YouTube short videos about anorexia: inadequate informative practices

Abstract

A large number of people with eating disorders seek content on the Internet, while videos on social media reach the highest consumption in this regard, especially among young people. This study aims to analyze short videos about anorexia on YouTube to observe if there are any inadequate informative practices, examine the use of sources, and see if they offer solutions that help to deal with the eating disorder. A sample of 93 videos under 5 minutes length and with a minimum of 50,000 views was selected. Recommendations for the media on how to address eating disorders were identified from the guidelines of FEAFES, AVALCAB, AFEBAC and the Consell de l’Audiovisual de Catalunya and, based on these, 16 content analysis variables were established. Various inadequate informative practices have been observed, such as the absence of expert sources in 76% of the analyzed videos, not providing solutions in 64%, and the conveyance of a negative view about the disorder in 31% of the cases. The study shows that most of the videos do not comply with the recommendations for the media outlined in mental health association guidelines. The inadequate informative practices detected are most evident in the shorter videos, those under one minute long, which are precisely those most consumed by young people and adolescents.