Renfrew Center's 'Live Your REAL Life' Campaign Aiming To Make Social Media Less Toxic Amid Isolating Time
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- College students are struggling more than ever with poor body image instigated by social media, according to a new survey. The pandemic has caused eating disorders to skyrocket, and a new campaign is aimed at changing that. Monday began National Eating Disorders Awareness Week.
Philadelphia's Renfrew Center is launching a new campaign hoping to make social media less toxic.
The pandemic boosted social media use with so many people isolating -- it's a way to connect, but for people struggling with things like anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating, it can be devastating.
"Eating disorders in themselves are such an isolating experience," said 20-year-old Elena Marcato, an eating disorder patient, "so the fact that you're also physically isolating yourself from others makes it even more isolating."
Marcato, who's struggled with eating disorders since middle school, fell into a deep depression in 2020, her freshman year of college with COVID-19 taking hold of the world.
"There's all these beautiful people, I'm not as beautiful as them, not realizing that they don't look like that naturally either," Marcato said.
Marcato received treatment at Philadelphia's Renfrew Center, a residential eating disorder treatment facility.
"There is a consistent link between social media use and weight and shape concerns, anxiety, depression disordered eating," Dr. Samantha DeCaro with the Renfrew Center said.
DeCaro says the Renfrew Center did a survey of college students which revealed that 88% of respondents say using social media makes their body image worse.
"The pandemic has really created a perfect storm for eating disorders," DeCaro said.
The Renfrew Center is launching a new campaign called "Live Your REAL Life."
"REAL is spelled real instead of reel," DeCaro said. "We're trying to get away from social media and all of the unrealistic images that we see. We want to get back to remembering what life is really like"
The Renfrew Center campaign is encouraging people to post pictures of their real-life selves and will hold a variety of workshops aimed at making social media more realistic and less dangerous.
