The relationship between social media use and body perception and emotional eating behavior in university students

Social media are interaction-based digital platforms where individuals can instantly share their thoughts, feelings and life experiences and are also exposed to the content of others. These channels, which are especially used intensively by young adults, can shape body perception and eating behaviors by increasing social comparisons between individuals. The frequent presentation of idealized body representations on social media platforms, where visuality is at the forefront, may negatively shape individuals' perceptions of their own bodies; this may trigger emotional eating behaviors by increasing body dissatisfaction. Factors such as the need for social approval, the search for digital visibility and the pressure of self-presentation can change individuals' psychological processes and eating habits. In this study, it was aimed to examine the relationship between social media usage levels of university students and their body perception and emotional eating behaviors. The research was designed as a descriptive study based on the relational survey model. The sample consisted of 396 associate, undergraduate and graduate students studying at Çağ University as of the 2024-2025 academic year. Data were collected through "Sociodemographic Information Form", "Social Media Addiction Scale-Adult Form", "Body Perception Scale" and "Emotional Eating Scale". The data obtained were analyzed in IBM SPSS 22.0 program and the relationships between variables were evaluated by correlation and regression analyses. As a result of the analyses, it was determined that the level of social media addiction both had negative effects on body perception and significantly increased emotional eating behavior. These findings suggest that social media use shapes an individual's perceptions of his/her body and can reveal eating behavior as a coping strategy to cope with negative emotions. The study is intended to contribute to the development of psycho-education programs for social media effects and to provide a new perspective to the literature on the relationship between digital media, eating behavior and body perception.