potential effects. Prospective and experimental studies in the field suggest that small but significant effects exist and may have accumulative influence over time and across all age groups. Those findings are important to expand our understanding of PUI as a multifaceted concept and its impact on multiple levels of ascertainment of eating disorder and related psychopathology.
Highlights
From the inception of the world-wide-web in the 1980s, to the global domination of multifaceted online-based applications of today, the Internet has shaped our lives irreversibly (Fineberg et al, 2018; Young, 1998)
We did not identify publication bias in any domain (Fig. 8). This is the first study to amass all quantitative studies under the umbrella of problematic usage of the internet and pool associations on eating disorder and related psychopathology
The systematic review has revealed a prolific research field spanning across the globe and identified unprecedented facets of Problematic usage of the internet (PUI) that are linked to eating disorders (EDs): excessive use of social media, consumption of pro
Summary
From the inception of the world-wide-web in the 1980s, to the global domination of multifaceted online-based applications of today, the Internet has shaped our lives irreversibly (Fineberg et al, 2018; Young, 1998). Problematic usage of the internet (PUI) is an umbrella term referring to maladaptive engagement in online activities known to be associated with marked functional impairment (Fineberg et al, 2018). PUI describes engagement with a variety of online activities, including: gaming, use of social networking sites (SNS) and streaming platforms, online gambling, compulsive online buying, online pornography and cyberbullying victimization (Fineberg et al, 2018; Ioannidis et al, 2018). The online activities associated with PUI are excessive and functionally impairing, e.g. leading to poorer health, social, vocational or academic outcomes or lower quality of life (Fineberg et al, 2018; Ioannidis et al, 2019a; Kuss et al, 2014). The number of studies reporting PUI outcomes on eating disorder and related psychopathology and has increased exponentially
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