Sad Truthz wrote:
While I think IG is a negative and can contribute to eating disorders, Molly had issues well before IG fame. Eating disorders and running have been around for a long long time. I don’t see the problem getting better or worse, the sad reality is it will always be a negative part of the sport.
Precisely. "Social media causes EDs" is a recycling of "magazines cause EDs." In a parallel category to "video games cause violence." This isn't really the case, and evidence (studies) do not show this for either thing. Common sense and intuition don't always give you the right answer.
People with EDs may find negative reinforcement through social media (thinspo for both, "likes" of destructive/unhealthy posts), but they don't drive the behaviour. No one flips open a magazine, sees a model, and goes "yeah, I'm just gonna start eating X calories a day to look like that, because if I don't society won't love me." More often, triggering incidents include comments from family/friends or coaches about body weight, career ambitions in areas where thinness is advantageous (aesthetic sports, weightbearing sports, modeling/acting), or need to feel in control in one's life (where their life otherwise does not feel in control).
EDs are a mental illness, and like other mental illnesses there is a big genetic component. You can't just will your way out of an ED or cure it by deleting your social media. EDs do seem to be a pathology related to individuals who are wired to be compulsive, "type A," and driven. These are characteristics that are rewarded or lead to success in many areas in including running. Doctors who deal with EDs will tell you that they are very hard to treat... a patient can believe and understand that they have a problem, but may not ever be able to fully change their outlook and thus the behaviour will often recur.