Facebook Linked to Eating Disorders

Not only will Facebook depress you and quite possibly lead to your divorce, it turns out the social networking site is also bad for your body image. A new study finds that 51% of respondents felt more self-conscious about their physical appearance after looking at pictures of themselves on Facebook, the New York Daily News reports. Of those surveyed, 80% reported logging into Facebook at least one time each day, and many reported feelings of inadequacy when comparing their bodies to photos of their Facebook friends.

"Facebook is making it easier for people to spend more time and energy criticizing their own bodies and wishing they looked like someone else," says the director of the Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt, which ran the study. "In this age of modern technology and constant access to smartphones and the Internet, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for people to remove themselves from images and other triggers that promote negative body image, low self-esteem, and may ultimately contribute to eating disorders." (More Facebook stories.)